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Class of 2019

Shakil Ahmed, Bangladesh is Associate Director of Public Affairs at Teach For Bangladesh. Involved in the education sector for 10 years, teaching thinking skills to kindergarteners in Singapore to designing low-cost school models at the BRAC Institute of Educational Development. His undergrad was in theoretical physics at the National University of Singapore and his masters was in Educational Leadership and School Improvement at BRAC University. His interests in futures, education and storytelling aligns towards his goal of helping out communities-in-need to do research to solve their problems and the problems of others.

Sweetie Anang, Ghana was named a Queens Young Leader in recognition of her work in STEM and has been awarded the Edinburgh Awards for Enterprise and Professholds a bachelor’s in computer science and currently a Chevening scholar at the University of Edinburgh studying Business Analytics. Passionate about Health and Wellbeing, STEM Education, Gender Equality and Technology & Innovation. Social Entrepreneur and Co-founder of health non-profit that provides resources for stroke survivors and advocates for health equity. Sheional Development.

Deepak Ashwani, India is the Founder of Aaharvan, which is a Artificial Intelligence based free open digital platform providing an ecosystem of services to build food forests by any landholder. Previously, he has been founder of multiple award-winning cooperative called Dazin, which is benefiting 10000+ students in Bhutan with smoke-free cooking energy solution. Deepak is a Ambassador of Vegan Nation and and a fellow of NASA’s Singularity University. He holds Masters in Environment Management from Denmark

Laura Batalla Adam, Spain has long experience working in the European institutions. She has worked as a senior policy advisor to different members of the European Parliament and established her own initiatives, like the EP-Turkey Forum. She speaks and publishes regularly on a variety of international topics. Laura graduated from Pompeu Fabra University with a double bachelor degree in Political Science and Journalism and specialised in European Affairs at the College of Europe. As Ashoka's Hello Europe Migration Policy Representative in Brussels, she contributes to untap the full potential of migration. Being fascinated by the intersection between social entrepreneurship and policy, through her position she is able to turn her expertise on migration into innovative policy solutions at the European, national and local level.

Camila Carrasco Hidalgo, Chile holds a Professional degree of Public administrator, University of Santiago of Chile and was Vice-President Federation of Students in this university. Since 2018, she is a student of Master of Arts in Public Policies at Flacso Ecuador and a member of Ecuadorian Association of Political Science, Latin American Students Association and Executive Director of the foundation “La Alameda-Chile”. Her academic interests are focused on the research of policy analysis, accountability, climate change and environment. Currently, From 2015 to 2018 she had coordinated several academics seminaries and conferences about gender, climate change and political realities in Chile.

Nikhil Anil Chaudhary, India is a urban development and climate policy professional with seven years’ experience developing and managing sustainable mobility projects for international non-profit organisations across Asia. Previously, he was a Senior Associate with the World Resources Institute and has done substantial policy research and consulted on low-carbon transition for two UN-Habitat programmes, among others. Nikhil has been extensively involved with capacity building for local governments and trained over 500 municipal staff members in three countries. His expertise also encompasses smart cities, urban resilience, public sector innovation, technology regulation and collaborative governance. Nikhil recently completing his Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Pune University and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from CEPT University, both in India.

Sabina Maria Ciofu, Romania is the Head of EU Policy for techUK, the trade association representing the UK tech industry. Previously, she worked as Policy Advisor in the European Parliament for almost a decade, focusing on tech-related legislation, international trade and EU-US relations. She is also a PhD Candidate in Defence Studies at King’s College London, where she explores the relationship between artificial intelligence and foreign policy decision-making. Sabina is the founder of the Gentlewomen’s Club, co-organiser of the Young Professionals in Digital Policy and a member of the Global Shapers Brussels Hub, where she lead a Europe-wide youth voting and civic engagement project. She holds an MA in War Studies from King’s College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.

Marwin Flores, Bolivia is a specialized professional in the field of Logistics and International Trade, he has postgraduate academic studies at the Master's level at the University of Barcelona, with professional experience in public and private hierarchical positions, and has carried out international consultancies related to port systems in countries of the Pacific coast and the Atlantic. He is also involved in activities related to academia and research, co-author of the book "Bolivia, a private country of coastline: notes for a pending debate", professor at the undergraduate level of International Logistics at the Bolivian Catholic University "San Pablo" as well as a graduate student at the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar at the master's level. In addition, he is a guest columnist in written media.

Yassine Harzallah, Tunisia is a part-time Social Entrepreneur selected by the Obama Foundation as one of the top 200 Africa leaders. His goal is to make high quality and affordable healthcare and education accessible to everyone by harnessing the power of technology. He also became the youngest ambassador for the Next Einstein Forum (NEF), and participated in an event bringing together heads of state, leading organizations, and Africa’s promising thinkers. He recently partnered with a NEF fellow in bringing to Gambia the benefits MOVAAR, which uses project-based learning to prepare students to find solutions for developmental challenges by equipping them with relevant skillsets.

Abir Ibrahim, Sudan holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health from University of New England. Founder of Inua Naturals, an agribusiness company working to create new markets and economies for small-scale women farmers and artisans who otherwise do not have access to the global marketplace. She is an Ambassador for the Institute for Economics and Peace, a United Nations Delegate, and Partners for Development Board Member. As a Young Global Changer Abir aims to inform policies and raise awareness on gender gaps as well as strengthen women’s engagement in Africa’s social and economic development.

Aderonke Ige, Nigeria Aderonke is a lawyer, equity advocate and Founder of Heart of Gold Initiative for Humanity. She has been actively involved in the promotion of a humane and efficient society that enhances holistic human development and inclusive governance through Legislative advocacy, Development facilitation, Training, Grassroots enlightenment, youth mentoring, promotion of Women's Rights and Child’s Rights advocacy. As a Criminal Justice System reform advocate, she has facilitated several successful legislative & judicial reforms, such as the "Non-custodial Community Service punishment as an alternative to imprisonment for minor offences": an initiative targeted at prison decongestion, as well as the “Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Oyo State”.

Idil Ires, Turkey is a Joint-PhD candidate in Geography at King’s College London and Political Science at Humboldt University Berlin with a specialisation on agrarian political economy. She is also a PhD fellow at Transdisciplinary Concepts & Methods Research Domain at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Idil is writing on Tanzania’s flagship private sector development initiative Kilimo Kwanza/Southern Agricultural Growth Corridors of Tanzania (SAGCOT) with a focus on staple food production at smallholder irrigation schemes. She is interested in the prospects of sustainable and inclusive development through agricultural investments, partnership and trade in East Africa.

Rachana Kanakagiri, India is a lawyer by qualification and a Master of Public Policy candidate at Hertie School of Governance, Berlin. She currently works for a global initiative towards fostering sustainable cities and facilitating access to finance for climate action projects in urban areas. As a LAMP Fellow, Rachana has previously worked as a policy researcher for a Member of Parliament in New Delhi, India. Rachana is deeply interested in climate politics, democratic reforms and good governance initiatives.

Priyanka Kapar, Nepal works at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nepal. She was a NORHED fellow and holds a Master’s degree in Conflict, Peace and Development Studies from Tribhuvan University. She took social cohesion and inclusion as her thematic topic for her MA thesis and has a keen interest in understanding social functioning. Realizing interlinks of legal studies with her study and work; she is pursuing a post-graduate course in Law. She aspires to work for social justice and would like to channel her academic and professional experience in creating a cohesive and just society, and world at large.

Amine Kharrat, Tunisia is completing a Masters Degree in finance at IHEC Carthage University in Tunis, he has an experience in civil society as a junior analyst where he had the opportunity to work on several axes such as Human Rights, Public Policy and Governance. Amine was chosen among the 90 "G20 Young Global Changers" in 2019 and is an alumnus of the programs "Ecole Politique" and "Young Leaders" of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation as well as the "ASAP" Program of Al Asfari Institute in the American University of Beirut. He partcipated in several international conferences in many countries (Morocco, Lebanon, Germany, Ukraine) dealing with topics such as Climate Change, youth civic engagement and sustainable development.

Rika Mitsuhashi, Japan currently works at WFP in Burundi as an Asset Creation and Livelihood Programme Officer. She is also co-founder of Sustainability Asia, food loss management organization to work with small-scale coffee farmers who are the poorest of the poor in the global coffee industry. The organization challenges to use the skin of the coffee cherry to have additional income for small-scale coffee farmers. She holds MA in Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development from UN mandated, University for Peace in Costa Rica and MA in Global Politics from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.

Daniela Muhaj, Albania Daniela is a Research Fellow at the Center for International Development's Growth Lab at Harvard University. Previously, she worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. conducting analytical work and research on labor markets, economic polarization, and structural reforms. She has also investigated the macroeconomic effects of the 2008 financial crisis with the Central Bank of Slovenia, and worked as a market research consultant at the Center for Innovation & Growth (Cleveland, Ohio). In 2013, she received an ASIANetwork Freeman Foundation fellowship to conduct field research on the socio-economic effects of urban relocation and demolition in China. Daniela holds a dual degree in Mathematical Economics and International Relations from Baldwin Wallace University, and a Master’s in International Economics and Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Noah Mirembe Gabigogo, Uganda is an African transman and ecofeminist with considerable knowledge on human rights, gender and sexuality. He is a co-founder and director at The Taala Foundation, a nonprofit enterprise working to promote wellness for youth on the margins through mental health, education, and healing through justice. He uses his knowledge of the law to push for equality and greater protections for all people, especially the most vulnerable and excluded members in African society including LGBT people. Noah considers himself a story-teller: he has been a contributor on different visual and audio media projects exploring the lived realities of sexual and gender minorities in Uganda.

Illimani Patino Giraldo, Colombia is a Political Scientist focused in International Relations and conflict. As an activist, Illimani has lead different initiatives in Colombia related with peace, economic sovereignty, free education and gender justice. He has also been part of cultural and academic exchanges in Nicaragua, Haiti, Kosovo, South Osetia, Palestine and Turkey. He currently works as a journalist in different alternative media outlets, like Latin American Reports, Open Democracy and The Bogotá Post. He is the codirector of the international branch of the Es De Politólogos network and is part of the Network of Political Innovation of Latin America.

Lalaina Randriarimanana, Madagascar is Co-founder and general coordinator of Liberty 32 where she works towards citizenship empowerment and education. She has been an educator since her early teenager, with over twenty years of involvement now. Graduated in Economics from University of Antananarivo before heading to UK to read peace & development at King’s College London then SOAS. Her professional, academic and voluntary interests are people empowerment, education, youth, human security, leadership, development and peacebuilding.

Anika Shahjabin, Bangladesh is a recent graduate of the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka. As the President of YouthWalk Bangladesh, a non-profit youth organization, she is spearheading a team of 30 managers and volunteers to run different yearly and quarterly educational projects for slum children. Her current endeavor in collaboration with Bangladesh government, promises to reduce child marriage through a digitalized reporting channel. She is the co-founder of Echo Change, an international project which aspires to be the leading youth-led media platform along with it's physical presence worldwide through country chapters in promoting Sustainable Development. She has also been an active panel member of United Nation’s Youth Advisory Panel of Bangladesh. Previously she has worked with Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center as a leadership facilitator and Marketing intern, where she conducted a widely successful project titled “Shopnodana” for the inclusion of refugees and marginalized communities into the mainstream population.

Nabeel Siddiqui, Pakistan, is a civil engineer by profession working on eliminating the global housing problem through better use of technology while minimizing the environmental damage caused by current housing methods. He is the CEO of ModulusTech, an internationally acclaimed startup based in Karachi which he co-founded after witnessing housing shortages faced due to various refugee crises as well as large number of displacements caused in Pakistan. Today the company deals in many verticals of pre-engineered structures and is focused towards energy efficient green buildings and off-grid solutions.

Alice Sparks, United Kingdom, a recent graduate from the University of Manchester, is the Head of Invisible (Manchester). This is a global social enterprise that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their city. The purpose is to give people a voice, when they haven't had one before, putting them at the centre of the attention and challenging the stigmas that exist around homelessness. Her interest in social impact was first ignited whilst on placement as a business consultant to Rwanda's preeminent arts social enterprise in 2017. Her work in social enterprise has since involved talking and attending conferences such as Drivers for Change, World Youth Forum, Social Enterprise World Forum and The National Social Value Conference. In May 2019, she delivered a TEDx talk titled ‘People, Places and Power; Connecting to See Things Differently.’ Her future is committed to pursuing social and creative enterprise as an innovative solution to tackle society’s biggest injustices.

Minerva Valier Camacho, Mexico is a young biotech student and entrepreneur. Co-Founder and CTO of BIOVATEC, a startup committed to the innovation and development of 100% degradable bioplastics made from organic waste such as fruit peels as well as other natural additives. It is expected that this new material will replace synthetic plastic to manufacture disposable single-use products. She is considered a scientific leader in her region and one of the 100 most outstanding young people in the field of biotechnology in Latin America by Allbiotech organization.

Alejandra van der Biest, Venezuela holds a Master in Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance concentrating in Management and Organizations. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Political and Administrative Sciences from the Universidad Central of Venezuela. Her main interest is on health and youth policies, especially Adolescent Pregnancy in developing countries and the gaps in policy implementation. As a YGC, she intends to pursue a career in the international development arena contributing to improving the living conditions of young girls.

Hongyu Wang, China holds a BA in politics, a MA in administration and a PhD in Political Science from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium, together with a PhD in International Relations from Renmin University of China (RUC). Currently, Dr. Wang is an associate professor, MA students’ supervisor and the Executive Director of the Centre for Economic Diplomacy at University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing, China. Dr. Wang holds the Vice Secretary General of Chinese Association of Economic Diplomacy. He also affiliates with the Department of Political Science at VUB as a senior associate researcher. His research fields include Chinese economic diplomacy, European studies, international political economy, and EU-China relations.

Class of 2019

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