With over 6 years of experience in the development sector, Tamara’s journey started with an internship at the NSPCC in Cardiff where she has the opportunity to analyse ambiguities, gaps, and inadequacies in the child protection system of Wales.

On receiving her MSc from Oxford Brookes University, she returned to India where she worked with the Vodafone Foundation on education and digital inclusion programmes as well as spearheaded the 3rd edition of the ‘Women of Pure Wonder’ series that featured stories of inspirational women who were pioneers in their respective fields.

Tamara is currently a Senior Manager for Corporate Partnerships with the K.C Mahindra Education Trust in Mumbai. She works closely with private and public enterprises to facilitate partnerships through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that work towards educating marginalised girls in some of India’s most distressed regions through Project Nanhi Kali.

Luciana Elmais is passionate about solving public issues and building a more inclusive and effective society. She began her career working with education and public leadership development later migrating to politics, working as a parliamentary assistant. Luciana holds a bachelor degree in public management (FGV-EAESP) and has worked on the Lemann Foundation and São Paulo State Legislative Assembly. In 2017 she co-founded Legisla Brasil, where she has been working on professionalizing the Brazilian Legislative Branch.

Associação Legisla Brasil, is a multi-partisan non profit organization whose mission is to professionalize Brazilian politics by building pathways and assisting the personal development of talented professionals in the legislative branch.

My Name is Mohamed Abdirashid Farah and I was born and live in Northern Somalia (Somaliland). I have successfully completed my first degree Faculty of Geology and Water Resource at Gollis International University, Somaliland. And also, I graduated with a Master in Good Governance and Leadership at University of Hargeisa, Somaliland. For the last five years I have been volunteering to my local communities with different aspects especially, youth advocacy and I founded an organization called Horn Youth Leaders Forum, non-profit organization youth-led initiatives of Horn of Africa based in Hargeisa, that advocates the youth related programs. Also, I founded East Africa Job Center, which helps local communities to get a job in an easy way, especially graduated and skilled youth. At this moment I work for the Ministry of Commerce, Industries and Tourism of Somaliland as Director of Archive and International Relations. I am Passionate about working towards a global goals agenda as a global citizen to make the world a better place.

My name is Fatima Faarah and I was born and live in Somalia. I am 25 years old. I have completed my Bachelor Degree in Public Health and Nutrition and then I prepared for my Master Degree in Reproductive and Child Health. I am now working Ministry of Health in the Puntland state of Somalia.

I am a girl who loves to play football and basketball but now I play basketball regularly. I want to be basketball coach and produce a generation that loves playing basketball. My aim is to make progress at this side of sports. Playing basketball is one of my favourite hobbies.

I am 27 years old, from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. I am a lawyer from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) and a term student for the Master’s in Public Policy at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Meatra (PUCMM). From an early age I was interested in understanding social problems and being able to join in being part of the solutions to generate the changes we want as a society. My current role is as General Director of TECHO in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Mboneleli Gqirana In 2020 October I co-founded a social innovation space called iKhaya eLitsha Hub that is based in Site C, Khayelitsha, near Cape Town, South Africa. We recently won a national prize by MTN and got two Site C youth employed by a national company. Our mission is to decrease the rate of youth that are not in employment, education and/or training using social innovation and entrepreneurship. Out of all these, I am most proud of being a brother to two sisters, husband to Siphesihle Gqirana and father to four children (three daughters and one son).

Esma Gumberidze (27 years old from Georgia) is a youth activist. She has been member of such youth initiatives and international formats as the Young European Ambassadors by the EU Neighbours East, CEPPS Global Youth Advisory Group, The Youth Delegation to the OGP Global Summit. In Georgia Esma has been Youth Representative to the United Nations and a member at the consultative Council on the monitoring of UNCRPD Implementation, Protection and Promotion with the Ombudsman’s Office.

Currently Esma is a member of EDYN/The European Democracy Youth Network, a co-founder of the Network of former Youth Delegates to the UN, a member of disability inclusion consultative mechanisms with the Tbilisi Mayor’s office, the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Health. She also chairs disabled women’s organization the Platform for New Opportunities and is a board member at the National Network of Women with disabilities. Esma is a fellow at the Center for Inclusive Policy and advocacy project assistant at NDI.

I work for the Associação Menino Feliz de Paragominas. This project is aimed at children and adolescents in the age group between 08 to 17 years old, in a situation of risk and/or social abandonment.

I am 26 years old and I am currently adviser to the chief financial officer for the project.

Professional growth is one of my goals within the charity, performing the role assigned to me, applying biosafety standards and ensuring the health, integrity and safety of all workers, as well as team growth.

In 2020 I completed my compliance training and the Mini 5S programme with Norsk Hydro.

Heriniaina is the Programmes Executive Officer for YMCA Madagascar. He and his team look after thousands of young people under the mission of ‘Empowering Young People for the African Renaissance’. You can find out more about the wonderful work that YMCA Madagascar does at www.ymcamada.org Herinianina is particularly working on the Youth Justice III project which started last year.

Ehi Idakwo is a mid-career professional that has garnered over 8 years of experience in the development sector. She is an enthusiast of issues related to good governance and democracy. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Master in Conflict and Peace Studies from the University of Jos, Nigeria. She is also the Co-founder of Advance Global South (AGS) which is a social enterprise passionate about supporting young people across Africa in their efforts toward accessing life-changing opportunities. She currently works with Accountability Lab Nigeria as the Programs and Learning Manager where she oversees the coordination of project activities to ensure effective implementation.

Rohit is a freelance creative producer and concert programmer based in Birmingham, UK.

Most of his work centres around grassroots music and emerging artists, championing these artists while helping to foster a collaborative, creative community in Birmingham. Rohit also puts inclusion at the heart of all of his work, striving to foreground underrepresented voices and battle against the structural barriers facing marginalised communities.

My name is Lossie Konneh from Sierra Leone. I was born in a fairly big rural community, Bomaru, where the 11 years of the Sierra Leone civil war started in the Eastern part of Sierra Leone.

I am a social worker with over seven years of work experience in the rural and youth development sector in Sierra Leone. I started my social work services at Restless Development Sierra Leone (RDSL), youth-led development organization. I worked at RDSL for over four years. I started as Volunteer Peer Educator (VPE) in remote rural communities across Sierra Leone; under Youth Sexual Reproductive Health (YSRH) program working with young people. That volunteer opportunity built my ability and motivated me to be passionate about working towards impacting rural communities and empower vulnerable groups (youths, women and children). My passion for empowering vulnerable groups and rural communities inspired me to transform our self-help youth group in the village to a nonprofit youth-led community-based organization, “Young Africans Community Empowerment Initiative, Sierra Leone (YACEI-SL)” in the Eastern region.

Currently I am the Executive Director and Co-Founder of YACEI-SL. I am therefore, seeking more knowledge in leadership that can enhance my efficiency and effectiveness in my new role for the best management practices.

Akshita is a Marketing Intern with ChatarPatar in India. She most recently designed and implemented promotion strategies for a Digital Event to support young artists during the pandemic. Gathered a total viewership of 4000 and a 25% uptick in followers.

Outside of work, Akshita takes part in a lot of projects. Recently she represented India as a delegate at the Harvard Conference 2021, organised by HPAIR.

In her spare time she likes to play football.

I am from Uganda, a medical clinical officer, and founder of Beautiful Foundation a community based organization located in Kioga, Kigandalo sub county. I started this work in 2020 after graduating from school. l want to use the knowledge l have to create awareness among girls and women. I am really loving every single bit of journey however much the beginning part is always the hardest but passion for what l do pushes me higher.

I am Laila Abdiwali Musse project coordinator at GIZ Garowe office, Puntland, Somalia. I accomplished my master’s degree in international Cooperation and Humanitarian aid from Kalu institute in Spain and bachelor’s degree in public health from International Health Science University in Kampala, Uganda. Furthermore, I have certificate in leadership and management from University of Washington, department of Global health. I enjoyed using my skills in leadership and Management.

I have extended experience in project management and planning. Worked with International organizations in management. Before I joined GIZ, I worked with ACTED as a project manager and World Vision International organization as a project assistant.

Medi Muyisa, a young man from the Democratic Republic of Congo, born in 1993 in Goma, living in the east of the country, a region confronted with multiple wars and conflicts. From a young age, he began to work at the level of the Children's Parliament of North Kivu to fight against the recruitment of children into armed groups. He is now Assistant Director of the organization The Congo Tree, which coaches young people in leadership, conflict and peace resolution and entrepreneurship. The vision of his organization is to Inspire, Equip and Support young people.

I have a degree in Modern Drama Studies and have work with multiple theatre companies and producers who are based locally and nationally. I have worked at The Mill Arts Centre since 2012 where I started in the Operations Team as a Duty Manager. During this time, I moved into the Programming Department where I worked my way up from Programming Assistant to Programme Manager. My key role is to work with the Artistic Director/CEO to create a program that fits with our artistic vision as well as develop current and new audiences.

I strongly believe that arts and culture should be accessible for all. I love working with different artists and partners to think or new and innovative ways of engaging new audiences to inspire creativity and enrich the lives of our communities.

My interests lie in operations and food sustainability. I have a degree in Human Geography and a Masters in the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources. Whilst at University I worked at Sainsburys; this along with my education and experiences I had abroad motivated me to pursue a career in the food industry. I completed the MDS Fresh Produce Graduate Scheme in 2018, MDS allowed me to experience roles in commercial logistics, technical, new product development and environmental sustainability. I realised that if I wanted to make any significant change that I would need to work in operations as this is where you can make a real difference in terms of reducing waste and creating innovation within the supply chain. I have worked at Fyffes for the last two years, I am the Quality Assurance Manager for bananas and pineapples and also the Produce Manager for pineapples. I have been fortunate enough to visit Costa Rica to see how bananas and pineapples are grown, harvested and distributed. Let’s Talk Leadership will enable me to continue my development as a young leader in the Fresh Produce Industry.

I am a social worker with four years of work experience in the development sector. Mental Health is my primary area of interest and I draw from my expertise and skills in this discipline and try to apply it to my current line of work. I would describe myself as someone who is highly adaptable and this motivates me to take on unfamiliar roles. In my work, I seek out new challenges and opportunities to expand my knowledge base.

I work for the Naandi Foundation as part of the Nanhi Kali Donor Servicing Team.

Ishika is a 20 year old hardworking girl who strongly goes by the saying, "Life is what you make of it. If you dream it, you can definitely do it." An MBA aspirant, she loves to keep herself updated with current affairs and can be found brainstorming on new ideas for Femiliarize (an initiative co-founded by her to create a positive community for the personal development of women) during her free time. She is pursuing BCom Honours and is a certified digital marketer who never shies away from experimenting be it in the form of content or strategies and takes pride in the successful as well as unsuccessful outcomes(after all, trying is all it takes!). She has a strong opinion on most of the subjects and isn't afraid to put that forward.

Najeebullah has an award-winning business administration degree and over twelve years of experience in development and humanitarian contexts. Najeeb is passionate about learning, and dedicated to helping others achieve their academic and career goals. He is the Education Cluster Coordinator, has been working for Save the Children in Afghanistan by collaborating closely with the education stakeholders to provide effective, timely and strategic collective response to the educational needs of vulnerable and at-risk children in the country.

Aislynn is a Program Manager at Cooperation Canada, working to support Canadian organizations to create a more fair, sustainable world for all. She is a champion of gender equality with a passion for working to make systems and structures more inclusive and effective. Aislynn holds a masters degree in Development Management from the London School of Economics. Prior to taking her role as Program Manager, Aislynn coordinated the Humanitarian Response Network, and worked at WUSC on the international volunteer cooperation program Uniterra.

Coming from the island of Hoy, Orkney, I am passionate about the power of community, especially in rural communities like mine. As part of Island of Hoy Development Trust, I sought to reclaim buildings on the island for community use. Together, as an island, we reimagined a venue to tackle unemployment and isolation, through the creation of a new kitchen facility and digital hub.

A playwright to trade, I want to louden the conversation on equality and diversity in rural communities.

I grew up in rural (Northern) Uttar Pradesh under the care of a strict and loving mother who raised me and my younger sister single-handedly. Her untimely and tragic demise when I was 17 years of age changed my world. I moved to Varanasi with my younger sister to support the two of us and worked as a Lead News Anchor at a local news channel in Varanasi for three years. A chance encounter led to my appointment with Naandi as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Retail Coach.

My biggest reason for loving this job is that I was able to transform underserved undereducated youth in a time period of 90 days and get them a job. I relocated to Hyderabad and worked for Nanhi Kali Graduate School (NKGS) as a Community Coordinator. Naandi recognized my work in both these projects and that led to me being promoted as Learning & Development Mentor in the newly constituted L&D Department.

Gabriela works in the administration and financial departments of the Projeto Menino Feliz, as well as in the management team, leading a team, developing and generating projects, seeking partnerships, and organising events in the local communities

Atuando na parte administrativa e financeira fazendo parte da Direção e Coordenação da Instituição, como também na gestão liderando equipe, elaborando e gerando projetos, buscando parcerias e melhorias para a organização, organizando ações sociais.Item description

I am a social worker with over four years of work experience in the development sector in India. I am passionate about working towards bringing an impact on society by taking up issues in the areas of education, health and other relevant areas. My inquisitive nature and proactiveness makes me a lifelong learner. It reinforces unique deliverables, which is not limited to work alone, but across life actions.

Currently I am working with Naandi Foundation as a part of the Mahindra Pride Classroom Team.

Ffion grew up in mid Wales and started volunteering with a local charity, Dolen Ffermio (Farming Link) in her teens, which ignited a passion for sustainable food systems. Since graduating in 2015, Ffion has worked in advocacy communications, supporting various projects at Welsh, European and international levels – from fair trade to global health and civic space. For the last couple of years, Ffion has worked in Brussels, splitting her time between the capital and her family's farm. Ffion brings a global perspective to her work on rural affairs and is interested in how to bring a more interdisciplinary approach to rural policymaking. Ffion sits on the Steering Committee of the Rural Youth Project, ran the first of its kind Young Farmers and Fairtrade Project in 2019 and recently completed a research project exploring the needs and aspirations of young people in rural Wales, with the support of the Henry Plumb Foundation.

Ruchika has been working in the development sector in India for over 4 years. She is currently working as a Manager for Corporate Partnerships with the K.C. Mahindra Education Trust, on a project called Nanhi Kali. The project works on providing access to quality digital education to underprivileged girls in underserved regions in India. Ruchika plays an active role in donor acquisition, management and retention. In her work, she enjoys tackling challenges and finds innovative ways to come up with solutions.

Getting the opportunity to study in the USA and UK, Ruchika interacted with individuals from different socio-economic backgrounds and cultures early on in her life. With a keen interest to understand how education shapes the lives of people in communities, she pursued a bachelors degree in Political Science from Delhi University and did her Master’s in Public Policy from King’s College London. Ruchika has a diploma in Indian classical music. She loves to sing and play instruments like Piano and Tabla.

Inés Yábar is a sustainability activist. She is currently the Global Youth Power Manager for Restless Development helping young people from any background achieve a more just and sustainable world and also sits on the agency leadership team. She has recently joined the UN Foundation as Lead Next Generation Fellow. Inés sits on the board of L.O.O.P., a grassroots women led Peruvian social impact company conserving the marine ecosystem and is a board member of Ensemble pour TECHO, an organisation seeking to overcome poverty in Latin America (which she founded). Her previous experiences include working in organisations in France, Lebanon and Japan always working towards the 2030 agenda. Inés is also a Global Shaper (Lima Hub), a Plastic Action Champion and sits on the Global Plastic Action Partnership Advisory committee. Through her journey combines her research, volunteering and job to continue learning, sharing and acting towards a more sustainable future.

I currently work as an EOC Non-clinical Educator at South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, where I design and deliver training programs, quality assurance processes, and improvement initiatives for the EOC staff and stakeholders.

In addition to my role at SCAS, I also contribute as a bank emergency dispatch assistant at Thames Valley Air Ambulance, where I support the coordination and communication of the critical care team and the helicopter crew. I am passionate about leadership and management, I have completed an ILM Level 5 Certificate in Leadership and Management with ICS Learn, following my completion of the Mary Seacole program at the NHS Leadership Academy.

Now working within the Education and Development department, I am looking to complete CIPD Associate Diploma in Organisational Learning and Development, as well as Level 3 Award in Education and Training. My academic background in Marine Biology from Southampton University reflects my diverse interests and curiosity.

I balance my dynamic career with a love for travel, food, city breaks, movies and gaming.