Scholars

Agha-Nwi Fru is a communication and program management professional currently serving as Communications Expert for the United Nations Populations Fund in the conflict stricken North West and South West Regions of Cameroon. She is a founder of the non-profit organization Association Sembe which highlights community stories from Cameroon’s conflict stricken regions, especially the Boko Haram crisis in the Far North Region of the country. Prior to this, she worked as a Database and Reporting Officer on a USAID-funded program implemented by Creative Associates International to support stabilization efforts in remote communities along the Cameroon-Nigeria border which were destabilized by the Boko Haram insurgency. Before, Agha-Nwi worked on another USAID-funded program dubbed the Cameroon Peace Promotion Program implemented by Equal Access International in the North and Far North Regions of Cameroon. Here, she was the lead Producer on a team that produced radio broadcasts about peace and social cohesion. Before working on peace building projects, Agha-Nwi worked as a journalist for seven years. She holds a Master’s degree in Project Management from the Social Change School in Madrid, Spain, and another Master’s degree in Organizational Communication from the University of Douala, Cameroon. Agha-Nwi enjoys engaging in peace and resilience building activities at the root level and is highly passionate about women and youth empowerment. Her goal is to help people, especially vulnerable groups like women and youth in conflict-stricken communities, to tell the stories that are important to them, and she hopes to achieve this through the Sembe project. She currently resides in Buea, Cameroon and loves to share a good laugh with her entourage.

Brayan Torres has six years of experience in the non-profit sector and has earned a Bachelor of Social Work from the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua. Throughout the years, Brayan has inspired more than 600 volunteers from diverse backgrounds to become global leaders and change-makers in Latin America and the Caribbean. Brayan worked with a service-learning and youth leadership development program in the Dominican Republic, supporting community-based projects in order to improve the sanitation and public health of local rural communities. Previously, as a School Counselor, Brayan worked with Costa Rican youth in Monteverde by providing training and workshops about soft skills, leadership, and career advice. In addition, he was awarded a scholarship funded by the Senate of Hamburg, Germany to represent his hometown Leon, where he learned about youth mobility, cultural exchange, and conflict management. Currently, Brayan is based in Managua, Nicaragua, building technical skills in the outsourcing industry.

Feda’a Sobeh has six years of experience in the non-profit sector and is a PhD student in Curriculum and Teaching Methodology in English at the Institute of Arab Research and Studies, Egypt. She works as a program manager at Al Aqsa Sports Club Association. She is also a member of the National Team on Developing and Adapting Entrepreneurship Curricula in Palestine. She is an Entrepreneurship Trainer and a Business Plan Development Trainer. In addition, Feda’a was a judge at the graduation ceremony of Hult Prize at Al Quds Open University- Gaza. Feda’a is passionate about women’s rights, child protection and community protection and has been part of many projects that promote women and youth capacity building, leadership, non-violence and quality education. She is also a member of a community protection committee. Feda’a believes that her work background allows her to appreciate new perspectives and national differences. She believes in the power of community and the role of women and youth in bringing about positive change.

Fenohaja Ravoniarison has one year of experience in the nonprofit sector. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting Sciences from the National Institute of Accounting Sciences and Business Administration in Madagascar, as well as a Master’s degree in Accounting, Control, and Audit from the University of Poitiers in France. With her three years of experience as a Consultant, she is currently responsible for the supervision and coordination of the accounting team and ensures proper accounting records for a mining company based in Madagascar. Previously, she interned for a retirement fund and health organization, where she worked in the accounting department to handle membership fees, registration, and follow-up of cash flow and sales transactions. Fenohaja volunteered in a Biodiversity Tool Kit Project to collect and constitute endemic fauna and flora database in Madagascar. Through this experience, she developed her data treatment abilities and improved her relational and analytical skills on how to prevent and halt the loss of biodiversity. Fenohaja works actively on education, women’s entrepreneurship promotion, and is passionate about environment conservation.

Harimino Rakotondrainibe has three years of experience in the non-profit sector and earned a Master’s in Telecommunication from the Polytechnic School of Antananarivo. She works as an IT Manager for the Malagasy National Research and Education Network, where she provides technical support for research institutions and universities in the country to foster development with the use of ICT. Harimino also volunteers as part of the Internet Society’s local chapter to improve the state of the Internet in Madagascar and raise awareness of its use and the benefits. Through these experiences, she developed strong project coordination, leadership skills, and community empowerment, especially with youth. Harimino has a keen interest in youth empowerment and education, and she aimed to engage more youth in critical areas, such as Internet governance, in her country.

Ishtiaq Hussain has four years of experience in the non-profit sector, government, and private sector. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering from Gomal University. He has diverse work experience as an Executive Director in sustainable development, ICT and innovation for development strategic partnerships. Ishtiaq’s skills relate to advocacy, strategic communications, capacity building, project management, and innovation for sustainable development. In 2018, Ishtiaq founded an information technology consultancy firm, the Social Entrepreneurial Consultants, which aims to increase civic engagement, encouraging young people, and creating and providing innovative solutions in the public domain. Previously, Ishtiaq worked as an IT & Communication officer at Aizan Development Foundation under the German embassy’s project Youth Development Programme. He also worked with the National Information Technology Board as well as with the National Telecommunication Corporation under the Prime Minister Internship Program. The Pyeongchang Memorial Foundation awarded Ishtiaq with the Youth SDGs Action Prize in 2021. He was a report writing finalists of the Earth Institute at Columbia University on ‘Education for Sustainable Development Report’ in 2018, and was the winner of the National SDGs Hackathon by the National Ignite Funds August in 2017. He represented Pakistan in many national and international platforms and is a member of the National Youth Parliament by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency.

Lombe Tembo is a Zambian economist and development practitioner with seven years of experience in youth development work. She has a Master’s Degree in Development Studies, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Zambia and the University of Lusaka respectively. Lombe currently manages projects for Restless Development, a youth-led development agency that supports young people to become leaders. She previously managed projects for Circus Zambia, a social enterprise that engages young people from vulnerable backgrounds to bring about social change through performance arts. She had previous engagements with the prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders program where she was involved in the selection of young leaders and youth-led organizations that have a positive impact on their communities and ensure that they received recognition and support on a global level. Lombe has advocated for the youth engagement in the developing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting of the Sustainable Development Goals. This engagement is as a part of the youth governance and accountability task team, an initiative spearheaded by Restless Development, Action Aid, the British Youth Council, and Plan International. Lombe is very passionate about international development, particularly within the areas of youth and women empowerment.

Lorna Kanyuga is a skilled development professional with five years of experience in the social sector. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi. Currently, she is the Kenya Philanthropies Lead at Microsoft, where she coordinates digital training initiatives and entrepreneurship and employability programs. During her time at Yusudi Limited, she led the development, testing and launch of Jijali, an online learning program that uses blended learning techniques to provide personalized entrepreneurship and career training to over 1,400 young people. Previously, she was Life Skills Trainer at the same company, where she developed and delivered career preparation training to over 200 unemployed college graduates and young professionals. Prior to that, she managed the Social Projects Department at the AIESEC office in Kenya, where she led the development and implementation of strategies to grow the international volunteer program. Through these experiences, she has gained skills in project/program management, training, and youth development. In her spare time, Lorna volunteers at schools in informal settlements in Nairobi, where she supports schools in providing life skills training to students and fundraises for learning materials. She is passionate about skills development for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, youth development and the use of technology in education.