Patrick Anyama Godi, South Sudan and Uganda

Patrick Godi is a youth, peace and security researcher and practitioner. He is currently the youth representative at the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) – a multi-political and stakeholder’s constitutional mechanism, overseeing the implementation of South Sudan’s 2018 peace accord. In 2022, Godi founded the Forum for Dialogue and Democracy – a youth, pro-democratic initiative anchored on policy dialogue to further peace, good governance and development in the country. Previously, he was a movement leader at #Anataban where he led convening, strategy, campaigns and advocacy.

Godi has participated in national peace processes, policy discourse including shaping legal frameworks and authored research on youth and peacebuilding in South Sudan. His latest publications include, "Youth Enterprise Development Fund," "Understanding the causes of Youth Unrest," and "Documentation of the role and contributions of South Sudanese youth in the signing of the 2018 peace agreement."

Muborak Muqimi, Tajikistan

Muborak Muqimi is a dedicated trainer and advocate for women's empowerment, volunteerism, leadership and peacebuilding. With a passion for enabling women to realize their full potential, Muqimi has been teaching classes on girls' education, women's equality and human rights for the past eight years. Her focus is on empowering women to take on leadership roles and contributing to economic growth.

Muqimi's tireless efforts have not gone unnoticed. The Ministry of Education in Tajikistan recognized her contributions to girls' education by honoring her with the Women Human Rights Defender Award. This is a testament to Muqimi's commitment to improving the lives of women in Tajikistan and beyond. As she continues to pursue her passion for women's empowerment, Muqimi is also working towards earning a doctorate in economic science.

Mehwish Niaz, Pakistan

Mehwish Niaz is a communication expert, civic educator, community advocate and development sector practitioner in Pakistan. In addition to earning her masters in communications, Niaz works on peace education and youth participation in civic sphere. In 2008, Niaz initiated the Laureate Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports youth to enhance their acumen through peace building practices and civic education cohorts. She supports vulnerable youth affected during times of disaster, terrorism, and ethnic conflict through dialogue and non-violent communication strategies. Mehwish also works as an independent consultant, lead trainer, and program management specialist focusing on issues related to youth, governance, accountability, and education. She has enormous experience with grassroots campaigning, high-level lobbying, and policy-advocacy on the issues of youth/civic rights and citizen’s participation in Pakistan.

Sergio Gómez López, Venezuela

Trainer of trainer's, Sergio Gómez López is the coordinator of the Young Peacebuilders Network of AC Oportunidad Acciones Ciudadanas with a bachelor's degree in hospitality management and is a teacher at the Simón Bolívar University. López has experience and training in planning and development of training programs, replication of knowledge and facilitation of experiential learning processes, as well as planning and development of marketing management strategies for service companies. Since he was 14 years old, López has actively participated in volunteering, social projects for the development of the common good, as well as in international exchanges. He was a youth leader in youth faith groups of the Catholic church for more than 10 years where he coordinating youth and social activities.

López graduated from the Strengthening of the Public Function of the Botin Foundation program, and is a hard-working, proactive and inspiring young man who is passionate about actions for Peacebuilding.

Kassem Mnejja, Tunisia

Kassem Mnejja is a Tunisian activist and peacebuilder who believes in the power of peaceful movements to effect change. He works at the intersection of technology and human rights to support and protect the rights of users at risk and communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Mnejja has been involved in different civil society initiatives, primarily focused on peacebuilding, civic and voter education. His areas of expertise include debating – he was a debater and trainer with various initiatives – as well as campaigning, advocacy, relationship building and conflict resolution. Mnejja participated in USIP’s Generation Change Exchange with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He holds a master’s degree in English literature and enjoys traveling and reading books.

Nazmus Sadat, Bangladesh

Nazmus Sadat is a social entrepreneur and activist with a passion for solving multidisciplinary problems and leading initiatives towards profitability through sustainability, digitalization and circular economy practices. He has been recognized globally for his leadership in social entrepreneurship, sustainability and peacebuilding. Sadat is an internationally certified sustainability professional, circular economy specialist with expertise in climate strategy, sustainability measurement, reporting and climate investing. He has extensive experience in team leadership and global affairs management, having co-founded and led several organizations in his university days and after. Sadat has also been affiliated with numerous local and international organizations in the areas of mental health, peace and conflict, environment and sustainability, and entrepreneurship development. One of his initiatives was "DearBUBU"(2017-2021), a mental health platform for educating and helping youth in psycho-social crises. He has also worked on several projects related to waste management, including e-waste and solid waste management. Sadat was the first Chief Growth Officer at NITEX, a Singapore-based fashion-tech startup focused on sustainability, where he was responsible for global affairs. His skills and expertise have been honed through certifications from esteemed institutions such as Harvard Business School, Wharton School of Business, LinkedIn Learning, PwC, Northwestern University, Darden School of Business, ASEF and Arizona State University.

Samantha Nicolle Mendoza Gonzalez, Honduras

Samantha Nicolle Mendoza Gonzalez is Honduran. Mendoza Gonzalez is considered a visionary, active and purposeful person to generate transformation in their community and contributes to the strengthening of democracy in their country. Mendoza Gonzalez is currently a law school student at the National Autonomous University of Honduras in the Sula Valley. Mendoza Gonzalez has been a human rights activist since 2020. They are a consultant on human rights and youth leadership for the presentation of cases before the IACHR, for the Center for Studies for Democracy (CESPAD), the Reflection Team and Research and Communication of the Society of Jesus in Honduras (ERIC-SJ) where they graduated from the Central American School of Political and Citizen Education.
 
Mendoza Gonzalez is the former president and an active member of the Student Association Scholars and Borrowers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras in the Sula Valley (ASEBEP UNAH-VS). Mendoza Gonzalez is a volunteer assistant for Honduran Red Cross Youth in Puerto Cortés, Red Honduran by Escazú, Youth Platform of the Alliance for Peace and Justice, and other organizations that work for human rights and the construction of peace. Mendoza Gonzalez is also the national director of Honduras before the International Organization Latin American Youth Without Borders.

Albidri Albi, Philippines

Albidri Albi is a proud Bangsa (tribe) Sama from the Philippines and a peacebuilder and human rights advocate. He is the founder of Mantabuan Youth Initiatives-Suara Kauman (MYI-SK) youth organization. 

He started his journey in peacebuilding, youth empowerment and human rights in 2018 when joined the College Education Assistance Program of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process and became the first president of the program. As part of that, he become active in representing his community and province and participated in various training and seminar workshops related to his field advocacy. In 2019, he was one of the finalists of AngatBuhay Youth Peace Advocate Summit and the first to represent Sama tribe in Bangsamoro TRI-People Peace Summit in 2021. Albi was part of the formulation and consultation phase of the youth, peace and security plan in the Philippines from the beginning, and remained involved at the provincial and regional levels until he become one of the first Filipino youth core writers of the National Action Plan on Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS). He is now part of the Philippine YPS Coalition team.

Albi was a student leader and a consistent academic scholar and academic excellence awardee. When he graduated, he was awarded the Gawad Chancellor Service Award and finished college with Latin Honors in 2022 at the Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU-TCTO). He joined the government at the same university and was designated at the Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM). Albi currently works at the Office of International Linkages at MSU-TCTO. In early 2019, he founded MYI-Suara Kauman a community-based youth organization that upholds initiatives to develop values, unity, peace, youth empowerment and extension services for the community.

Kibwana Gasinya, Kenya and Somalia

Kibwana Ali is a peace builder from Kenya with a passion for international peace building and social change. He dwells in discovering and nurturing the potential of young people that surround him. However, he has also seen how young people are least likely to participate in community activities and decision-making processes. This means that there is a growing lack of empowerment among young people in his community. How can we remind the youth that they are the future, and that their participation is essential for the community’s growth and future well-being?

Ali has organized youth-lead peace deliberations to address major challenges in his community. These deliberations have engaged young people, gathering their inputs and ideas on how to increase participation and representation. He is one of the founding members and a program officer at Royal Beauties CBO where their thematic areas are peace, livelihood and sexual reproductive health rights. Royal Beauties is part of the Mombasa County Action Plan on preventing and countering violence extremism. He is also a trainer and a mentor on digital skills at ANIKA Community Hub, Safe Space, where he provides young people a viable platform for digital literacy and skill development.

Paul Abutu, Nigeria

Paul Abutu is a peacebuilder with over a decade of experience working with development societies. He is passionate about leadership, innovative peacebuilding, storytelling, conflict management, and reducing sexual- and gender-based violence. Abutu currently supports different organizations around strategic program design and effective communications. Recently, he worked with the Incident Center for Election Atrocities (ICEA) in harmonizing and coordinating evidence collection, preservation and advocacy on violence connected with elections in Nigeria.

He was also strategic in facilitating a synergy amongst the USIP Fellows and Country Team in working for peaceful elections during the 2023 Nigerian general elections. Abutu uses his skills to engage young people on leveraging digital media and content development for peacebuilding and conflict management. Abutu participated in USIP’s Generation Change Fellows Program in 2016 and served as a USIP Youth Advisory Council member from 2020-2021.

Ephrem Bekele, Ethiopia

Ephrem Bekele is a social entrepreneur, co-founder, mental health in peace-building expert, youth engagement advocate and co-author. He has over ten years of experience in social enterprises and non-profit sectors. He has worked in-person and remotely with several international and local organizations in Ethiopia, Kenya, and in the U.S. He uses social circus, community-based trauma healing, and art-for-healing programs that also accommodate child and youth-friendly spaces to enable youth to acquire the healing power of art, discover sustainable and inner peace, and create green jobs. 

Bekele is a winner of the “Top 30 WHO Health Innovator Challenge” in Cape Verde. In 2019, he became “One Young World Ambassador” in London, UK. He participated in Dalai Lama’s re-imagining and ethical leadership program at the University of Virginia in June 2019. He attended the Atlas Corps fellows program serving at Making Cents International as a youth wngagement officer for the YouthLead (www.youthlead.org) program in Washington, D.C. He also co-founded a community bicycle project called Egre Menged Impact to implement SDGs by advocating for sustainable and environmentally friendly cities by promoting non-motorized transportation, peace, green jobs and gender equality on the streets.

Jonathan Hernández, El Salvador

Jonathan Hernández is a young peacebuilder, environmentalist, human rights defender, engineering student and founder of Jóvenes Resilientes por El Salvador (ResilientES), an organization that works to promote gender equality, youth participation in Salvadoran politics, and education projects. He has seven years of experience working with young people, communities in poverty situation and in ecosystem restoration projects. He has played the role of advisor in the Youth Council of the U.S, Embassy in El Salvador and he has worked as volunteering coordinator and coordinator of projects financed by international coperations. In addition, he has diplomas in government and public policy, human rights, Afrofeminism and climate change.

Sebastián Arévalo Sánchez, Colombia

Sebastian is a politics and international relations professional and a master's student in social responsibility and sustainability interested in modern slavery, peacebuilding, and technological and social innovation. He has experience in the third sector in crime prevention, human rights, dialogue, peace and justice, resource management, development of innovation projects, and strategic relationships with interest groups from various sectors. Sebastian is co-founder and director of the Pasos Libres Foundation, youth country liaison of the United States Institute for Peace, and regional representative of the Traffic Analysis Hub and One Young World Ambassador. 

He was recognized as one of the "100 Latin Americans who inspire and create a better future" by Avianca Magazine in 2019.

Dayana Blanco, Bolivia

Dayana Blanco Quiroga (she/her) is an Indigenous Aymara advocate of women’s rights, Indigenous rights, and environmental justice. She is the founder and main coordinator of the Warmi Shining and Uru Uru projects. The Warmi Shining and Uru Uru projects are part of the NGO Fundación Pueblos de Montaña’s effort to build the capacity of Indigenous girls impacted by climate change and gender-based violence. Girls are empowered through English classes, leadership workshops and activities that make them more knowledgeable of social justice issues and the ways to tackle them. Warmi Shining teaches Indigenous girls leadership skills that help them overcome obstacles in their personal, academic and professional lives. Uru Uru creates awareness of environmental justice issues and empowers Indigenous girls to advocate for their rights. Uru Uru generates spaces that encourage debates aimed at finding solutions to climate change issues affecting Indigenous communities.

By seeking environmental justice and an end to violence against Indigenous women, Blanco Quiroga hopes to bring peace and security to Indigenous communities in Bolivia. Blanco Quiroga has a bachelor’s degree in International Trade from the Technical University of Oruro, an indigenous university in Caracollo. She has participated in the first edition of Young Peace Builders of The United Nations Alliance of Civilization.