YOUNG ACTIVISTS SUMMIT

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Peace & Reconciliation

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2023 YOUNG ACTIVISTS SUMMIT

The 2023 Young Activists Summit honoured five young activists at the United Nations in Geneva during a live event with the participation of Prince Albert II of Monaco. The five Laureates received donations to carry out field projects, on the occasion of the 2023 Young Activists Summit.

It was moderated by Trisha Shetty, founder of the NGO SheSays, and Vogue India’s Woman of the Year. It saw the performance of Niki Black, who sang “Imagine” a cappella as a message of peace.

At a time when wars, climate change, biodiversity loss, and human rights violations seem impossible to solve, #YAS23 put the spotlight on young activists who successfully bring about peace, reconciliation, and sustainability. The 2023 Young Activists Summit Laureates shared their solutions to reconcile humans with nature, to build peace whether it be once conflict has broken out, to make peace with a hostile family, or even with oneself (i.e. sustaining good mental health).

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ACTIVISTS

22 YEARS OLD, MYANMAR

Rohingya people’s rights

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27 YEARS OLD, BURKINA FASO

Peacebuilding

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25 YEARS OLD, INDIA

Child marriage prevention

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14 YEARS OLD, COLOMBIA

Environmental protection

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29 YEARS OLD, SUDAN

Climate action for peace

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AWARENESS

  • • The #YAS23 hashtag reached over 19 million people around the world (80M impressions) on social media.
  • • The Young Activists Summit and its Laureates were covered by 65 media outlets, including Voice of America, Euronews, TV5MONDE, ABC, Agencia EFE, ARD, Radio France Internationale RFI, Naver, Tataki, Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), Monaco Tribune, swissinfo.ch, L’Actu, Hindustan Times, etc.
  • • #YAS23 Laureate Maïmouna Ba was invited to take part in the Swiss 19.30 TV news programme (RTS) which is followed by over 300,000 people every day.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

  • • Around 20,000 people registered to take part in the online event, from at least 144 countries, including Afghanistan, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Nepal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, the UAE, Ukraine, the USA, or Vanuatu.
  • • The activists were connected with some key players (Clooney Foundation for Justice, Obama Foundation, Angelina Jolie, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation), paving the way for partnership avenues.
  • • Maïmouna Ba met with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset.
  • • Roshni Perween was invited to become a UNICEF India Regional Ambassador for child marriage prevention.
  • • Sawyeddollah Maung managed to get admitted to New York University, thanks to the recommendations he got from a number of strategic stakeholders following YAS, thus overcoming the many challenges he has faced in accessing education as a stateless person.

SUPPORT TO THE ACTIVISTS

Thanks to support of YAS, the Fondation Sisley d’Ornano, and the Canton of Geneva, the #YAS23 Laureates were able to implement field projects to educate children about climate in Colombia,

support victims of conflict in Burkina Faso, distribute educational content on climate in Arabic among marginalized communities, prevent cases of child marriage in Bihar, India, and foster social cohesion and peaceful coexistence among the Rohingya community in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

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United Nations Office at Geneva

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Graduate Institute

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City of Geneva

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FOUNDATIONS

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Sisley d’Ornano Foundation

Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation

Clinton Global Initiative

Charitable Foundation Pierre & Andrée Haas

African Women’s Development Fund

Fondation Botnar

Fondation pour Genève

Ecolint

Fondation Ousseimi

The Womanity Foundation

Kofi Annan Foundation

Fondation Hirondelle

GCERF Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UNESCO

NGOs & ASSOCIATIONS

Loterie Romande

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International Film Festival & Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH)

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Happy Together

Nationality for all

 

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SAWYEDDOLLAH MAUNG

Rohingya people’s rights

22 YEARS OLD, MYANMAR

Since fleeing Myanmar at the age of 16 to escape persecution of the Rohingya people, Maung has lived in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. He is the founder of the Rohingya Student Network, which aims to ensure Rohingya people’s rights. Maung advocates for better living conditions in the camps, organizes youth workshops to empower his community, and connects Rohingya refugees with international courts, enabling them to pursue justice. Among others, he has been active in the legal action taken against Meta for the role played by the platform in fostering the spread of hate content against the Rohingyas.

Photo : WFP/Hugh Rutherford

MAÏMOUNA BA

Peacebuilding

27 YEARS OLD, BURKINA FASO

Maïmouna is convinced that poverty and lack of access to education foster violent extremism. With her association, she helps displaced women work in farming and local handicraft. She supports them in becoming community leaders. She has allowed over 60 children to go back to school and connects them with a mentor who helps them heal from trauma. Maïmouna lives in Dori, a city located by the border between Burkina Faso and Niger. Part of her family escaped from the Yirgou massacre which killed 210 people in 2019.

ROSHNI PERWEEN

Child marriage prevention

25 YEARS OLD, INDIA

Roshni was forcefully married at the age of 13, survived marital rape, and became a mother at 14. She has saved dozens of girls from forced marriage by organizing groups of child champions, working with local authorities and community leaders, and running awareness campaigns. She managed to make peace with her family following her divorce and to raise awareness of children’s right to live in a world free of violence.

FRANCISCO VERA

Environmental protection

14 YEARS OLD, COLOMBIA

Francisco has fought for environmental protection since he was 9. He wrote a book for children on climate change, built a network of over 1,000 students, contributed to banning tests on animals and single-use plastics, as well as to adopting a moratorium on mining and fracking. Francisco advocates for action-oriented eco-hope to counter eco-anxiety among youth. Threatened with death, he currently lives in Spain.

Nisreen Elsaim

Climate action for peace

29 YEARS OLD, SUDAN

Nisreen is a climate activist who has witnessed climate change and the conflicts it has triggered in her home country, Sudan. As natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce, she advocates for the need to invest in renewable energies, which will help prevent future conflicts. Nisreen is the President of Sudan Youth for Climate Change and serves as the Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. Following the conflict outbreak in April 2023, she had to flee Sudan and resettle in Italy.

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