On 5 October, at the One Young World Summit in Belfast, InterAction Council and One Young World collaborated to host an exploratory meeting into a Global Youth Council to Prevent Existential Threats.
Co-chaired by Bertie Ahern, former Taiosoch of Ireland, and Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia, the meeting gathered 8 exceptional young leaders with diverse expertise spanning the climate crisis, pandemics, conflict, and artificial intelligence.
The event also featured a presentation from Dr Jo Nurse, that outlined a framework for securing our future from existential threats and risks to humanity.
The aim of the session was to establish a Global Youth Council focused on preventing existential threats for humanity that prioritises the voice of generations and communities most challenged and impacted by existential threats.
To read more about the meeting, the Interaction Council, and the Global Youth Council, visit the website here.
Participants:
Barrise Griffin, Bahamas - Founder, Mangrove Strategies
Barrise Griffin is an expert in disaster risk management and development, Barrise’s work focuses on critically examining the social perceptions of risk to create more effective strategies in disaster preparedness and response throughout the Caribbean. Barrise is a Principal Consultant & Founder of Mangrove Strategies, and a Consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank. Her recent work focused on the human impacts of Hurricane Dorian and the Covid-19 Pandemic on Mental Health.
Fatou Senghore, Gambia - Co-Founder, GAMCON
Fatou Senghore is a Cyber Security Professional with over eight years of experience in the tech industry, an MSc. in Cyber Security Engineering from the University of Warwick, and a BSc in Computer Science from the American International University. She is a strong advocate for Women in STEM. She is the co-founder and Vice President of the Gambia Community of Information Security, an association that provides cyber security sensitisation and awareness training to Gambian youths. Amongst other international recognition, Fatou was also awarded the Grace Hopper for Women in Computing Scholarship in September 2020.
Isaac Olufadewa, Nigeria - Founder, SRHIN
Isaac is a medical doctor, researcher, healthcare innovator and a multiple award-winning social entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in advocating for health equity and social justice. His public health advocacy and his over 52 peer-reviewed research works are focused on infectious diseases (such as COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS), sexual health, NCDs and mental health. He is also the Founder/Executive Director of Slum and Rural Health Initiative (SRHIN), an organisation that takes quality healthcare to underserved people in urban slums, IDP/refugee camps and hard-to-reach communities. Dr Isaac is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIRe Modeling Fellow, One Young World Ambassador and was an International Expert on the Lancet COVID-19 Commission Task Force on Humanitarian Relief, Social Protection and Vulnerable Groups.
Kolfinna Tómasdóttir, Iceland - Senior Adviser, The Icelandic Centre for Research - Rannís
Kolfinna holds an MA in International Law and the Settlement of Disputes from the UN Mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica and a diploma in Global Leadership from the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education. Furthermore, she holds a Mag. Jur. and BA in Law from the University of Iceland, along with a diploma in Middle-Eastern Studies. Kolfinna works as a Senior Adviser at the Icelandic Centre for Research.
Lloyd Jose Nunag, Philippines - Global Clinical Trial Manager & Public Health Leader
Lloyd's unwavering commitment to transforming healthcare, driven by his personal experiences, has made him a dynamic leader in the field of global health. A dedicated Nurse, he holds an MSc in Public Health from the prestigious London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as well as an MSc in Management Global Affairs earned as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University. In his current role, Lloyd is on a mission to redefine patient care by ushering in the next era of AI-powered endoscopy, an endeavor that aligns with his notable accomplishment of being the youngest delegate at the United Nations High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage in 2019.
Matai Muon - Co-founder, Tedi Africa
Matai Muon is a multi-award-winning young leader with a demonstrable track record in youth leadership, women's socioeconomic empowerment as well as an ardent advocate for forcibly displaced populations. Through his work at Tedi Africa, a non-profit social venture committed to providing capacity-building programmes to the underprivileged, Matai was able to lead and co-manage three programmes meant for empowering refugee women and youth in areas of entrepreneurship and business incubation between January 2021 - August 2022. Matai currently reads for an MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Oxford.
Noor Azizah, Australia - Co-founder, Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network
Noor, at the age of 8, she and her family resettled in Sydney in 2003, having fled the genocide of Rohingya people in Myanmar's Rakhine state. Noor's early life was marked by homelessness, statelessness, and a sense of hopelessness, but has emerged as a strong voice for Rohingya women. Noor is the co-founder and director of the Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network which is a women-led, Rohingya-led and refugee-led organisation working on Rohingya human rights issues, SGBV, education and translocal solidarity with a focus on women, peace and security. As a refugee delegate at the United Nations in Geneva, Noor has actively advocated for Rohingya women, speaking at The Global Refugee Forum in 2019.
Tanya Afu, Solomon Islands - Policy Support Officer, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network
Tanya is the Secretary for the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, a youth-led organisation campaigning for an Advisory opinion on Climate Change & Human Rights from the International Court of Justice. They also engage in activities that aim to raise awareness and educate youths and young people on environmental issues. Tanya also works as Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Officer for the Solomon Islands Climate Action Network (SICAN). This is a network that brings together CSO’s, NGO’s, INGO’s, Community Based organisations and passionate individuals who are committed to fighting against the impacts of climate change and promoting sustainable and resilient communities in Solomon Islands.