The inaugual Youth, Peace, and Security Leadership Program took place from June to November of 2019, beginning with two weeks of intensive workshops in New York City and continuing with participants working on projects that address pressing social issues in their respective countries. Learn more about the 2019 NYC cohort here.
Dayana Mansour – Lebanon
Project: Together, We Achieve
Dayana Mansour is an aspiring psychologist born and raised in Lebanon. She has always been intrigued by behavior, mental health, and the human mind. After obtaining her undergraduate degree from the Lebanese American University, she began working with various non-governmental organizations. Dayana’s drive stems from her purpose to aid refugees’ assimilation in Lebanon by focusing on their psychological wellbeing and access to education as well as to improve youth leadership skills.
Highlight from Program: “One of the best things about the program was meeting and engaging with such diversity, because it was a powerful opportunity to learn from many different people whom she would not have encountered. I had a picture of what this program would look like, but I never imagined it would be that meaningful...I didn’t know it would be that influential in every aspect. Whether it’s the personal aspect, or the community aspect, or - everything.”
Advice to emerging young leaders: “Don’t follow the crowd. Most of the time, the crowd is wrong and they should follow what they feel is right and they should start with smart steps and eventually they will build a community that is different.”
Maria del Pilar Aristizabal Pineda – Colombia
Project: Life Academy Colombia
Maria is passionate about youth and the prevention of suicide among young people between the ages of 15 and 17. She is examining the underlying causes that lead to young people’s negative thinking and is designing (with participatory approaches) to change that trend.
Highlight from Program: “When I first heard about Columbia it seemed like unachievable and being here, I believe it is the highest level of education that I can receive. Everything I learned shattered the ways I thought and I received so many new lessons and ideas. I want to immediately work to make a big impact on the whole structure. My fellow participants showed me things that happened with them also happened in my life, also happened with my people, also happened in my reality. We are not alone in the world.”
Advice to emerging young leaders: “Please believe in yourself no matter what your age. You are correct in your thoughts and feelings and desires no matter what your age. You need to take the voices of doubt around you out of your head. Follow your passion, educate yourself, go to your community youth movement spaces and your universities, and get engaged with all the movements and organizations that can support you. Do it and believe that you can.”
Erika Isabel Yague – The Philippines
Project: Connecting for Change
Erika is a young female leader who is passionate about peace and human rights and is a strong activist. She continues to work on her advocacies through a rights-based and people-centered approach in programmes and projects at the international, regional and national level through her expertise in youth participation, gender, innovation, and peacebuilding.
Highlight from the Program: “Leadership is a way of life. It is not just something you learn from books or from a two week training, it is something you change within that you practice every day. What also stood out for me from the program were the values I have are shared with other cultures. We have the same values, the same vision. This program is really life changing...it doesn’t talk about leadership the way you’re used to. It betters you through values and perspectives, which is deeper than what we usually see in other trainings.”
Advice to emerging young leaders: “You’re not alone in the things that you want to achieve in life, especially when it comes to doing something good in society. There are many people that are also doing this and that it’s important to connect with these people at a very value-based kind of level.”
Lisa Talib – France
Project: Women Wor(l)ds
Lisa is passionate about gender issues and women's rights. She worked with international organizations (UN Women, OECD) and NGOs (WaterSHED) on these issues. She is currently working as a youth specialist at UNESCO, focusing on youth engagement. She earned a Masters Degree in International Law and Human Rights from the University of Poitiers, France. She is the founder of Women Wor(l)ds, an organization promoting women's empowerment and women's rights in rural areas of the world.
Highlight from Program: “Our meeting with Jayathma, the UN Youth Envoy. It was inspiring for me, she spoke to us on a human level and she was able to give us insight into how it is to have a position at such a high level. It was really an amazing opportunity for me. From all of the programs I have been able to attend, this was for sure the most transformative one. So I really hope that thousands of young leaders around the world would be able and as fortunate to learn as I have to learn at Columbia from amazing people so they can make a bigger and deeper more meaningful impact in their community.”
Advice to emerging young leaders: “Don’t ever let your doubts and your fears be bigger than your dreams and your vision.”
Fatima Touré– Cote d’Ivoire
Project: Reduction of Political Violence
Fatima Touré is an African woman, 26 years old from Côte d'Ivoire. She has a degree in Political Science. She is passionate about african countries’ development. For her YPS project, she chose to work on education because she thinks that education is the key to have a profound impact in her community."
Highlight from Program: “This cohort helped me to have more confidence in myself and in my project.” My project has to do with how to raise awareness among people so that we can create a country of tolerance. So to be a leader, I must try to influence and motivate other young people.” I believes that it’s up to us first and foremost to construct our society instead of just waiting around for what the politicians do because they’re not going to do what is necessary.”
Advice to emerging young leaders: “I would tell them to have confidence in their projects and to have confidence in what they believe in and think. Above all, even if it seems crazy or insensible at first, if you have a project that you strongly believe in and if you strongly believe in your team, you will be able to make others understand the importance of your work.”
Ousia Foli-Bebe – Togo
Project: MoLab, a mobile STEAM laboratory
Ousia A. Foli-Bebe is the founder and executive manager of EcoTecLab Makerspace, where he trains and empowers youth through innovation and tinkering. With his Maker experience, Ousia co-designed and built the MoLab, a mobile STEAM Laboratory (https://www.molab-project.org/). With the MoLab, he has been spreading STEM in Togo, village to village.
Highlight from Program: “I got to know myself more, how I approach my work, my style: it’s important for me because it gives me a better way to work with my team to help them be efficient and to effectively achieve what we are trying to achieve. Bbeing a leader is being a servant of the community and is being there when you are needed and helping others in building capacity, solving community issues, empowering and providing better education to young people. In my country, most young people don’t dream anymore because they don’t believe that they can build a positive change, they don’t believe that they can get involved, even in politics, in a scientific field, being an engineer, or growing up into something that can make them self-sufficient because of the past narrative. But I believe that everybody has something special in them and if we give them the tools and the skills to help them express that, they can bring positive change.”
Advice to emerging young leaders: “A leader has to know and be connected with themselves. They need to know what they’re passionate about. If they don’t have the engagement in what they believe in, they cannot inspire others. We’re all unique so everyone needs to tap into their passion and what they’re interested in in order to achieve greatness.”
Nahom Asrat Ayele – Ethiopia | Germany
Project: Maintaining Peace and Security in Africa
Nahom is a graduate student in Global Political Economy and Development who is interested in topics of regional and international peace and security and development.
Highlight from Program: “Fellow participants were bold enough to share their personal stories which allows you to deeply know a person with whom you might not have developed that proximity and closeness, and sitting down with these people and their private stories, hearing how that helped them aspire to the kind of job they have begun, this was the most inspiring moment of this program.” He also shared that “the self awareness tools and skills in this curriculum have allowed me to reflect and know myself better and to understand why people behave the way they do. There are layers we cannot see, different experiences and upbringings that have shaped and molded the way people are. Knowing and understanding this helps you to get the job done effectively.”
Advice to emerging young leaders: “Real change takes time and can be very incremental but you can’t get discouraged by this. We need to keep working together to fight for change even when it seems like a lot of work or that what we are working for seems difficult to achieve.”
Galya Hovhannisyan - Armenia
Project: Contributing to the reconciliation process among Armenian and Turkish young people through Culture and Art
Galya is currently a MA student specializing in Security and International Stability. She is also a Regional Representative for Europe at the international network of youth-led peacebuilding organisations, United Network of Young Peacebuilders and the Board Chairperson of Youth Initiative Centre based in Armenia. Recently she joined the OSCE-led initiative as a member of the core group of experts on youth, peace and security.
Highlight from Program: “It’s just amazing what I have learned here. I have never reflected how value based these approaches can be. The extensive knowledge I have received from the team of instructors, organizers and colleagues. I have learned every day to reflect on how the system works and how we can contribute and how we can make a change, and this is truly transformative. I have been repeating this word many times, but it is so. This program has changed the way I think and how I act.”
Advice to emerging young leaders: “Be authentic and not afraid of your fears and vulnerabilities, and always learn, always practice and always follow your passion. If you trust yourself, if you don’t follow the stream, and you stay authentic in following your passions, your vulnerabilities can become your biggest strengths later on.”