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Youth Advisory Council: Candidates

Candidates for election to WFUNA Youth Advisory Council at 43rd WFUNA Plenary Assembly

Tawakalt Ahmed
UNA-Nigeria (Africa Region)

Tawakalt Ahmed

Tawakalt Ahmed is a member of the UNA-Nigeria youth wing, and serves as a member of the working committee. Her work on the committee is responsible to pilot the affairs of the youth wing of UNA-Nigeria. She is also a member of the project committee where she has been involved in numerous projects based in Nigeria such as United Nations Day, International Day of Charity, and International Youth Dayon a mission to help the United Nations achieve the SDGs. Tawakalt is the Female President of the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta Students Union, and an entrepreneur, demonstrating her proficiency and innovation in the business world. Her journey as an emerging entrepreneur has been marked by her role as the Creative Director at Dexclusive Fashion Mart, where her ideas have contributed to the success of the enterprise. Tawakalt’s dedication to community betterment has also been demonstrated through her status as a Fellow of the Emerging Social Sector Leaders where she is able to create positive societal impact.
Vicky Araba
UNA-South Sudan (Africa Region)

Vicky Araba

Vicky Araba is a Youth Advocate who has been engaged with the activities of UNFPA South Sudan. She is the program coordinator of UNYSS where she exercises the responsibilities of planning and documenting all youth activities. In her free time, she is a researcher and has been involved in projects related to sexual and reproductive health, unemployment, and peace and security, among other topics.
Samuel Fekade
UNA-Ethiopia (Africa Region)

Samuel Fekade

Samuel Fekade is an Intrapreneur striving to bring a positive impact in the community. He has worked in different organizations to enhance youth and people civic engagement, participation in SDGs, and to increase people participation in problem solving and development of Africa and to strengthen people’s engagement in resilience and capacity building in Africa. Samuel is Founder and Director of UNA-Ethiopia and is dedicated to enhancing engagement and awareness of foreign development policies through advocating for peace, democracy, and development objectives, as well as to strengthen Ethiopia’s partnership with the United Nations and foster youth participation in UN initiatives. He also served as the National Coordinator for United Nations International Trade Center, working on building resilient sector competitiveness by fast tracking the digital technology sector that helps business Associations, government ministries, MSMEs in the digital technologies and different sectors. Samuel has served and is serving as Youth Advisor for various organizations and Initiatives including EU-Ethiopia. Samuel is also leading the Eastern African Youth Delegates Project which aims to increase representation of the youth of the Global south at the UN.
Abakar Mahamat Nour
UNA-Chad (Africa Region)

Abakar Mahamat Nour

Abakar Mahamat Nour is an active member of UNA-Chad. He enjoys being involved in the organization’s activities and taking part in the execution of projects. Abakar took part in the green skills project, related to International Youth Day, which focused on the principles of UNA-Chad and the objectives of the United Nations. Additionally, Abakar was involved in the Big Price of Peace project which aimed to bring peace and stability to the Chadian community through which community members were able to suggest sustainable solutions to existing conflicts. Abakar holds a degree in Political Science and has authored four books. He states his objectives are to fight against inter-community conflicts and to fight against poverty in Chad. Abakar also believes education is a passport to the future, and states that equal access and opportunity for education should be at the heart of societies.
Santiago Mendizabal
UNA-Ecuador (Americas Region)

Santiago Mendizabal

Santiago Mendizabal is an affiliated member of UNA-Ecuador and is a staff assistant where his role is to help the organization of international events. Santiago has been involved in the Big Surv international conference where he assisted the arrangement of the event and participated in the conferences about big data and survey methodology. Santiago states he is proactive, empathetic and dedicated to achieving his goals; and does so with a high degree of responsibility tied with the incorporation of his background in International Relations and Political Science.
Tatiana Scantlebury
UNA-USA (Americas Region)

Tatiana Scantlebury

Tatiana Scantlebury is a human rights advocate passionate about international criminal and human rights law. She currently serves as the UNA-USA Bronx Chapter President and Global Goals Ambassador for SDG16 and ex-officio board member on the Southern New York Division. She is a member of the 2022-2024 UNA-USA National Council Member (Mid-Atlantic Region) and serves as Co-Chair to the WFUNA committee and Vice Chair to the Leadership Development Committee. Tatiana has served as a panelist in various speaking engagements concerning peace and justice. She participated as an ICERD committee member and supported the development of the U.S. Periodic Report under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.Tatiana currently dedicates her days to immigration legal services by providing free lawyers to refugee and immigrant children in the New York City area who face deportation.
Giras Bowo
UNA-Indonesia (Asia Region)

Giras Bowo

Giras Bowo is the founder and current president of UNA-Indonesia. Through this role, he serves as the public persona by providing representation and maintaining relations with external parties. Giras has experience in establishing and maintaining relations with other UNA’s, particularly in the process of establishing and growing UNA-Indonesia. During his time at New York University, Giras was the youth Rapporteur in evaluating and advising the Indonesian and Dutch governments on their role of youth and participation in the Indonesia-Netherlands bilateral legal cooperation. While in Indonesia, Giras was an elementary school teacher while serving as the Special Staff for Foreign Affairs for the Government of Qondama Bay Regency.
Rakeeb Mohamed Zawahir
UNA-Sri Lanka (Asia Region)

Rakeeb Mohamed Zawahir

Rakeeb Mohamed Zawahir is the current president of UNA-Sri Lanka’s youth forum. Through this role, he engages the youth of the association in relevant projects related to the SDGs, as well as directing members and conducting training to ensure the projects are executed effectively. Once a month, Rakeeb presents the activities of UNA-Sri Lanka’s youth division to the National Executive Committee. A notable project organized by Rakeeb includes a beach cleaning project, through which he selected a committee to develop a project proposal to submit to the government municipality council for approval and to raise funds for implementation. The project was approved, and Rakeeb and members of UNA-Sri Lanka gathered with friends and young members of the community for a day of listening to music while all helping to clean the beach. Rakeeb saw this as an example of how youth can gather to enjoy working hard together to create a clean and safe environment for the community.
Signe Andersson
UNA-Sweden (Europe Region)

Signe Andersson

Signe Andersson has been involved in UNA-Sweden since 2017 when she was vice president of her high school student run UNA. Signe also was the vice president and is the current auditor of the Uppsala Association of Foreign Affairs which is Sweden’s largest Association for Foreign Affairs. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Peace and Development at Uppsala University in Sweden, and studied Model United Nations during an exchange semester in Australia. Signe has been an active member in different civil society organizations where she states UNA-Sweden has been a central tenet of her participation and strive for human rights, sustainable development and youth participation in global issues. She enjoys connecting with new people, particularly through her involvement in civil society activities and UNA-Sweden.
Georgiana
UNA-UK (Europe Region)

Georgiana F. Bugeag

Georgiana F Bugeag is dedicated to promoting justice, advocating for change, and fostering a brighter global future. She holds an LLM in Law and International Law from Robert Gordon University, where she studied Public International Law, International Business Law, and Conflict Resolution. Georgiana has held various leadership roles, including being a Support and Advocacy Worker at Adoption UK where she was able to showcase her ability to engage in effective advocacy, the ability to mentor colleagues, and a commitment to driving national policy changes. Georgiana has also engaged with the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament, influencing key decisions and securing vital financial support. Furthermore, she has actively supported various causes by volunteering and holding positions with organizations including UNA-Scotland and UNA-UK. Georgiana is dedicated to pursuing a career that combines legal expertise, passion for advocacy, and commitment to international and social issues, and aims to be a driving force in the pursuit of justice, equity, and a more sustainable world.
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UNA-North Macedonia (Europe Region)

Georgina Kominovska

Georgina Kominovska is a student of Psychology and Political Science, with a passion for leadership, societal transformation, and diplomatic acumen. She is a recipient of the US Presidential Award for Excellence, the previous Communications Coordinator and current International Affairs Coordinator at the UNA-North Macedonia. Through this role, Georgina orchestrates global engagement efforts, oversees operations, and fosters diplomatic relations. Georgina states her personal mission is to foster connections that transcend borders and bring people closer together, and hopes to do this through the UNA network.
Amelia Blamey
UNA-New Zealand (Oceania Region)

Amelia Blamey

Amelia currently holds the Treasurer position in UNA-New Zealand where she prepares financial reports and guides the President and National Council on budget management and financial responsibilities, as well as supporting the National Executive in hosting events, engaging with civil society, and strengthening relationships with stakeholders. Amelia has served as Treasurer-Secretary of the Victoria University of Wellington Students Association for the past two years. Through this role, she has worked on various issues, from advocating for free menstrual products across campuses to reducing barriers to education. On top of these responsibilities, she has been actively involved in her High School Speech competition where events are held to foster discussions on human rights among young Kiwis and empower them to advocate for social justice and positive change. Amelia also works for a Human Rights not-for-profit organization that collects data on human rights abuses worldwide. Amelia is enthusiastic about extending her learned international approach to the WFUNA Youth Advisory Council and eager to contribute my skills and passion to the council’s mission as she believes that the young generation holds the potential to drive significant change
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UNA-Australia (Oceania Region)

Angelica Ojinnaka

Angelica Ojinnaka is a youth affairs leader, social and public health researcher, and speaker. She has been involved in UNA-Australia NSW’s division as the official youth partner, and has been a volunteer on UNA-Australia NSW activities since 2018 In 2022, Angelica served as the Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations and Australian Youth Delegate at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. She is a Founding Member of the African Australian Youth Suicide Prevention Group, Founding Director of Where They Are, and a Youth Advocate with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s Centre of Research Excellence in Driving Global Investment in Adolescent Health. She has experience leading advocacy and research projects, exploring areas including social and cultural inequalities experienced by children and young people, youth mental health, youth civic and political participation, among other topics. Angelica has also been a national youth commentator on Australian television programs such as ABC’s The Drum and SBS News. In 2021, she received the NSW Premier’s Youth Medal in recognition of her youth mental health and gender equity advocacy.
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