Ambassador Spotlights: June 2024

One Young World Ambassadors are leading projects in every country of the world, creating substantial social impact across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Every month our Coordinating Ambassadors select someone from their region who has created significant social impact locally, regionally or even worldwide.

This Month's Featured Projects in Numbers

Statistics

1 . 5 m+

people impacted across spotlight projects

501 k+

students reached

40 k+

menstrual products distributed to girls in education

Spotlight Photo

Meet the Ambassadors

Photo of Anojitha

SHE/HER

Anojitha Sivaskaran - Sri Lanka

Anojitha Sivaskaran serves as a member of the Youth Sounding Board (YSB) with the European Union. Anojitha holds the distinction of being the first Sri Lankan selected for this role, advising the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships on youth participation and empowerment in EU external action.

 

Anojitha has actively engaged with high-level EU stakeholders. She advocated for young displaced learners at the EU Parliament and urged EU parliamentarians to prioritise education for refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), emphasising the need for increased funding and concrete action. Together with fellow YSB members, she is working on creating youth advisory structures around the world, reviewing and providing insights for several EU international development initiatives. These initiatives focus on critical areas such as child protection, digital education, and the youth, peace and security agenda.

 

Drawing from her firsthand experiences of war and displacement, Anojitha is deeply passionate about storytelling and youth advocacy in peacebuilding efforts. She firmly believes in the transformative power of young people as agents of peace within their communities. She is recognised as a Sri Lankan peacebuilder and is a recipient of the 2021 Diana Award.

Photo of Joel

HE/HIM

Mordi Nkeonye Joel - Nigeria

Joel Mordi is the founder of the Mordi Ibe Foundation (MIF). MIF is Nigeria's largest non-profit in working with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in schools, reaching over 200+ schools and 500,000+ students, whilst offering full scholarships to the most marginalised and disadvantaged students. MIF empowers students to be changemakers and advocates for causes they feel strongly about, especially those that directly impact them.

 

Joel aspires to raise the next generation of young leaders who will take action for the benefit of their generation and the ones to come. Notably, MIF’s recent achievement is creating the LGBTQ+ emergency fund. Joel works across a range of areas: combating child labour and educational inequalities, maternal and infant mortality and neonatal health, child welfare, child immigration detention, child educational policies formulation and young refugees.

 

Joel has also engaged in Refugees Week as an Ambassador in 2022 and 2023 with Imix and in addition to this, he is part of the team at Safe Passage which provides school materials to over 11,000 schools across the UK with Purple Mash Online resource platform. Joel is now undertaking a year-long Guinness World Record attempt by walking 15,000km backwards, to raise awareness and “highlight backwards opinions” towards LGBTQ+ people.

Photo of Angela

SHE/HER

Angela Borghouts-de Ruijter - The Netherlands

Angela is the President of The Young Innovators of Medicines (YIM), a network of young professionals all working within the innovative medicines sector in the Netherlands. The YIM allows for young professionals to actively contribute to future sustainable healthcare solutions. Its mission is to make healthcare future-proof for both patients and society and does this in collaboration with multiple (young) stakeholders within Dutch healthcare. The YIM focuses on 3 main themes: value-driven care, future-proof care and collaboration.

 

With over a decade of existence, the YIM has fostered a growing network, aiming to provide awareness and knowledge by discussing and sharing current developments and innovations within healthcare. To resolve future healthcare issues together. The YIM values collaborating with other (young) organisations with a positive and forward-thinking mindset, with the goal of improving Dutch healthcare. They accomplish this through organising debates, events, round tables and their social media channels.

 

Angela believes the YIM offers a great opportunity for young professionals to take concrete steps together towards creating a value-driven and future-proof healthcare system in the Netherlands.

Photo of Fabian

HE/HIM

Fabian Martinez - Latin America

Fabian is the Founder of Genomawork, an innovative platform revolutionising recruitment and selection through gamified assessments and artificial intelligence. It aims to level the playing field in Latin America's job market, allowing individuals to shine based on their talent rather than their social background, surname, or network. Genomawork collaborates with over 200 major companies across 14 countries. Its diverse client base spans various industries, showcasing the adaptability and effectiveness of its solutions.

 

Genomawork leverages advanced technologies and AI to predict job performance, ensuring a more objective and efficient hiring process. Its gamified assessments makes the evaluation process more engaging for candidates and also provides precise and valuable data for employers, aiding in informed decision-making. Genomawork's innovative approach has significantly improved hiring quality and reduced the associated time and costs. Its solutions empower companies to identify and select the right talent effectively, eliminating biases and enhancing the candidate experience.

 

Genomawork continues to evolve, driving significant social impact and setting new standards in the recruitment industry across Latin America. In 2024, its projected revenue is approximately $1.5 million, showcasing their rapid growth and high demand for its innovative solutions.
 

Photo of Fibha

SHE/HER

Fibha Frameen - Australia

Fibha Freeman is the founder of Walk Towards Peace. Its mission is to provide a safe and inclusive space for young individuals from diverse cultural and interfaith backgrounds to engage in meaningful conversations about peace, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) No. 16, which promotes peaceful and inclusive societies.

 

Walk Towards Peace organises peace walks where participants come together to discuss what peace means to them and explore how they can contribute to achieving global peace. These gatherings not only facilitate rich dialogue, but also encourage multiculturalism by bringing together people from various cultural backgrounds to share and learn from each other's experiences. Through these activities, Walk Towards Peace supports local tourism and strengthens the networking skills of young participants.

 

To date, Walk Towards Peace has successfully conducted numerous peace walks, each contributing to the personal growth of its participants and the broader goal of peacebuilding. Its efforts have been recognised for its impact on promoting understanding and solidarity among diverse communities, making a tangible difference in the lives of many young people.

Carlos

HE/HIM

Carlos Alexis Saucedo Castañeda - Mexico

Carlos is the Co-Founder of Labgo. Labgo connects Latin American students with professionals in exciting careers through micro conferences which allow students to learn skills and topics relevant to the future of work. So far, Labgo has impacted 400 LATAM students across their network. The impact initiative ensures that students acquire essential skills, while schools and parents have the opportunity to monitor their progress.

 

In addition to this, Labfo believes that corporations can also make meaningful impact towards their ESG targets by participating in this program. Labgo aims to support SDG 4.4, which focuses on increasing the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship.

 

Through its efforts, Labgo aims to bridge the gap between education and the evolving job market, benefiting students, schools, parents, and businesses alike.

Photo of Leticía 

SHE/HER

Letícia Meque - Mozambique

Leticía is the Co-Founder of Ek´ORERA Ambiente (Ekos meaning "home" ORERA is a native language from Mozambique meaning "Clean" and "beautiful"). This initiative promotes climate and environmental awareness at the Innovation and Recycling Hub for resilient construction in Mozambique's coastal areas most affected by cyclones. It uses waste materials from local waste collectors to build construction materials (eco-bricks and eco-paver), contributing to the post-extreme weather events building recovery.

 

During the process, Ek´ORERA Ambient has learnt the importance of actively listening to final users and the people who perform informal waste collection to co-create meaningful solutions. It allows for the initiative to be a circular economy initiative that addresses the reduction of urban pollution and promotion of resilient buildings (SDG 9), and climate action (SDG 13) and hopes to also contribute to the generation of decent jobs (SDG 8).

Photo of Latdavanh

SHE/HER

Latdavanh Keodala - Laos

Latdavanh Keodala is the founder of Eat Your Cups - an inspiring and impactful project that combines innovation, sustainability, and youth empowerment. The project aims to revolutionise the way we consume beverages through the creation of edible cookie cups. As a founder, Latdavanh has taken on the role of a change-maker and motivator. Through youth seminars, workshops, social media platforms, and inspiring talks, Latdavanh has aimed to influence and inspire over 2000 young people.

 

By sharing her experiences and emphasising the potential for positive change, she aims to inspire others to take action, ignite a spark within the younger generation, and encourage them to become the next generation of ecopreneurs.

 

Latdavanh is continuing to strive towards achieving sustainability at Eat Your Cups. She plans to invest more in sustainable packing options and aims to develop packaging solutions that not only align with our sustainability goals but also provide a variety of options for different types of drinks and even packaging for food. She is also focusing on affordability alongside sustainability to ensure that her product is accessible to a larger portion of the population.
 

Photo of Joel

HE/HIM

Joel Nicholson - Canada

 

Joel Nicholson is the Co-Founder, CEO and Youth Coach at Youthfully.com, an innovative student coaching platform that aims to set the new standard of education for the next century. Youthfully.com combines AI technology with human-delivered, one-on-one coaching to provide holistic and impactful education. It offers personalised coaching that equips students with the skills and knowledge necessary for university and career success.

 

Youthfully.com has delivered 20,000 hours of coaching to over 1,000 students, achieving a 99% satisfaction rate and an average coach rating of 4.8/5 stars. Its commitment to social impact is demonstrated through its partnership with a Canadian school board, providing free coaching to low-income students via our social impact fund. This initiative ensures that all students, regardless of their financial background, receive the support they need to succeed.

 

By harnessing the power of AI and personalized coaching, Youthfully.com is not only addressing current educational shortcomings but also paving the way for a future where every student can thrive.
 

Photo of Chandelle

THEY/THEM

Chandelle O'Neil - Trinidad and Tobago

Chandelle is part of the Youth Engagement Group at the Climate Overshoot Commission. Also known as the 'Overshoot Power Rangers', the members of this group are recruited to serve as youth advisors with various expertise, raising the voices of underrepresented groups to tackle the climate overshoot. The members were selected through essays and recommendations from different networks and institutions. 

 

Chandelle is the 'Green Ranger' in the group and focuses on human rights. The Youth Engagement Group called for a moratorium,similar to the one for Deep Sea mining, among other recommendations including mitigation above all else and the precautionary principle. The group's recommendations were independent of the Commission's final report and these have resulted in the new CARE agenda, which the group is now working more closely with the Commission to develop. 

 

Chandelle is also a social entrepreneur and sustainable energy specialist with their own enterprise, Mawu Energy Services which supports energy efficiency, sustainable design and resource management in residential and commercial buildings/ properties.