The Youth Advisory Council

Dana Al-Anzy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 2017. She also holds an Executive Certificate in Advocacy in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She is a multi-sector strategic partnership approach specialist with the Education Above All Foundation and has experience working with UNHCR on Refugee-led Organizations at the HQ in Geneva. A firm believer in the power of civil society and education, Dana has worked with numerous UN agencies and foundations on sustainability projects related to accessing education, refugee empowerment and youth advocacy.

During her yearlong nomination and training with WISE Learners Voice Program, Dana developed a local tutoring program for primary aged refugee children in the Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya. Dana advocated in several high level UN conferences on youth engagement policies highlighting the power of Qatari youth and the empowering effect of Qatar’s National vision 2030 on them. She has served as the Qatar Youth Ambassador to the Youth Assembly since 2018 and facilitated the nomination and training of over 60 Qatari Youth Delegates to date.

Ilan Enverga is a young K-12 educator & SDG advocate from the Philippines. He works professionally as a teacher and teacher trainer at the International School for Better Beginnings in Lucena City where he pioneered a youth-led education innovation that champions education for sustainable development, global citizenship and social-emotional learning. Ilan has presented his program for education ministries regionally and internationally and was awarded the National Sustainability Leadership Award in Education. As a member of UNESCO’s SDG4 Youth & Student Network, he was part of the development and launch for the Youth Declaration for Transforming Education, and its subsequent follow-up initiatives. At his first attendance of the AFS Youth Assembly in 2023, he participated in the Global Educators Workshop, was the youth speaker on the panel on “Solidarity for SDG 4”, and was awarded 2nd Place for the AFS Award for Young Global Citizens.

Khaled Abdulwahed is a passionate community leader who is dedicated to empowering refugees and advancing the UN Social Development Goals. Forced to leave his home country, Syria, as a teenager, Khaled experienced the harsh realities of displacement first-hand. His struggles as a refugee in Lebanon motivated him to begin working with one of the largest refugee-led NGOs, Molham Volunteering Team. Khaled began as a volunteer and quickly rose to Operations Manager in Lebanon. Dear to Khaled’s heart is improving access to quality education in refugee camps, which he firmly believes is key to empowering today’s youth and preparing them for a world of opportunities. With the support of his team at Molham, Khaled coordinated many vital projects that promoted equitable access to food, water, health care, education, housing and employment for Syrian refugees and internally displaced people. He also volunteered with the UNHCR and other international organizations to support refugee-centered development projects.

Now a Canadian citizen, Khaled leads initiatives in his community that empower refugee families and youth. He is the administrative manager of the Molham chapter in Canada and he continues to lend his time and ideas to strengthen Molham’s work. Khaled is a seasoned volunteer with many local Canadian organizations that serve newcomers, including SCF, which assists refugees from around the world as they resettle and adjust to life in Canada. In his free time, Khaled leads soccer programs that enable newcomer youth to develop strong interpersonal skills.

Founder and president of a Peruvian NGO – United Peruvian Youth – focused on quality education and empowering youth. Delegate of the Youth Assembly since 2017, ex-winner of the AFS Global Citizen Award for Project Hub in 2022, Ambassador of Peru of the AFS Youth Assembly and member of the Advisory Council for the Youth Assembly since 2022. Internacionalist specialised in International Cooperation for Development, Fundrasing and Human Security; and currently studying a master in International Security in Italy. Seven years of experience in Project Management, Grants seeking and Fundraising. Passionate about education in emergencies and migration studies.

She has participated as a speaker and delegate at various conferences such as the SDG Youth Summit, Rotary Club Ica, Red Interquorum La Libertad, Youth Assembly, Global Young Leaders, and ECOSOC Youth Forum. She is co-founder and executive director of the Peruvian Association United Peruvian Youth. She is the creator of Project Hub, a platform for young people to design and implement educational social projects. Her work within this platform allow her to win the AFS Award for Young Global Citizens.

Lukas got to know AFS through his student exchange to Costa Rica in 2008-2009 and volunteer service to Thailand in 2011/2012. He stayed connected to AFS as a volunteer: as a local hosting coordinator looking, trainer for new volunteers, and focused on global south north exchange. He launched the AFS Global Ideathon. A global 2-day digital event (a marathon for ideas – Ideathon) with AFSers (and other interested people) around the world bringing forward solutions for AFS, with more than 2000 sign ups the last two years.

Initially, he graduated as medical engineer. However, afterwards decided to become a researcher about ethics, leadership and digitalisation. His motivation was to gain a deeper understanding of how technology shapes our world and which responsibilities we have in this context. Based on this, he switched from theory to practice and started working for the German Red Cross. As a project lead for innovation he was responsible to set up the strategic framework and innovation pipeline for change processes – a role he still holds today as a senior advisor.

In 2021, he joined Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung, a renowned foundation providing science the space and resource needed for breakthroughs. Lukas foresights developments in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and life Sciences, their impacts on society and designs programs to enable research. Lukas believes science can (and maybe even has to) contribute to solve the global crises we face right now. Working at the intersection of science and policy this role brings together his passion for technology and strategic impact planning.

Besides his main commitments Lukas holds various lectureships around the topic of leadership and co-founded “decentrale”, a feminist consultancy. Its goal is to help transform our world in a more just and peaceful direction by providing feminist organisational development competence.

Moemen Sobh is 23 years old climate activist from Portsaid, Egypt. He is a senior year student majoring in Architecture Engineering and Environmental Design and the founder of MycoTech, and Visenleer as well as serving as the World Water Envoy for the International Water Resources Association. He started his journey in 2019 when he started researching solutions to save his community in Egypt and Africa after his community which works as a fisherman was affected because of climate change, and his family lost their business. Moemen is an alumni of the 2023 AFS Youth Assembly and he is the winner of the AFS Young Global Citizens Awards for 2023 for his project Visenleer.

Olamiposi Ekuma is a young leader with a strong background in IT program development, strategic partnerships, and stakeholder engagement. Olamiposi is dedicated to making a meaningful impact on communities and advancing initiatives on a global scale. She possesses exceptional leadership skills and thrives in collaborative environments, fostering effective communication and coordination among diverse stakeholders.

As the Managing Director and Program Manager at Genesys Foundation, Olamiposi has demonstrated expertise in developing and implementing program strategies to advance technical education and entrepreneurship in Africa. Olamiposi’s ability to build and nurture strategic partnerships with agencies, non-profit organizations, and community leaders has maximized program impact and brought about transformative change.

Olamiposi’s passion for youth empowerment and entrepreneurship is evident in their project management experience. She has successfully managed and contributed to projects such as the Tanzania Women Development Campaign, Africa Tech Expo, TxE Africa, Genesys Startup Boost, Shell Sponsored SheCan Skill Acquisition Project, Genesys Ignite, Google Developers Community (Female web development bootcamp). These projects have not only provided vital support and resources to youth and entrepreneurs but have also fostered innovation, inclusiveness, and economic growth.

With positions held in organizations such as Afrilabs (Vice president, electoral committee), Africa Business Heroes (Judge and mentor), Pioneer member ISN Corporate Innovation Thematic Group, Olamiposi brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective. Olamiposi is an EMBA student of the Quantic School of Business and Technology. She has also pursued NonProfit Leadership Management from the Lagos Business School in Lagos, Nigeria. Olamiposi recently received the 2nd place AFS award for young global citizens. Olamiposi is fluent in English, Igbo, and Yoruba.

Savannah is a junior doctor from South Africa, currently completing her medical internship and a Masters in Public Health at Khayelitsha District Hospital in the Western Cape. Savannah has a keen interest is in Global Health, a discipline that allows her to combine her passion for clinical medicine with her heart for improving equity and social justice in healthcare. Her dream is to see improved and equitable access to quality and timely healthcare services across Southern Africa and she believes this can be achieved through a thorough understanding of health systems and their interaction with policy and research. Savannah has a passion for global health leadership and her aim is to utilize her medical career to engage beyond her clinical role, acting as an advocate and researcher, working to ensure that South Africa occupies a space on the Global Health agenda.

In her spare time you will find Savannah hiking in the mountains, attempting to surf, traveling the globe and spending time with friends and family.

Shah is an award winning environmentalist and social entrepreneur from Bangladesh. In 2013, Shah founded a next generation organization called Footsteps which is currently empowering over 300,000 people across Bangladesh with safe water and sanitation access, disaster resilience, and improved public health services, especially for the marginalized communities. Shah received the internationally acclaimed Diana Award and AFS Prize for Young Global Citizens, and recently was enlisted on Forbes 30 Under 30 for his contribution to Bangladesh’s development sector through Footsteps. Shah has also served as Bangladesh’s Youth Representative to the United Nations and was mentored by former US Vice President Al Gore on Climate Leadership. Shah earned his undergraduate degree on Environmental Economics and Policy from Penn State in 2018.

Wantoe Teah Wantoe is an SDGs campaigner, Climate and human right activist and student leader. He is a Double Major of Public Policy and Sociology with concentration in Criminology at the College of Mount Saint Vincent.

Since the age of nine, Wantoe has championed the rights of women and children and has been one of Liberia’s prime faces for global sustainability and youth development. He is a passionate and dedicated young man driven by social causes. Wantoe is a consistent voice at articulating policy prescription for the plethora of crises in Liberia. Evidence of his impeccable leadership and commitment to solving societal issues, Wantoe was awarded as a 2020 Friend of humanity Distinguished alumni awardee for his contribution to systemic change. He is a certified 2019 Obama Foundation Leadership Asset and Dialogue Alumni. In addition, a 2019 Princess Diana Award Recipient, A 2018 Global Young Voices SDGs Champion Winner And a 2017 FAF Humanitarian Impact Winner Humanitarian Impact Winner among several recognitions.