To develop and roll out projects Pakati has under way, AFLI has selected a number of ChangeLeads and ChangeMakers. It selected four ChangeLeads and 150 ChangeMakers for the Youth Representation Inclusion Project; and three ChangeLeads and 100 ChangeMakers for the Portal of African Youth-Led and Youth-Serving Organizations project.
The Project Pakati digital platform on Workplace by Facebook has gone live and they are now engaging in developing and co-creating solutions with other young leaders from across the continent. Project Pakati is pleased to announce the ChangeLeads who have committed to driving these two projects. Their profiles follow:
Profiles of the ChangeLeads
Youth Representation and Inclusion Project
Zukiswa QolombaZukiswa Mqolomba is a senior researcher, senior policy analyst and scholar activist who currently works for the government as a Director: Social Insurance Schemes for the Department of Social Development. She has been involved in research, policy development and policy analysis on economic growth, poverty alleviation and job creation for the past 10 years. Her professional area involves developing and reviewing policies and legislation in respect of social insurance and social assistance aimed at protecting households against life cycle contingencies such as unemployment, ill-health, retirement, disability or the death of a breadwinner. Her career goals are to develop effective pro-poor policies that will address poverty and unemployment in South Africa and the region. She wishes to develop policies that will contribute towards poverty alleviation, job creation and growth on the continent. She is a political economist by training. She is a Mandela Rhodes Scholar and Chevening scholar, as well as former President of the SRC at the University of Cape Town. She is currently doing her PhD in Political Studies with the University of the Witwatersrand. She is specialising on China/Africa relations. Previous work includes work as an ETC consultant for the World Bank in Washington DC. She has two master’s degrees: a master’s from the University of Cape Town and a master’s in poverty and development from the University of Sussex. She also holds an executive leadership training certificate in 21st Century Leadership with Harvard University, Boston, United States. She is an Emerging African Leaders’ Programme fellow, as well as YALI fellow. She is a pan-Africanist in terms of her ideological inclination. She believes in the African renaissance and believes that her generation of peers can make meaningful strides towards achieving it.
GbemisolaOsaduaGbemisola Osadua is a Lawyer, an experienced executive leader and manager of projects with proven records of innovation, effective communication, ability to enhance team performance and deliver results. Her diverse experience includes setting strategies and vision, team building, delegation of tasks and community outreach. Her key areas of competencies are social entrepreneurship, community development, finance management, entrepreneurial management, politics, lobbying, youth and children advocacy, project management, public relations and communication, strategic planning, youth empowerment and women empowerment.
Gbemisola has worked as an Executive Assistant at one of the leading youth organizations in Nigeria, Rise Interactive Global Link Ltd, and had stints of legal training with the law firms of Olujimi and Akeredolu Chambers (Legal Practitioners and Notaries Public), Abuja, Nigeria, and Olaniwun Ajayi Legal Practitioners in Lagos, Nigeria. Gbemisola is an Associate at Country Hill Attorneys and Solicitors, a law firm in Lagos with broad practice areas of corporate and commercial law, alternative dispute resolution & litigation, intellectual property and real estate & probate practice.
She is the Chief Executive Officer of Dynamics Impact Limited, an enterprise committed to driving change for development through initiatives on capacity building for the youths and the economic empowerment of women and girls. She is currently a member of the 2016 Alumni class of Women Deliver committed to the advocacy for the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and Girls. Gbemisola is a member of the Empower Women Community of the United Nations Women committed to empowering women and girls to achieve their full economic potential.
She is a 2017 finalist for the Next Generation Women Leaders Award, an award by Mckinsey and Company targeted at talented women across Europe, Middle East and Africa who have shown a commitment to developing and exploring their leadership potentials.
Adam Musinde is on a mission of improving the social and human capital development of youth in Africa. For the past seven years, he has worked with different youth-led non-governmental organizations, regional networks, and international organizations in the research and launch of a grassroots, country and regional projects to promote youth economic development.
He has participated and advised in policy analysis and debates at the United Nations, British High Commission, and during the 2018 Spring meetings at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, with an aim of looking at how employment and entrepreneurship, skill-based education, social inclusion, and social innovation can be used as a means of promoting economic development of youth in Africa. His work as a Public Policy Advisor at the British Council Next Generation Kenya Project resulted in the creation of a country-wide youth policy report which showcased the challenges faced by the almost 10 million youth in Kenya when it came to education and skills, employment and entrepreneurship and civic engagement in the country.
His work on social entrepreneurship among youth in Africa at the UNESCO formed Pan African Youth Network for a Culture of Peace in Africa resulted in the raising of 100,000 dollars in seed capital for a youth start-up resulting in the creation of employment opportunities for the youth. Adam has a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Computer Technology from the United States International University-Africa. He currently serves as a youth advocate for the World Youth Alliance-Africa.
Darlington TshumaDarlington Tshuma is a Development Practitioner with academic and research interests in gender, peace and transitional justice, human security, politics and governance in sub-Saharan Africa. He works as a Regional Analyst for Political Economy Southern Africa (PESA) – an economic and political think tank in South Africa. He regularly conducts capacity building and skills training workshops for civic society organizations in conflict management, mediation support and conflict resolution.
In addition, he has published numerous articles, policy briefs and blogs on various topics linked to politics, peacebuilding, gender and governance. His work has been published by reputable think tanks including the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS). He brings a wealth of experience in global youth advocacy and youth policy formulation through global platforms such as the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) and the World Mountain Youth Forum among others. Darlington holds a M.Sc. in Sociology and Social Anthropology and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Sociology; both from the University of Zimbabwe. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Peacebuilding.
Portal of African Youth-Led and Youth-Serving Organizations
Cyril France is the Co-Founder and Executive Coordinator of Youth Path Organisation, a youth-led organisation that is committed to promoting the creation of initiatives that inspire and empower youth to fulfil their potential and contribute to activities that create social and environmental impact in Ghana. For over a decade, Cyril has been at the forefront of youth development in Ghana and internationally, working at the intersection of grassroots initiatives, youth policy and research.
He is an early career researcher with a background in research for development (R4D) and policy evaluation. He is a College Member of the UK Research & Innovation - International Development Peer Review College. Prior to serving the College, he worked with UNESCO in Paris, where he offered valuable inputs to some of the sections of UNESCO’s evaluation on culture and sustainable development.
He was also invited by the European Commission as a discussant at the Joint Africa-EU Strategy Structured Dialogue with Students and Alumni in Africa. Cyril is internationally educated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ghana, United Kingdom and Belgium.
Viveksingh Urjoon: being a seasoned Relationship Manager in the Global Business at the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd, Viveksingh has had a successful banking career so far. He started his professional journey at Barclays Bank PLC where he held diverse positions and then, moved to Standard Chartered Bank (Mauritius) Ltd where he was Principal Associate in the Financial Institutions unit and then, promoted to Assistant Director of the Offshore Booking Dept. Being an analytical person, he happily takes up challenges and enjoys assisting his clients. He has also overseen projects and remediation exercises prior to the advent of audits. Likewise, having a strong interest in pursuing his banking career, he aspires to become a role model for his peers, inspire young leaders around the world to challenge themselves to think beyond their current scope and to engage others to improve the world around them.
Vivek is also a globally recognized youth activist who promotes gender equality, rights of youth living with disabilities and quality and inclusive education. For almost twenty-two years now, He has been actively involved in many community development projects after gaining much experience by travelling in Africa and Asia. At the forefront of two Non-Governmental Organizations namely Braille in Paradise and Zenfants Bondier, he contributes in good governance on as board members. Vivek is the Co-Founder of Braille in Paradise, a unique educational platform for visually-impaired kids that sends braille books by post without any cost to blind kids. This enables the kids to enjoy their favourite books without having to travel long distances to libraries, and this service is free of charge.
Lilian Olivia Orero is a Global Peace Ambassador, lawyer and an award-winning writer and researcher from Kenya. She has represented youth voices in national, regional and international conferences and forums. Olivia is a youth advocate and passionate about youth inclusion in public policy decision-making for good governance and social justice.
She has written on various topics affecting the youth in Africa, such as sexual consent and rape, domestic violence, youth inclusion in governance and discrimination in the workplace. She has mobilized youth from different backgrounds to fight for their human rights and speak out on getting equal opportunities through representation.
She is an aspiring diplomat and public policy-maker and is very passionate about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring that they are implemented in Africa according to Agenda 2063. Her philosophy in life is to inspire her fellow youth by mobilizing and empowering transformative young leaders to make a positive change in her community.
Report