The Kofi Annan Foundation, with the support of Ambassador Jenö Staehelin’s Foundation, is proud to announce the Kofi Annan Changemakers 2024. We are excited to welcome fourteen dynamic and inspiring young leaders who will embark on a year-long journey to engage in intergenerational dialogue, collaborate with mentors, and scale up their positive impact with seed grant projects.
The Vision behind the Kofi Annan Changemakers Initiative
Kofi Annan believed in the power of youth to drive global change. He once said, “Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation.” Launched in 2021, the Kofi Annan Changemakers Initiative seeks to make the voices of young people count by giving them a space to dialogue with and seek counsel from experienced leaders on issues of deep concern whilst affording the opportunity to leaders to understand the preoccupation of young people better. By engaging in this intergenerational dialogue, these young leaders foster mutual learning and collaboration and search for ways to build their capacity for positive action on the challenges of today.
Kofi Annan Changemakers 2024
Camila Baello
Argentina
Camila (she/her) is dedicated to empowering youth, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, to participate in shaping a more inclusive digital future for their communities. Through youth initiatives like ITU Generation Connect and The Fifty Percent, Camila helps bridge the gap between youth and policy-making by fostering dialogue and building capacity for multi-level engagement.
Cedric Bichano
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cedric (he/him) founded the World Refuge Film Academy, based in the Nakival Refugee Settlement in Uganda. With this initiative, Cedric equips refugees and host communities with digital filmmaking and storytelling skills so that they can share their unique experiences and challenge misconceptions surrounding refugee issues.
Huma Nasir
India
Huma Nasir (she/her) is a Human Rights Lawyer, Researcher, and Gender Justice Advocate. With a strong passion for advancing equal justice for everyone, her work and research interests center on ensuring fair access to legal representation for indigenous communities and identifying gaps in the intersection of human rights, gender, and indigenous identities through the lens of international law.
Keshoe Isaiah
Kenya
Keshoe (he/him) is a climate activist from the Maasai Indigenous community in Kenya. In 2020, Keshoe founded the youth-led organisation New Lion Project to empower Indigenous communities to tackle climate change by drawing on their Indigenous knowledge, scaling up grassroots actions and raising awareness through storytelling.
Laura Pistarini Teixeira Nunes
Brazil
Laura (she/her) is a peacebuilder who advocates for social justice. As project manager at PATRIR, she is committed to long-term healing and supports Ukrainian civil society in peace education, youth empowerment, and reconciliation. Her work fosters dialogue and resilience, with non-violent resistance as a core value.
Luis Gerardo Carvajal Fernández
Mexico
Luis (he/him) is a climate activist and advocate. He co-leads CL–AI–MATE, a pioneering project that merges education, storytelling, artificial intelligence (AI), and artivism to amplify the voices of climate activists and those affected by environmental challenges. Through AI-generated art, Luis transforms narratives around climate, sparking a global movement for change.
Mahnoz Rahimzoda
Tajikistan
Mahnoz (she/her) empowers young people across Central Asia. Through her work at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), she equips young people to become agents of change by cultivating narratives for an inclusive future, tackling gender equality issues and advocating for youth’s participation in decision-making processes.
Mehrbanou Hosseinirad
Iran
Mehrbanou (she/her) is motivated to empower youth and bridge healthcare gaps. She established a local Iranian Medical Student’s Association committee at her university. Her actions foster resilience and build capacity around youth engagement in human rights and public health, amplifying the voices of Iranian healthcare students and youth globally.
Nancy Mma-Ngaare Mba
Ghana
Nancy (she/her) founded the Magnificent Smiles Foundation, an organisation dedicated to reducing inequalities and providing quality education for all. The foundation focuses on educational and psychosocial support and ethical leadership programming for disadvantaged children and teenagers, especially orphans and the most vulnerable.
Sameer Ali Khan
Pakistan
Sameer (he/him) founded Collective Pakistan in 2020 to combat online hate speech and violent extremism, and to promote peaceful coexistence. By providing a content creation platform and an online support group, Sameer empowers peace activists and fosters collaboration and interfaith dialogue.
Sylvain Obedi Katindi
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sylvain (he/him) advocates for the rights and participation of people with disabilities in his country. Through his organisation, Enable the Disable Action, Sylvain trains disabled individuals in digital technologies, entrepreneurship, and how to be resilient to the effects of climate change. His work was also instrumental in securing the country’s first disability rights law.
Victor Okechukwu Chimezie
Nigeria
Victor (he/him) is a passionate peacebuilder and founder of the youth-led, non-profit organisation Mind Reformers Network. Through his work, Victor empowers young Nigerians and Africans to become agents of peace, tackling insecurity challenges through education and fostering a generation committed to a more peaceful future.
Yairy Vega Muenala
Ecuador
Yairy (she/her) is a Kichwa Otavalo activist who promotes Indigenous rights, particularly those of women and their political participation. She is a member of the Tuparina Sinchi Warmikuna Collective (Women’s Power), where she develops women’s leadership camps and pursues her advocacy efforts as a Young Advisor for Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Ecuador.
Zulaikha Patel
South Africa
Zulaikha (she/her) is an Anti-Racism Activist and Author driven by the vision of quality education for all. She founded Dare To Change in 2022 with the aim to eradicate literacy poverty among children in South Africa by establishing library corners in schools, and intends to contribute to a decolonized African anti-racism feminist course to be used in universities, schools and workshops.
The Kofi Annan Changemakers Initiative: A Unique Opportunity for Youth Leadership
The Kofi Annan Changemakers Initiative is designed to elevate the voices of young changemakers and build their capacity for positive action on today’s challenges.
Over the course of the year, the Changemakers will dialogue with global leaders and experts, participate in a six-month online module, and attend a week-long in-person module in Geneva, Switzerland. They will receive guidance and support from a mentor and implement small seed grant projects to scale up their work.
Join us to celebrate the Kofi Annan Changemakers 2024!
Learn more about these inspiring young leaders and follow their journey as they drive positive change worldwide. The Kofi Annan Changemakers 2024 are set to make a significant impact and perpetuate Kofi Annan’s vision, ethics and values by joining the global Kofi Annan Changemakers community.
