Youth Delegates
South Asia Youth Skills and Solutions Forum
Voices of Youth at the forum
Young people from across the region will be attending the South Asia Youth Skills and Solutions Forum. They come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and were selected as representatives in consultation with youth networks, UNICEF partners, and UNICEF country offices in South Asia. These young people are an inspiration to all and are keen to lead the change; they are innovators, entrepreneurs, youth leaders and mobilisers who have played dynamic roles in their communities and countries in defending the rights of young people, including in obtaining appropriate skills for work and life, and building employment pathways. They will be the voices of young people throughout the Forum and will articulate youth aspirations to all the decision makers present.
To learn more about each of the Youth Delegates from South Asia, scroll below or see directly youth representatives per country:
AFGHANISTAN
Mohammad Loqman Ansari
Age : 21
Mazar, Afghanistan
Loqman is a young advocate and volunteer who promotes quality education and teaching methods among peers at various institutions. Loqman is currently a senior student of Public Policy and Administration at Balkh University. He finances his education by teaching English at the Kabul Educational Advising Centre, Mazar and at the Lincoln Learning Centre in Kabul. He is also involved in social activities that focus on young people.
Hadisa Gowhari
Age : 21
Kabul, Afghanistan
Hadisa is a franchisee and managing director of SearchPath, an international firm in Afghanistan that is involved in recruitment. Hadisa, who is also a senior student at the American University of Afghanistan where she studies Business Administration, serves as vice president of AUAF’s Career Club. Hadisa advocates for the economic empowerment of women, and she has started her own business to provide capacity building workshops, foster leadership, empowerment and employment opportunities for the youth of Afghanistan - especially young females.
BANGLADESH
Raba Khan
Age : 21
Bangladesh
Raba is a multi-platform entertainer who primarily performs comedy and music. In 2014, Raba burst into the internet comedic scene of Bangladesh with her YouTube channel named “The Jhakanaka Project” where she and her brother produce and share videos portraying everyday people and situations in a comic and satirical way. In the years that followed she has branched into television and radio shows, gathering over 850K followers on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Raba is passionate about children’s and young people’s rights. She said “We are responsible for our future. I believe young people can make the positive changes the world needs and expects.”
Minhaj Chowdhury
Age : 30
Bangladesh
Minhaj Chowdhury is the CEO of Drinkwell, a social enterprise eradicating the arsenic water crisis by blending water purification technology with a micro-franchise business model. His work has been acclaimed by UNICEF, WaterAid Bangladesh, the US Ambassador to Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Health Secretary, and it serves as the basis for Drinkwell's growth strategy. Minhaj has prior experience as consultant for the Exeter Group, where he was responsible for product development for state-based health insurance exchanges, as well as project management. Minhaj holds a BA in Public Health from John Hopkins University and has won multiple awards from organisations, such as the US State Department and SXSW. He is a 2014 Echoing Green Fellow, 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur, and 2017 Ashoka Fellow.
BHUTAN
Karma Wangda
Age : 20
Tashi Yangtse, Bhutan
Karma is a dynamic volunteer who has been leading a youth group in Bhutan to conduct an anti-bullying campaign in schools, engaging with more than 4,700 young people. Karma regularly volunteers working with the Department of Youth and Sports of the Bhutan Ministry of Education. He’s very active on social media and has more than 4,000 followers on Facebook supporting his initiative.
Sameera Gurung
Age : 18
Tsirang, Bhutan
Sameera is a volunteer who has been supporting the Department of Youth and Sports of the Bhutan Ministry of Education to promote youth engagement as well as the participation of youth in their communities. Sameera has taken part in the organisation of many youth forums, exchange programmes and community projects. She has also coordinated the Young Girls Circle, a group where girls come together and discuss issues they often face.
MALDIVES
Fathimath Sana Shafeeq
Age : 21
Malé, Maldives
Fathimath is the President of Youth Leaders Network, which promotes awareness among vulnerable youth on social issues, enhancing civic engagement and developing leadership attributes. She has been working with the Ministry of Home Affairs in organising youth leadership forums across the country, providing young people the support they need in attaining the necessary life skills to move over from school to work life. Fathimath is highly motivated in working with youth to advocate and learn more about the regional issues related to youth and skills, and seeks solutions specific to the Maldives.
Ibrahim Junadh Haleem
Age : 24
Malé, Maldives
Ibrahim is an active member of the Youth Leaders Network, where he is responsible for facilitating workshops and forums for youth across the Maldives. These engagements have enabled Ibrahim to understand and identify the skills for youth his country needs, including the lack of employment opportunities in Maldives, especially when it comes to young people in the rural areas. Ibrahim has over five years’ work experience in several fields, including in tourism, education and the judicial sector. Therefore, he has himself experienced the challenges faced by young people in obtaining employment.
NEPAL
Prarthana Saakha
Age: 23
Kathmandu, Nepal
Prarthana challenged the stereotypical beliefs about entrepreneurship for women by being a young female entrepreneur in an entirely male-dominated industry. She is successfully leading Nepal’s first complete after-sales automotive online and retail chain, called Helmets Nepal Pvt. Ltd. In Helmets Nepal, employment opportunities are provided to youth, as creativity is valued over monotony and despite being an industry mostly dominated by men, a total of 45% of the company’s members are female. Prarthana is an executive committee member of the Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs’ Forum where she also advocates for gender equality.
Sajja Singh
Age : 24
Kathmandu, Nepal
Sajja is currently working in YUWA as Vice President, where her main role is to work with young people to enhance their skills. Youth employment is one of the issues that YUWA is currently working on. YUWA has been establishing itself as a platform for young people to obtain mentorship and guidance, as well as offering courses to promote and channel innovative ideas for change. Saiia and her team are empowering young people to become active citizens with skills and knowledge, while exploring creative ways to overcome employment challenges.
Eva Gyawali
Age : 30
Kathmandu, Nepal
Eva is a trained instructional designer who works as product manager for Social Changemakers and Innovators (SOCHAI). The youth-led organisation was formed in 2017 with the aim of improving health, nutrition and the socio-economic status of women, children and girls. This is done through education, innovation and entrepreneurship on a grassroots level. Eva and her colleagues at SOCHAI also work on skills development and empowerment programmes for school children, pregnant and lactating women. Eva is responsible for designing and implementing trainings, workshops and bootcamps for school children.
Asish Thakur
Age : 24
Lahan, Nepal
Asish is a graduate student of Sustainable Development at the Kathmandu University School of Education. He founded Glocal in 2015, which has four different verticals levels of intervention – Glocal Khabar, Glocal After School, Glocal Teen Hero and CSR Consulting. With these four initiations Asish and his team have been working on teaching young people the necessary skills, recognising skilled teenagers, and collaborating with organisations and companies to do the same. Asish has also trained marginalized youth populations in paramedical education from Agrima Academy and provided entrepreneurship skills to young people in rural areas through Glocal Pvt. Ltd. Asish is passionate about creating platforms for exposure and skill enhancement for youth.
SRI LANKA
Dulan S. Dias
Age : 24
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dulan S. Dias is the co-founder of two tech-startups in Sri Lanka, EchonLabs (Pvt) Ltd and Fixar, where he employs undergraduates from national universities. He trains them to enhance their skills and experience expected of them when they graduate and move on to the IT Industry. This initiative has shown promise in two aspects: undergraduates from low income backgrounds have been able to become self-sufficient, and graduates who move on to the IT Industry have been offered comparatively higher salaries due to their experience. Dulan is engaged in building and engineering educational software solutions that can pave a way for more engaged learning by students.
Ahallya David
Age : 24
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Ahallya is actively involved in empowering women in building their capacity to stand strong in their own community. She uses her passion/skill for visual storytelling to advocate skills issues for women. She does this through photography and videography. Most of her projects focus on women’s participation and leadership. She advocates for equality and fair employment for women, and she believes that she can expose and advocate on these issues through the lens of her camera. Ahallya works as a female leader in an initiative called ‘Image of Emotions’ - an initiative to explore and advocate on community issues through photography.
INDIA
Sandhya Bhagat
Age: 24
Mumbai, India
Sandhya has completed a degree in Electrical Engineering at Tata Strive. After her training, she secured a job at Automotive Manufactures Pvt. Ltd. in a commercial segment that is largely male-dominated. By doing so, Sandhya had set a new standard by breaking gender norms. Her determination and performance have inspired many other female learners to achieve their career goals in the automobile sales industry. Sandhya has also been actively inviting other young people to continuously acquire new skills, becoming more eligible for employment.
Krishnakumar Mishra
Age: 23
Mumbai, India
Krishnakumar is currently a student of the Selling Skills batch at the ICICI Academy for Skills in Mumbai. Since joining the academy, he has motivated other young people to join the academy to improve their skills for employment for a sustainable livelihood. Krishnakumar is known by his peers as an ambitious young man, focused on his goals in life and being very enthusiastic about learning the necessary skills to achieve that. Krishnakumar is highly interested in social activities and the “Go Green” movement.
Hetal Sakariya
Age : 22
Mumbai, India
Hetal is an alumnus of the ICICI Academy for Skills in Mumbai. She had always dreamt of relieving her father from his financial burden, being the only member of the family that was employed and working at a hospital. After finishing her graduation, she didn’t know how and where to begin making this dream become a reality. She was referred to ICICI Academy for Skills by her friend. She is now a successful Relationship Officer at Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. Hetal regularly motivates other young people to acquire practical skills for a productive future.
Suman Maurya
Age : 20
Mumbai, India
Suman holds a diploma in sewing technology. After completing a 3 months’ course in customer relations and sales, she was privileged to get a job as change leader at Bright Future, an organization which empowers young people to transform their passions into gainful employment . She is currently working on developing life and career skills of adolescents in marginalized communities through Drama. She provides career guidance to adolescents aged between 13 and 18, in addition to decision-making, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Parth Suri
Age : 23
Uttar Pradesh, India
Parth is a visiting faculty member at Ambedkar University Delhi where he teaches Life Competencies for Sustainable Employability to undergraduate students studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocational Studies. Parth also has been involved in managing Pravah-ABS’s various skill development programs for CSR, with companies such as Castrol and HSBC. He was a part of the development of a life capacities curriculum for the youth workforce, conducted training for trainers of two-wheeler mechanics and disadvantaged youth in different vocational courses.
Sukannyaa Lahon
Age : 25
Assam, India
Sukannyaa has more than two years of experience working with young people, designing and facilitating learning and leadership journeys. She also has experience in mentoring young social entrepreneurs in designing and implementing their own projects. She was responsible for facilitating sessions of Pravah’s Abilities Beyond Skills curriculum for sustainable employability with young people. Sukannyaa believes that developing people’s life skills is just as critical as is having more social entrepreneurs who are able to create change and impact social issues.
Priya Gupta
Age : 23
Kanpur, India
Priya has become an independent young woman through her voluntary involvement in the art of self-defence. She has not only acquired self-defence skills; she is also now making a living out of teaching these skills to the youth in her community. This project has enabled her to understand young people employment challenges and needs. Priya has been also been working with the One Stop Centre in Kanpur. The centre offers support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces. There, Priya exhibited her inner potential by counseling victims and teaching them the art of self-defence.
Ashish Kumar
Age : 17
Mainpuri, India
Ashish has completed a three-month field technician networking and storage course at the IACT Institute under the guidance of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. Soon after completing his training, he was offered a job in the same field in Agra. Ashish wants to open a hardware store in Bernal (Mainpuri) to teach other young people the skills he has acquired during his training.
Pravin Dhanawade
Age : 35
Mumbai, India
For the past four years, Pravin has been successfully working for the Youth4Jobs foundation as a trainer. He started his professional journey in Café Coffee Day as one of six team members. Later, he was promoted to store manager where his tasks included organising functions and managing roles of team members at the store for three years. He was then inspired by the idea of training and building the capacity of candidates with speech and hearing impairments and began his mission as a trainer. During these three years of experience, Pravin has trained no less than 290 candidates with speech and hearing impairments in capacity building, pre-placement job readiness and post placement counseling. He also conducted training corporate employers the skill of sign language. Pravin is an active member of the “Deaf Association of India”.
Vivek Gurav
Age: 24
Pune, India
Vivek is a Global Youth Ambassador at Their World and serves as assistant country director at the International Youth Society. He has been training other young people in several domains. For the past 10 years, Vivek has been presenting computer awareness and skill development sessions in marginalised community schools in India. He also provides career and employability training, and offers guidance to undergraduate youth. Vivek is a MYWorld2030 Asia-Pacific Field Advocate, an initiative by the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub.
Madhu Chauhan
Age: 25
Mumbai, India
Madhu is a teacher and active community volunteer with a passion for enhancing the skills of the youth in her community. She has been working on empowering young people through education, personality development and digital literacy. She is actively involved in providing computer/digital skills to underprivileged kids at high school level, and she regularly conducts sessions on personality development and language lessons in English, free of charge. She also volunteers by presenting science and space exploratory sessions for children in her community.