Thinking Forward: A Discussion with International Young Leaders

Ndaba Mandela is an activist and grandson of the late Nelson Mandela. Ndaba has founded two NGOs: the Africa Rising Foundation and the Mandela Project.

Aymen Abderahmen is a Tunisian journalist and co-founder of the Tunisian government-accountability watchdog “i-Watch.”

Ruden Balay is Kurdish-American activist and co-founder of “Student Ambassadors for Peace,” an youth intercultural understanding organization based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Nasreen Ali Mohamed is a humanitarian focused on economic development. She co-founded Cherehani Africa, an NGO dedicated to assisting women in micro-enterprise.

Sarah Zaman is an award-winning TV host and currently the producer within VOA Urdu.

Among the guests of the live panel was VOA’s very own Director Amanda Bennett.

Mozammil Shinwari is an asapiring Afghan politician running for office in Kabul. He has previously worked negotiating trade deals on behalf of the Afghan government.

The panel was highly informative on issues regarding youth engagement and political representations in civil society.

Ndaba Mandela joined via live video feed from South Africa while Maria Toorpaki Wazir, a women’s rights activist from rural Waziristan joined in from Pakistan.