I am a 25-year-old Master student in International Development at Sciences Po Paris, a youth activist and advocate for human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals towards the EU, a Fellow of the International Youth Think Tank, and an internationally recognized youth leader and SDG-changemaker as a Delegate at the UN flagship program UNITE 2030.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a focus on Arabic and the Middle East, including a minor in international law and human rights. I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in International Development with a specialization in diplomacy and human rights. During a study abroad semester at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, I focused on conflict mediation and peace negotiation classes through which I gained particular knowledge around the Abraham Accords.

In my future career, I aim to link international development and peace development by promoting human rights and justice through international law mechanisms, and through diplomatic dialogue in the form of conflict mediation, peace negotiations. As such I gained a deep academic understanding of the complexities around international development issues and global peace. However, for me, it is important to not just participate in educational programs but to actively shape my environment through taking action.

I believe that global peace can best be accomplished through achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As such I aim to achieve global peace by linking it to international development. Through my past academic, volunteering, and professional engagements I have gained an extensive track record of tackling the SDGs as a means to advance global peace:

– As a member of „Schüler Helfen Leben“ (2014-2016), Germany’s largest youth-led organization for the enhancement of international development and global peace, I was part of the organization team for the „Sozialer Tag“. As such I have empowered over 60.000 students and contributed to the collection of around 2 million Euros annually to tackle the SDGs and enhance global peace through community-based projects on development, education, and peacebuilding in the Balkans and the Middle East. (An example of the supported projects is the Al-Shajara Youth Centre at the Jordan-Syrian border which offers a safe environment to provide Syrian refugee children with education (SDG 4.1, 4.3, and 4.4). Another example is ASUBIH, a national student council in Bosnia Herzegovina that brings students from different ethnicities together to speak up against structural ethnic division such as ethnically divided schools and to promote peace, democracy, and equality through dialogue (SDG 10.2). As such my action raised awareness of development issues in other parts of the world and specifically promotes SDG 4 (target 4.1, 4.3) and SDG 10 (10.2).

– Through my ‚Weltwärts‘ Development Volunteering service (2016-2017) in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador I taught a basic level of English in the public school ‚Unidad Educativa Felicisimo Lopez’ to over 100 children to offer free quality education (SDG 4.1) and to increase the students‘ job opportunities through the acquirement of job-relevant skills (4.4). (English skills are of great importance in the Ecuadorian State Manabi since the tourist sector offers the most job opportunities and is the major source of income for local communities). Despite working as a full-time English teacher, I used my free time to support the local NGO ‚Clara Luna‘ in teaching English through non-formal education (SDG 4.3). Furthermore, I supported the NGO ‚Minga por el Mar‘ each Sunday for a beach clean-up to conserve and sustain the maritime environment by reducing its pollution (SDG 14.1).

– In my function as a youth advocate and a member of the Pool of Representatives of the European NGO ‚EEE-YFU‘ (since 2017), I am representing 28 national organizations and 10.000 members in international events. It is my responsibility to advocate the SDGs, intercultural education, and global competencies towards EU institutions, the Conference of INGOs at the Council of Europe, and the EU Youth Dialogue. Furthermore, I advocate the increasing acknowledgment of non-formal and peace education through intercultural youth programs as a form of global citizenship education and to increasingly engage youth leaders in decision-making processes such as the European Youth Dialogue. One major achievement is the Lifelong learning platform through which I promote the core idea of SDG 4, to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (SDG 4.1, 4.3, 4.5, 4.7).

– During my one-year social voluntary service (2017-2018) in a curative educating children’s home, I supported socially marginalized and disabled children to ensure their equal access to education (SDG 4.5, 10.2). Within this function, I established a project house in which I organized daily projects to develop relevant creative and technical skills based on non-formal educational methods (SDG 4.3, 4.4).

– As the Junior Policy Officer of KARAMA (2019-2020), I helped to tackle gender inequalities and human rights issues in the MENA region by promoting social justice through women grassroots activists. Furthermore, I advocated for women’s by organizing meetings with EU-parliamentarians to call for an end of all forms of discrimination against all women and girls in the MENA region (SDG 5.1) in order to facilitate the effective participation and equal opportunities for women to acquire leadership positions (SDG 5.5). I see human rights as essential for the enhancement of international development and peace.

– As the International Relations Officer of the AIESEC (2020-2021), the world’s largest youth-led organization for leadership development, I have organized and facilitated around 20 different development projects to take action tackling the Global Goals and peace development in 5 MENA countries. (These projects include teaching children in rural areas in Morocco (SDG 4.1, 4.3, and 4.4) or empowering women in Tunisia (SDG 5.5). Additionally, together with peers, I initiated weekly and monthly SDG challenges to make the SDGs more tangible and to encourage other AIESEC members and students to take action towards the SDGs. I believe that no action is too small since many small actions can have a big impact.

– As an intern of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (2020-2021), I promoted intercultural dialogue based on interfaith diplomacy to enhance peace between different communities in the Middle East. As such I coordinated interfaith partnerships and worked on the Abraham Accords as an example of how peace and mutually beneficial development cooperation can be facilitated through dialogue (SDG 17).

– As the educational officer and a founding member of the Sciences Po SDG Student Hub (since 2021), I organize regular educational events around the SGDs such as conferences on SDG 1 No Poverty and on the ‚COP 26‘ climate conference & SDG 13 (Climate Action). Furthermore, within one month, I helped establish a community of over 100 students to take regular action on the SDGs. The Sciences Po SDG Student Hub is grounded in SDG 4.7: to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.

– As a Fellow of the International Youth Think Tank (since 2021), I am developing and advocating proposals to tackle the SDGs (for example through peace-promoting education) and to enhance peace development through academic research and activism.

– As a UNITE 2030 Youth Delegate (2021), I am part of the highly-selective flagship youth leadership development program of the United Nations which aims to facilitate dialogue between the world’s top young leaders and changemakers to empower the next generation of youth in order to tackle the SDGs and to enhance global peace. As such I will be part of the Camp 2030 in New York to present and advocate ideas and solutions for the SDGs and peacebuilding towards the UN General Assembly.

My track record of tackling the SDGs reflects my motivation towards enhancing global peace. I believe that I qualify as a Global Peace Chain Ambassador since I combine extensive international leadership experiences have initiated a variety of projects and have represented, mobilized, and guided a total of over 150.000 young people. Furthermore, I have built a strong global network of some of the world’s top young leaders and shown long-term commitment to the SDGs and peace development through my actions. Among my major overall learning experiences that I gained through my various social engagements and leadership positions is the importance of regular peer-to-peer learning spaces such as international leadership development conferences. For me, sharing and gaining best practices is important to increase my impact towards the SDGs and as such to advance global peace. Together my motivation and learning experiences in the context of international development and global peace drive me to apply as a Global Peace Ambassador. Global peacebuilding and stability can only be achieved if we communicate, cooperate, and act together on a global level – based on this conviction, I am highly motivated to join the community of Global Peace Chain Ambassadors.