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Mr. Saif Ayed, Occupied Palestinian Territory
Saif Ayed, 16, is from Birzeit, a university town near Ramallah. He graduated from 10th grade and is studying for his international baccalaureate exams. Saif became involved in youth work at a young age and has been active in several initiatives, including the Birzeit Club in Ramallah where he coordinates dancing and singing events to help other young people recover from trauma. He plays the oud (lute). Saif has attended numerous workshops and training courses in gender, democracy, youth and other issues. Saif participated in the Focus Group Discussions for the Machel Strategic Review.
Mr. Chernor Bah, Sierra Leone
Chernor Bah, 22, is currently a Special Youth Fellow at UNFPA attached to the Humanitarian Response Unit. During Sierra Leone’s 11 years of war, Chernor fled his home and lived first as an IDP and later as a refugee. When he returned home, he began to promote child rights, playing a key role in the country’s immediate post-conflict recovery efforts. He was President of the Children’s Forum, leader of the Youth Parliament, Secretary General of the Human Rights Clinic, Secretary General of the Students Union and was a Junior Executive Producer of the UN Voice of Children Radio Project. As leader of the children’s network, Chernor presented a thematic statement on behalf of Sierra Leonean children on the impact of the war to the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Based on the recommendations of that statement, he was instrumental in preparing a child-friendly version of the Commission’s report. In his work at UNFPA he focusses on programming for adolescents/young people in humanitarian situations. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree from the University of Sierra Leone.
Fatou Sanoe and Ayouba Swaray, Liberia
Fatou Sanoe, eighteen years old, was born in 1988, just as civil war was breaking out in her home country of Liberia. Her brother, Ayouba Swaray, seventeen years old, was born a year later. Their family remained in their home city of Monrovia as the conflict escalated. In 1995, fearing for their safety and persecution, the family fled to neighboring Guinea. Having left all their belongings they had few resources to support them in their new home. During their family's first three years in Guinea, Fatou, Ayouba, and their siblings were unable to attend school, as they lacked the financial resources to afford tuition and other fees. Later on, they enrolled in a school for refugees run by the International Rescue Committee. After 10 years of refugee life with support from the International Rescue Committee, Fatou and Ayouba, along with their mother and siblings, were resettled in New York City in 2005. Both Fatou and Ayouba have just begun their second year at Marble Hill High School for International Studies, a New York City public high school that offers a special program for students who have recently arrived in the United States. Fatou hopes to become a nurse. Ayouba is a member of his school's soccer team, and feels fortunate to participate as a member of his school's Model United Nations club. He plans to study economics.
Vidar Ekehaug, Norway
Vidar Ekehaug works as a Program Manager for the Global Youth Action Network, a youth-led organization that unites the efforts of young people working to improve our world. Vidar has contributed as a co-author of the Machel Youth Report. He has also contributed as researcher on many publications on youth participation and empowerment, and has been actively engaged in the work to better engage civil society and young people in the work of the United Nations. He also coordinates Global Youth Service Day, the largest annual celebration of youth volunteerism, which engages millions of young people in service projects in more than 100 countries.
