UNICEF Innocenti Youth Fellowship
Children and youth shaping child rights for generations to come
The future of childhood is uncertain – shaped by rapid technological advancements, climate change, and shifting global priorities. Yet, children and young people – those most affected by these changes – are often left out of the conversation. The few who do take part tell us their participation remains unequal, unrepresentative, tokenistic and ineffective.
As part of UNICEF Innocenti’s intergenerational governance and youth participation work, the UNICEF Innocenti Youth Fellowship aims to change that, by strengthening pathways through which young people can meaningfully influence systems, policy and public discourse. UNICEF recognizes the essential role of young people in delivering on the Child Rights Agenda and beyond. The fellowship engages children and youth as equal partners to make progress on the specific issues that matter most to their communities. Through collaborative learning, mentorship, strategic convening and peer exchange, fellows hone their skills in futures thinking, leadership, communication and systems change. The fellowship equips young leaders with the tools to shape the future – not just inherit it.
This year's fellowship
This year, UNICEF is welcoming a new generation of climate leaders with the 2026–2027 UNICEF Innocenti Youth Fellowship – an inspiring group of young climate educators, innovators, and systems thinkers whose work reflects some of the most promising and innovative ‘bright spots’ emerging across climate education globally.
These 12 fellows represent a wide range of lived experiences, geographies, and approaches to climate education. This year’s cohort, spanning all UNICEF regions, comes from: Argentina, the Cook Islands, Indonesia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Panama, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, and Zambia.
The UNICEF Innocenti Youth Fellowship is a youth-led, youth-centered initiative designed to strengthen the global understanding of what works in climate education. The fellowship focuses on building a robust evidence base through youth-driven research, foresight, and strategic convening. The fellowship recognises climate education as extending beyond formal schooling alone. Fellows explore how climate learning is shaped across communities, Indigenous knowledge systems, and digital spaces.
UNICEF’s aim is to surface the systems-level levers – across education, governance, finance, and communities – that enable transformative climate learning. Fellows will examine barriers, enablers, and scalable models, contributing insights that shape future policy, investment, and practice.
The fellows will:
- Document, strengthen and elevate their climate education 'bright spot'; 
- Contribute to youth-led research, foresight, and systems thinking; 
- Engage in intergenerational and policy dialogues at national and global levels;
- Produce stories, evidence, and strategic insights that inform future education systems; and 
- Co-design and co-host strategic convenings.     
Meet the 2026–2027 fellows
Moono, 10, Zambia
Moono is a climate advocate from Zambia and founder of Eco Future, a child-led initiative making climate education engaging and accessible for children.
Through community activities, informal learning sessions, and youth-friendly awareness campaigns, she is helping children see themselves as active contributors to climate solutions.
Ethan Julian, 12, Panama
Ethan is a young conservationist and biodiversity advocate from Panama.
Through his family-led initiative Rincón El Duende, he combines environmental education, bird conservation, and scientific observation tools to inspire community-based stewardship and youth engagement in conservation.
Reissa, 17, Indonesia
Reissa is a climate and education advocate from Indonesia working at the intersection of sustainability, STEM education, and youth-led systems change.
Through SciFun and EcoKom, she has mobilized hundreds of youth volunteers and developed school-based circular economy and waste management initiatives in underserved communities.
Tereora, 18, Cook Islands
Tereora is a passionate youth advocate from the Cook Islands and a member of Young Pacifica Wayfinders, working to create safer, more inclusive spaces for adolescents across the Pacific.
Guided by the belief that young people are not only inheriting the future but actively shaping it, Tereora is committed to ensuring that youth voices are heard, valued, and transformed into meaningful change.
Nazya, 22, Türkiye
Nazya is a climate education and youth participation advocate currently serving as National Coordinator of the Climate Envoys Platform under the Directorate of Climate Change of Türkiye.
Her work focuses on climate communication, intergenerational collaboration, and strengthening connections between local youth-led initiatives and global climate policy processes.
Marité, 23, Uruguay
Marité is the founder of EcoCity, an environmental education initiative in Uruguay promoting sustainable actions among children and young people through interactive workshops and inclusive educational programming.
Her work focuses on accessibility, environmental awareness, and youth empowerment.
Aakriti, 23, Nepal
Aakriti is the founder of ReGen Climate Lab, a youth-led initiative from Nepal that focuses on climate disruption, emotional resilience, and continuity of learning for children in vulnerable contexts.
Her work bridges climate education, systems design, and child-centered resilience approaches in low-resource settings.
Amy, 23, United Kingdom
Amy is a marine biologist from the United Kingdom and the founder of Another Way, an environmental education charity she launched at age 16.
Through her work, she has mobilized thousands of young changemakers, advised the UK government on youth climate engagement, and reached tens of thousands through environmental awareness initiatives and media advocacy.
Alexia, 24, United States
Alexia is an internationally recognized environmental justice organizer and educator from the United States, and founder of Land Justice Community School.
Their climate education curriculum has reached more than 120,000 students, and their work spans climate governance, youth organizing, land stewardship, and equitable fossil fuel phase-out advocacy.
Bruno, 24, Argentina
Bruno is a climate justice advocate and International Policy Coordinator at Jóvenes por el Clima Argentina.
His work focuses on participatory democracy, climate education, youth policy engagement, and South–South cooperation, including through international climate negotiations and youth-led governance spaces.
Nidal, 29, Morocco
Nidal is a rural engineer and social entrepreneur whose initiative MIRRIAH transforms climate technology into community learning hubs for rural youth and women.
Her work integrates green transition, climate adaptation, local leadership, and climate education in hard-to-reach communities.
Samuel, 29, Nigeria
Samuel is an environmental and development professional from Nigeria working across climate education, environmental justice, disaster risk reduction, and loss and damage.
Through the POP Nigeria Initiative on Climate Education and other global leadership roles, he has advanced community-centered climate learning and youth-led systems transformation.
Senior fellows
Abril Perazzini (20) is a Political Science student from Argentina and a UNICEF Youth Advocate focused on education and digital rights. As a UNICEF Innocenti senior fellow in the education and digital thematic area, she supports 'bright spots' fellows and contributes to the Climate Education Atlas, focusing on how digital tools can expand climate education.
Hailey Campbell (28) is a climate policy specialist and educator, equipping young people with the skills and confidence to catalyse ambitious climate policy. As a UNICEF Innocenti senior fellow focused on policy, she supports emerging leaders in connecting their local solutions to global policy outcomes that leverage climate education to empower generations of climate leadership.
Joshua Steib (23) is a climate advocate and 'artivist' focused on communications and storytelling for social impact. As a UNICEF Innocenti senior fellow focused on communications, he works with fellows to develop impactful messaging that amplifies their initiatives and highlights climate education as a catalyst for meaningful change.
Sampada Tewari (17) is a youth activist, artist, and public speaker focused on education, equity, and futures thinking. She works on the digital divide affecting adolescent girls in India and builds youth-led ecosystems through student forums, Rotary Interact leadership, and co-founded platforms for opportunity, collaboration, and mentorship.
Previous fellows
title
Sofia Monserrath Toapanta Arroyo, Ecuador
Ronit Batra, Norway
Moustapha Dabo, Senegal
Juliette Font, France
Crystal Isanda, Kenya
Ayoub Kaouane, Algeria
Korkemay Mukhitova, Kazakhstan
Renz Nathaniel-Luyao, Philippines
Annaëlle Narcisse, Haiti
Nahjae Nunes, Jamaica/United States (senior fellow)
Natálio Alfredo Cá Rabemananjara, Guinea-Bissau
Ifaliana Lahatriniavo Rasidinantenaina, Madagascar
Sampada Tewari, India
Izumi Vazquez, United States
Soumeya Voulani, Mauritania
Beatrice Afia Wilson, Ghana
Mamadou Doucoure, Mali – Senior Fellow
Fathmath Zahanath Zuhury, Maldives (senior fellow)
Oussamaben Mohamed Ali, the Comoros
May Phyu Phyu Aung, Myanmar
Nourhan Badr El Din, Egypt (senior fellow)
Rawan El-Bendary, Egypt
Mamadou Doucoure, Mali
Ijun Kim, Republic of Korea (senior fellow)
Nahjae Nunes, Jamaica/USA
Joshua Opey, Ghana
Fisayo Oyewale, Nigeria (senior fellow)
Selin Özgürsoy, Türkiye
Abril Perazzini, Argentina
Aicha Robei, Algeria
Kate Seary, United Kingdom
Zainab Waheed, Pakistan
Fathmath Zahanath Zuhury, Maldives
- Winifred Awinpoya Atanga, Ghana
- Hailey Campbell, USA
- Alejandro Daly, Colombia/Venezuela (senior fellow)
- Farzana Faruk Jhumu, Bangladesh
- Nikka Gerona, the Philippines
- Gunnhildur F. Hallgrimsdottir, Iceland
- Mariam Hassan Al Ghafri, United Arab Emirates
- Sonko Jamal, Uganda
- Catarina Lorenzo, Brazil
- Francisco Vera Manzanares, Colombia
- Ema Meçaj, Albania
- Erica Njuguna, Kenya (senior fellow)
- Nourhan Badr El Din, Egypt
- Iman Bashir, Kenya
- Jacob Ellis, United Kingdom
- Ricardo Pineda Guzmán, Honduras
- Deona Julary, USA
- Ijun Kim, Republic of Korea
- Asra Memon, Pakistan
- Fisayo Oyewale, Nigeria
- Joshua Steib, Germany
The 2022 UNICEF Innocenti youth fellowship focused on child identity for the Leading Minds Conference
Maria Alexandrova, Bulgaria
Anpotowin, USA
Alejandro Daly, Venezuela / Colombia
Beth Doherty, Ireland
Grace Gatera, Rwanda
Alliyah Logan, USA
Victor A. Lopez-Carmen, USA
Faridah Luanda, Democratic Republic of Congo
Natasha Maimba, Ireland
Erica Njuguna, Kenya
Ree-Anna Robinson, Jamaica
Josiah Tavita Tualamali’i, New Zealand
Join the UNICEF Innocenti Youth Network
Join UNICEF’s global community of over 30,000 members across 150 countries and help shape conversations that matter for children and young people worldwide.
The UNICEF Innocenti Youth Network keeps you updated on the latest participation opportunities at UNICEF Innocenti and beyond. As a member, you will receive monthly updates featuring new publications, youth-focused research, learning resources, and insights on topics such as child rights, climate education, youth participation in policy and decision-making, youth foresight, and more.
You will also be among the first to hear about events, workshops, and other engagement opportunities that invite young people to contribute their perspectives and take part in global discussions influencing decision-making.
