Peace and Security Plenary: How can young leaders restore diplomacy to end the cycle of violence?
Hear from our inspirational delegate speakers
Speakers
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Maeen AldahbaliHuman Rights ActivistMaeen Aldahbali
Human Rights Activist
I am a peacebuilder, human rights advocate, and Project Lead for Human Rights and the MENA Region at the City of Paris (General Delegation for International Relations).
Originally from Yemen, I served as the Youth Governor of Taiz within the Youth and Children Government, where I spearheaded peacebuilding initiatives that protected over 1,500 children and prevented dozens from being recruited into armed conflict. Despite surviving two assassination attempts, arbitrary arrest, and severe personal loss due to my advocacy, I have remained steadfast in my commitment to human rights.
Currently based in France as a political refugee and studying at Sciences Po Paris, I coordinate international diplomatic forums, human rights conferences, and memory initiatives. My work focuses on bridging grassroots youth voices with global decision-makers to promote youth inclusion in peacebuilding processes.
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Taban Nuai Deng WuorFounder and Chief Executive DirectorTaban Nuai Deng Wuor
Founder and Chief Executive Director
Taban Nuai Deng is the Founder And Chief Executive Director of Youth Proudly Space Initiative (YPSI)_a youth-led nonprofit serving Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Juba, South Sudan, where he has lived since being displaced in 2013. Since founding YPSI in 2020, he has built programs spanning education, peacebuilding, entrepreneurship, digital literacy, and climate resilience, reaching over 5,000 young people and equipping more than 2,500 with entrepreneurship and business training.
This organization primarily focuses on Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) to bring about positive transformations in the lives of marginalized youth.
A South Sudanese peacebuilder, researcher, and social entrepreneur, Taban is committed to building lasting peace and opportunity for displaced young people, with a long-term ambition to serve at the United Nations. -
Chantale ZuziChantale Zuzi
Chantale Zuzi is the Founder and Executive Director of Refugee Can Be. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she spent part of her adolescence in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in Uganda before resettling in the United States.
Chantale’s relationship with education began with her mother, who did not have the opportunity to attend school herself but believed deeply in education for her daughters. Through displacement, Chantale saw how poverty, gender, and access shape the choices available to refugee girls. After resettlement, Chantale experienced sustained investment in her own life through education, mentorship, and community.
That perspective led Chantale to found Refugee Can Be, an organization shaped by the belief that displacement should not determine the choices available to a girl.
Today, she leads Refugee Can Be in partnership with girls and families from Rwamwanja. Their perspectives inform the organization’s decisions, programs, and direction. At the center of Chantale’s leadership is a belief in the agency of refugee girls: their capacity to make choices, shape ideas, influence their communities, and determine the direction of their own lives.
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Katembo RaphaëlPeace AmbassadorKatembo Raphaël
Peace Ambassador
Muhetho Raphael is my name, I’m Congolese peace and youth advocate, international relations and diplomacy graduate, and emerging leader passionate about peacebuilding, good governance, and youth participation in shaping Africa’s future.
I’m originally from Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where I have worked with young people and communities affected by conflict, displacement, and social challenges. Through my work with organisations and community initiatives, I have supported youth mentorship, transformational leadership, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution.
I am also passionate about connecting faith, leadership, and public service. I believe that leadership is not mainly about position, but about responsibility, integrity, and using influence to serve others and create positive change.
I have participated in youth leadership and peace initiatives and currently continues to develop my work around governance, diplomacy, and community transformation.
I’marticularly interested in how young Africans can move from being spectators of change to becoming active contributors to peace, justice, and development.
For me, leadership begins with a simple question: “What can I do with what I have, where I am, to make a difference?”
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Yuliia DziubaPresident, European Democracy Youth Network | Public Policy Expert and Founder, Future Frame PolicyYuliia Dziuba
President, European Democracy Youth Network | Public Policy Expert and Founder, Future Frame Policy
Yuliia Dziuba is a Ukrainian public policy expert and youth leader with nearly ten years of experience in democratic governance, international cooperation and youth empowerment. She is President of the European Democracy Youth Network, representing nearly 1,000 young civic and political leaders across 23 countries, and Founder of Future Frame Policy, an NGO advancing responsible, evidence-based and conflict-sensitive policymaking.
Yuliia previously served for six years as a Senior Policy Adviser in the Parliament of Ukraine and advised a Deputy Minister of Economy on digital transformation and public-sector reform. Her experience includes cooperation with the Council of Europe, a traineeship in the European Parliament, membership of the Youth Council under Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and convening more than 10 UK–Ukraine policy discussions in the UK Parliament.
She currently coordinates 12 partnerships between Ukrainian municipalities and European cities through the Association of Ukrainian Cities. Throughout her career, she has mentored more than 100 young leaders pro bono.
Originally from the heavily affected Chernihiv region and displaced by Russia’s full-scale invasion, Yuliia rebuilt her life in the United Kingdom and completed a Master of Public Policy at the London School of Economics. Her work focuses on youth diplomacy, democratic resilience, conflict prevention and building a just and sustainable peace.
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Fanna Abdu MuhammadWomen Peace & Security Advocate/ResearcherFanna Abdu Muhammad
Women Peace & Security Advocate/Researcher
Fanna Abdu Muhammad is a Women Peace and Security advocate, researcher and mentor from Northern Nigeria, with over nine years of experience working with conflict-affected communities, particularly women and young people. Her work focuses on peacebuilding, mentorship, community engagement and supporting survivors of conflict to rebuild their confidence and pursue their aspirations.
Fanna began her humanitarian career with CARE International as a GBV Service Provider and has since worked with organisations including the International Rescue Committee and The Mentor Initiative in various protection and research-related roles. She currently works as a Social Research Associate with Mobukar Consultancy Services, contributing to research on Managing Exit from Armed Conflict in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).
Fanna came from a region where conflict is not just a headline, but a lived reality. Her work is driven by a commitment to understanding how conflict and insecurity shape the realities of women and young people in Northern Nigeria, particularly those in fragile and affected communities. Growing up around conflict taught her that silence can be dangerous. Her lived experience as a survivor of conflict and violence is what inspired her journey into Women Peace and Security and led her to start her mentorship work.
Through her informal initiative, Catch Them Young, Fanna provides mentorship, safe spaces, encouragement, guidance and referrals to over five hundred young women and girls affected by conflict. Her work is rooted in the belief that survivors should not only be supported to recovering from violence, but empowered to become agents of peace and change.
Fanna is passionate about amplifying the voices of women and young people affected by conflict and creating pathways for them to meaningfully participate in peace and security processes.