The World Movement for Democracy is excited to announce our 2021 Hurford Youth Fellows! This year, we’ve welcomed the following pro-democracy youth activists to spend the next three months conducting research and building leadership skills through our fellowship:

• Patricia Zanella (Brazil): Zanella is the is co-founder of EcoCiclo, an initiative aimed at promoting women’s reproductive justice, including increasing the accessibility of sanitary pads to women in marginalized communities. Her project will be centered on young women’s political participation and will try to delineate the barriers to young women’s political leadership in Latin America and explore innovative ways, both online and within political party systems, to increase the participation of young women in politics.
• Nishchhal Kharal (Nepal): Kharal is the Co-Founder and Secretary of Centre for Social Change, a social think tank that is committed to changing the socio-political dynamics of Nepalese society via research, education, and advocacy. His project will question how civic space for youth can be protected amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Therefore, his work will focus on how young people are organizing in this global crisis to defend civic rights and spaces, the challenges in doing so, and how the international community can support youth-led civil society during and after the pandemic.
• Stefani Spirovska (North Macedonia): Spirovska is the President of the Youth Education Forum, a civil society organization that provides civic education and capacity building for youth in North Macedonia. Her project seeks to examine systematic approaches to building democratic values among youth. To do so, she will study the effectiveness of youth policies, youth caucuses, and how civic organizations can empower youth to become interested in participating in formal democratic institutions.
• Marr Nyang (The Gambia): Nyang is the Founder and Executive Director of Gambia Participates, a civil society organization that engages communities on constitutional reforms, participatory budgeting, and transitional justice. His project will explore the intersection of truth and reconciliation processes and its role in advancing constitutional reforms. His work will highlight case studies from around the world and strategies for youth engagement in such processes.

To learn more about our 2021 Hurford Youth Fellows and their research projects, click here.