The second cohort of the Local Pathways Fellowship successfully graduated

We are proud to announce that 26 young urban leaders successfully completed the 2019 Local Pathways Fellowship

A year ago, a group of 56 young urban leaders across the globe were selected out of hundreds of applicants to be part of the Local Pathways Fellowship (LPF) 2019 cohort. This program intends to make their cities “smart, fair and sustainable”. From Mexico City to New Delhi, the fellows were trained to advocate for a sustainable future and engage local stakeholders in their work. 

This 12-month training program, equipped the fellows with the tools and resources needed to advance problem-solving for sustainable development at the local level. This included the “Sustainable Cities” SDG Academy course led by Aromar Revi, Director of Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS); a knowledge exchange platform where fellows could foster a participatory dialogue among each other as well as with leading urban development experts and academics such as Jennifer Gardner, Director of Cities at OpenBox or Dima Al Srouri, Senior Manager of Planning & Design for Communities at Majid Al Futtaim; visibility opportunities; and mentorship throughout the development of a project or local initiative aimed at solving a challenge their city is facing. 

We are incredibly proud to share some of the successes of the LPF 2019 cohort below.

Motivated to build an open-defecation free India, Mahak Agrawal, a Local Pathways Fellow from New Delhi, India initiated an online petition that holds the Government of Delhi accountable for the human right to sanitation. Globally supported by 150,000 people, the petition seeks audit of facilities’ usability and it helped her start the dialogue with Cabinet Minister of Delhi for Health and Urban Development to initiate actions. 

Another Local Pathways Fellow Letícia Pinheiro Rizério Carmo from Belo Horizonte, Brazil helped raise $72,000 from the state government to fund the NINA, integrated, transit app-based technology to combat sexual harassment on public transport. She has been invited to participate in @TEDxVitóriadaConquista about her project.

Ameya Deshpande, fellow from Pune, India has been actively working on building a technology framework for predictive citizen-government interface in Pune. The first pilot of the project is being targeted for completion by December 2019.

HY William Chan, a fellow from Sydney, Australia participated in this year’s @TEDxSydney, where he challenged the audience to disrupt the understanding of refugee camps as future cities and incubators of innovation. And how refugees can be empowered to be the next generation of creatives, technologists, and innovators.

The results of the fellowship and the incredible urban projects ideas of the second cohort fellows will be presented at the 10th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10) in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates in February 2020. 

Local Pathways team congratulates its graduates and looks forward to their further achievements! Thank you for being at the forefront of realizing the SDGs and leading a global movement for sustainable development.

Certificates of completion were awarded to: 

  1. Madhav Datt (New Delhi, India)

  2. Valentina Troconis (Venezuela, Caracas)

  3. Yusuf Suleiman (Kaduna, Nigeria)

  4. Bhagya Uppala (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

  5. Nicholas Gigot (Chapel Hill, USA)

  6. Barsa Barsa (Patna, India)

  7. Bhagya Sivaraman (Chennai, India)

  8. Maria pia Garaycochea (Lima, Peru)

  9. HY William Chan (Sydney, Australia)

  10. Laura Puttkamer (Mexico City, Mexico)

  11. Cliff Richard Ingabo (Kigali, Rwanda)

  12. Oladotun Morakinyo (Ogbomosho, Nigeria)

  13. Thales Dantas (Florianópolis, Brazil)

  14. Xiangkun Elvis Cao (Ithaca, USA)

  15. Abdulla - Al Kafy (Rajshahi, Bangladesh)

  16. Ankie Petersen (Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  17. Ameya Deshpande (Pune, India)

  18. Fransiska Tirtoadisurja (Surabaya, Indonesia)

  19. Mahak Agrawal (New Delhi, India)

  20. Michelle Njuguna (Nairobi, Kenya)

  21. Naveen Dasari (Los Angeles, USA)

  22. Valerio Francia (Milan, Italy)

  23. Victor Ngo (Vancouver, Canada)

  24. Muhammad Shoaib (Lahore, Pakistan)

  25. Leticia Pinheiro Rizério Carmo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)

  26. Oscar Wong (London, UK)

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