A Record Number of Fellows Graduated from the Local Pathways Program in 2020

The 2020 Cohort of the Local Pathways Fellowship has recently graduated. Eighty-nine fellows from 41 countries achieved 80 percent completion of the assignments required to receive a certificate of completion. This year, a record number of Local Pathways fellows graduated in the program's four-year history. The overall cohort graduation rate reached 70 percent. 

A year ago, 128 young urban leaders from 103 cities were selected for the 2020 Local Pathways Fellowship, a 10-month training program that equips young urban leaders with the tools and resources needed to advance problem-solving for sustainable development at the local level. Traditionally, the fellows developed practical solutions that tackle the challenges around SDG 11.

"It's thrilling to see the 2020 cohort graduate from the LPF with the tools and knowledge needed to implement solutions to the most pressing challenges in their cities. It's an honor to witness the development of projects ranging from solutions for public spaces and transportation to housing and waste management that will improve life in the cities represented in this cohort." -- Ana Ynestrillas, Local Pathways Fellowship Program Lead. 

A couple of examples of the 2020 cohort projects include a recycling program addressing waste management (SDG 11.6) in Ilorin, Nigeria that will use the funds it raises to sponsor children in school (SDG4), thereby promoting a better environment, increased literacy, and a more productive economy for the city. Another example is the use of smart cities technology in Melbourne, Australia, where a dashboard system would allow citizens to snap photos to report issues around the city such as potholes, ineffective streetlights, or vandalized public assets to increase the visibility of the ongoing maintenance of their local areas. 

Additionally, given the strong impact that COVID-19 has had on cities, the 2020 fellows developed a set of rapid response solutions for cities that address the targets of SDG 11. The solutions were featured in the COVID-19 Rapid Response Solutions for Cities report. 

Active engagement and recommendations by Cohort 2020 initiated the launch of the Mentorship Program for the next Cohort of Local Pathways Fellowship, which is designed to connect Local Pathways Alumni with incoming fellows for knowledge sharing and networking purposes.

Congratulations to all 2020 Local Pathways program graduates, and we are proud to announce their names! Certificates of completion were awarded to:

  • Aashreetha Koonu (Chennai, India)

  • Abdullah-Al-Faisal (Dhaka, Bangladesh)

  • Abraham Morris (Weah Monrovia, Liberia)

  • Aime Ludovic Pegdwende Sawadogo (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso)

  • Akash Malhotra (Gurugram, India)

  • Aleksei Tikhonov (Moscow, Russia)

  • Amer Qawasmi (Amman, Jordan)

  • Ana Paula Kasznar (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

  • Angela Moturi (Nairobi, Kenya)

  • Anna Pozdniakova (Kharkiv, Ukraine)

  • Anne Marie Rey (Quezon City,Philippines)

  • Apula Singh (Delhi, India)

  • Bessy Thuranira (Nairobi, Kenya)

  • Bingqin Shan (Shanghai, China)

  • Boateng Sekyere (Accra, Ghana)

  • Bruno Braga Batista (Porto Alegre, Brazil)

  • Caterina Laurenzi (Milano, Italy)

  • Chantal Rietdijk (Taipei, Taiwan)

  • Christian Vargas (Santiago, Chile)

  • Cibele Patrícia Damasceno de Oliveira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)

  • Clarity Ropafadzo Mapengo (Pretoria, South Africa)

  • Cyrielle Noël (Montréal, Canada)

  • Divya Kasarabada (Malmö, Sweden)     

  • Emmanuel Dzisi (Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Felix Mmeka (Toronto, Canada)

  • Geetika Ahuja (New Delhi, India)

  • Goodness Odey (Calabar, Nigeria)

  • Goutham Konikar S.M. (Mysuru, India)

  • Heba Elhanafy (Alexandria, Egypt)

  • Helen Tartaglia (London, England)

  • Holly Nicole Kandel (Dakar, Senegal)

  • Iman Abdulkadir (Toronto, Canada)

  • Iria Katritsi (Athens, Greece)

  • Isaac Oloruntimilehin (Ilorin, Nigeria)

  • Jaimin Parikh (New Delhi, India)

  • Jasprit Kaur (Delhi, India)

  • Javier Gallardo Salgado (Quito, Ecuador)

  • Jhonatan Melendez (Guatemala City, Guatemala)

  • Joao Henrique Alves Cerqueira (Curitiba, Brazil)

  • José Gil (Mexico City, Mexico)

  • Juan Alejandro García Rodríguez (Monterrey, Mexico)

  • Julia Alvarenga (Florianópolis, Brazil)

  • Keynes Tamo (Bafoussam, Cameroon)

  • Konstantina Vidou (Athens, Greece)

  • Leigh Huffman (Asheville, United States)

  • Liubov Shkurenko (Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Londiwe Dlamini (Durban, South Africa)

  • Lucy Dunhill (Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom)

  • Luísa Schiavon de Araújo (São Paulo, Brazil)

  • Macarena Domínguez Fernández (Olot, Spain)

  • Madhusudan Kothari (Pune, India)

  • Marcella Cutrim (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

  • Mariana Pallarés (Madrid, Spain)

  • Marina Kyriakou (Nicosia, Cyprus)

  • Marketa  Nosalova (London, United Kingdom)

  • Maroua Chaouechi (Sfax, Tunisia)

  • Mateo Lu (Barcelona, Spain)

  • Mohammad Ibrahim  Masoudi (Kabul, Afghanistan)

  • Namitha Thomas(Dubai, UAE)

  • Narotum Dass Yudhish Rohee (Curepipe, Mauritius)

  • Nedaa  Mahboub (Cairo, Egypt)

  • Nicola Coundourakis (Johannesburg, South Africa)

  • Nnaemeka Phil Eke-okocha (Siena, Italy)

  • Noah Baars (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

  • Patricia Aguchiku (São Paulo, Brazil)

  • Paula Sahyoun (Montreal, Canada)

  • Pratik Kunwar (Kathmandu, Nepal)

  • Priyanka Kulkarni (Thane, India)

  • Priyanka  Walanj (Mumbai, India)

  • Regina Ynestrillas Vega (Mexico City, Mexico)

  • Ritika Jain (New Delhi, India)

  • Rodelon Ramos (Manila, Philippines)

  • Sabareesh Suresh (Dehradun, India)

  • Sanchita Rajvanshi (Toronto, Canada)

  • Sandra Samantela (Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines)

  • Shalhevet Visner (London, United Kingdom)

  • Shelby Coleman (Syracuse, New York, United States)

  • Shey Vitalis Mbunkur (Nicosia Cyprus)

  • Shweta Gandhi (Dubai / Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)

  • Sofia Cavalleri (Bangkok, Thailand)

  • Solomon Jeong (Dublin, Ireland)

  • Tara Chen (Kaohsiung City, Taiwan)

  • Tony Luo (Melbourne, Australia)

  • Vivek Yadav (Bangalore, India)

  • Vladislav Fedorov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria)

  • Wrixon Mpanang'ombe (Blantyre, Malawi)

  • Xu Liu (Ithaca, United States)

  • Yasmina Bendikha (Montpellier, France)

  • Yee Man Ko (Hong Kong, China)

  • Yoldez Halleb (Sousse, Tunisia)

The Local Pathways leadership team thanks the fellows for joining the program in 2020 and looks forward to their further achievements. Congratulations!

Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

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