Mr. Abdoul Byukusenge

Mr. Abdoul Byukusenge (Rwanda) is a young activist whose ambition is to promote and inspire activities focussed on the youth in the African region where he lives and work with the youth organizations.

Since October 2005 he is with the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Tunza Youth Advisory Council where his role is to engage and involve young people into environmental issues. He also advises the UNEP to better its strategies and methods for the active engagement and involvement of young people to consolidate its mandate. He specially focuses on increasing the youth participation by advocating for the cause of UNEP and its activities with various youth groups, clubs, and associations.

Abdoul is an under graduate student in Economics, after his one year stint in the field of computer sciences.  He would be enrolling for the online courses offered by the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) in Capital Market Fundamental and Debt Regulations and Arbitration and Alternative Dispute resolution. His association with the Civil Society has provided him with a learning and experience with the stakeholders in development and humanitarian agenda including government agencies, UN agencies, donor communities, NGOs, Private sector organizations and community organizations among others. Abdoul sincerely feels that the time is ripe so that he could share his learning and experiences in order to serve the community as an Youth Delegate from Rwanda in Africa . He strongly feels that his endeavours will increase the partnership between IIMSAM and other International organizations for an all inclusive sustainable development in his continent.

Abdoul states “The problem of malnutrition severely affects the developing countries including my own country Rwanda. As an IIMSAM Youth Delegate from Africa, I look forward to promote the use of micro-algae Spirulina against malnutrition by helping IIMSAM forge alliance with other stakeholders, both local and others in the region that strive for sustainable development in Africa.

I am confident that as a Youth Delegate of the organization, I would be able to catalyze the immense potential of the young people of Rwanda to combat malnutrition and strive for the achievement of the UN MDG’s.

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Ms. Antonia Tsaira

Ms. Antonia Tsaira (Greece) is a graduate of International and European Economical and Political Studies and has recently completed her Masters Degree in Human Rights and Democratization. During her academic years, she has been very active in elected posts in the AIESEC, the biggest student NGO worldwide. Upon completion of her master’s degree, Ms. Tsaira began her volunteer activities as a press coordinator of the UNESCO Club of Serres, taking part in various projects involving development and human rights. As a youth delegate of the IIMSAM, Ms Tsaira will contribute through her academic background and enthusiasm towards the exploration of funding opportunities in Greece, as well as the promotion of the IIMSAM’s mission and mandate.



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Ms. Bernise Ang

Ms. Bernise Ang (Singapore) is an avid youth activist who is passionate about empowering and activating young people in their communities to take leadership in addressing today's global challenges. Inspired by social justice activism in her university days, she pursues a deep interest in international development; participatory democracy; civil rights and social justice; and youth empowerment for social change. 

She is the founder of the Singapore International Youth Council that works to catalyse linkages among Singapore youth organisations, facilitate capacity building, resource development and to create advocacy channels, for the advancement of Singapore youth.

In addition, she coordinates the Youth-Led Development (YLD) Advocacy Group, which facilitates youth-government engagement in addressing national development strategies and the UN MDGs. She also serves as the National Focal Point in Singapore for the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, involved in an initiative to build a national network of HIV/AIDS actors in Singapore.

Bernise has addressed a wide range of audiences, from world environment ministers to international youth conferences to schools, on a range of global issues: Youth engagement in the MDGs, at the UN, in civil society; sustainable development; HIV/AIDS, among others.

She is also passionate about bossa nova, playing the trumpet, and a tall, ancient, Irish monumental figure located in Chicago. 

Bernise states “There have been many, many attempts to make commitments on Youth, with varying degrees of progress. Maybe, just maybe, the creation of the Inter-governmental Youth Organisation will be the breath of fresh air that so many young people have been waiting for. I hope that governments will step up and show their leadership on something that will profoundly impact the development of their own countries -starting now.”

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Ms. Simge Andi

Ms. Simge Andi (Turkey) is a sophomore studying international relations at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey. She became interested about the cultural diversity of the world while she was pursuing her high school at the American High School in Tarsus, Turkey. At present, she is learning Spanish and French so that it equips her with skills to do a comprehensive and diligent study of different cultures. Simge is in the Honour’s Roll of her university which manifests her academic calibre. She is also involved with the Volunteers Group of her college that tries to secure financial support for the poor children in the east of Turkey and gave Simge a first hand experience for the urgent need of the involvement of the youth to address contemporary problems of the world.

Having a keen interest in the contemporary issues that affect the youth of the world, Simge has attended several conferences on youth such as THIMUN Youth Assembly. In order to understand the dynamics underlying the United Nations and its work she has attended various MUN conferences in many parts of the world since she was fifteen. Simge is also involved in the activities of the Marketing Club of her college where she interacts with the corporate sector. In her spare time Simge likes to play Piano and swim.

Simge states “Being selected as a Youth Delegate for IIMSAM is a great honour that excites me so much. I will strive to do my best to accomplish my duties in order to fulfill the mandate of the organization to help the malnourished and the disempowered ones.”

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Mr. Hyun-Jong Ryu

Mr. Hyun-Jong Ryu (People’s Republic of China) was born on April 13th 1990, in Seoul, South Korea. In 1995, he moved to Beijing, China with his family because of his parent’s work. Since then, he has never moved elsewhere, but Beijing. In 1995, he attended Lido Kindergarten to learn English for a few months, and started attending International School of Beijing (I.S.B). He has gone through elementary school and middle school, and is going through high school all in that same school. He is currently a junior in I.S.B. He has learned Chinese as a second language in his school ever since first grade. However, not to lose his identity as a Korean, his parents have tried their best to visit Korea at least three times a year. Because of this, he speaks Korean, English and Chinese fluently. He has been doing actives such as MUN, charity funding for the poor, HFH, bands, young investment groups, and others in or out of school. Since young, he has been interested in business, marketing, international relations, politics, sociology, sports, computer programming, and especially drums.

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Ms. Stephanie Kwan

Ms. Stephanie Kwan (U.S.A.) received her B.S. in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Emory University and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the U.S.  Throughout and following her undergraduate and graduate studies, Ms. Kwan has been working with non-profit organizations and government agencies on environmental and social issues in China and the U.S.  Her main areas of interest include international policy with a focus on environmental issues, sustainable development, and youth empowerment for social change.  Ms. Kwan joins IIMSAM as a Youth Delegate and aspires to develop programs in the Asia-Pacific region for sustainable development and the empowerment of youth in addressing current social and environmental challenges.

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Ms. Sandra Lindblom

Ms. Sandra Lindblom (Sweden) was born in the year 1981 and is currently a degree student of Political Science and National Economy at the Uppsala University, Sweden, and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in the area of Development studies. She is an active member of the Uppsala Association of International Affairs, and just got elected to the Board for the upcoming year. Her travel to the Eastern African region last year was instrumental in generating her interest in the area of development issues.

She has also lived in Germany and Australia and plans to go to Guatemala in the summer to learn Spanish and contribute her faculties in the capacity of a volunteer. Having a keen interest in the issues of international affairs she is quite fond of travelling and experiencing different cultures. A firm believer in the dictum that one’s life is what one makes of it as long as one has the tools and opportunities; she plans to give the youth a voice during her association with the IIMSAM in her endeavour to make the world a better place.

Sandra states “For me being a Youth Delegate of IIMSAM means that I can work towards giving others an opportunity and a voice to take control over their lives, and to make their own decisions. To be in a situation where you do not know when your next meal will be, I could never imagine, and if I could do anything to change the situation to be the betterment of the one person, I would do everything, and for me, this is the way.

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