Youth Action for Change

Selene Biffi - Founder and Chair

Selene Biffi is the founder of Youth Action for Change. She served with the UN, Amnesty International and AEGEE in the past in different capacities, supervising projects aimed at empowering young people in different areas. She contributed to a few published works on youth inclusion and participation and youth policies, and has been profiled in several national and international media outlets for her work. She has organised national and international consultations on youth participation on behalf of UNESCO and the World Bank. She was also included in ‘Fighting for our Future: Tribute to Young Women inspiring Change’ by MADRE, and received awards such as the “Young Woman of the Year Award” in 2004 by the European Academy of Civil Society, the prestigiuos 'Premio Isimbardi' of the Province of Milan (Italy) and has been selected as ‘ChangeMaker of the Month’ by Ashoka, the leading organisation supporting social entrepreneurs worldwide. She holds a Degree in International Economics and Management from Università Bocconi (Italy), and is currently pursuing the NOHA Master in International Humanitarian Action in Ireland.

Shasheen Jayaweera - Strategy & Development Manager

Shasheen shares a passion for youth empowerment and economic development and was recognised as a finalist in the 'Young Australian of the Year' award in New South Wales in 2007 for his commitment to assisting developing nations. Shasheen co-founded Pacifikayouth in 2004 which since become the largest network empowering Pacific Islands youth.

He has worked for the World Bank and the United Nations in Asia and the Pacific Islands and also as an economist in Mongolia. Shasheen currently works as management consultant for a global firm during the day and has also worked for some of Australia's largest corporations in various strategy and analytical roles. He was a member of the Government's National Youth Roundtable, the Oxfam International Youth Parliament and a delegate to two World Youth Congresses. Shasheen has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Economics with first class honours from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Silvia Raccagni - Projects Manager and YIE Manager

Silvia is particularly interested in democratization and human rights issues. She holds a BA in Translation and Interpretation, followed by a Master in European Policies & a Master in Human Rights. She wrote some papers on the process of democratization of the Western Balkans and the issue of Kosovo's status.

She has won the 'Italian Business Game' for the most innovative students' invention, then representing Italy at the annual European Business Game. She also participated in the IV Summit of the Americas for young entrepreneurs organized by the Young Americas Business Trust in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Silvia has worked as personal assistant of the Mayor of Milan (Italy), and now works as Corporate Affairs Specialist for Levi Strauss & Co. in Brussels

Michela Bettinelli Rossi - PR and Communications

Michela comes from Crema, northern Italy. After her studies in Political Sciences she decided to specialize in International Relations and European Policies.

As a public relations and press manager she collaborates with several Italian and international companies, institutions and local governments, superivising their public relations and image. Since March 2008 she coordinates the press office of Youth Action for Change.

She has a passion for human rights, international relations and gender issues.

Anush Hayrapetyan - Forgotten Diaries Manager

Anush comes from Yerevan, Armenia. She has just graduated from the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University and is specializing in International Relations. She is currently working for the Eurasia Partnership Foundation as an admin assistant, but is also involved in different programs of the foundation, mainly dealing with youth and community development.

Anush has volunteered for the National Youth Council of Armenia, participating in different international youth events focusing on intercultural dialogue. She has also taught English to needy youth, has worked as an interpreter for observers from PACE (Council of Europe) during the parliamentary and presidential elections in Armenia and volunteered in the UN Office in Yerevan.

Anush has a great passion for almost any youth-related issue: active citizenship, leadership, human rights and intercultural dialogue. She is eager to promote youth opportunities as much as possible.

Chariya Ear - Forgotten Diaries Outreach Manager

Chariya Ear comes from Cambodia. He has been involved with youth empowerment for many years, and was a delegate to both, the 3rd World Youth Congress and the Civicus Youth Assembly/World Assembly in Scotland in 2007. He is also the founder and co-founder of several youth initiatives including the ‘Youth Empowerment for Leadership’, ‘Youth for Youth Forum’ and ‘Help Our Community’.

Chariya is currently the president of the Cambodian Students Association in Japan , and a member of the research team for the ‘Conceptual Master Plan for Preah Vihear , Cambodia’. He is a graduate student at the University of Tokyo, specializing in rural development and social capital.

 

Peter Seenan - Young Innovations Europe, Content Coordinator

Peter graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2006 with an MA in Political Science. He has work experience at the United Nations in South Africa, the International Organisation for Migration in Helsinki, Finland and most recently he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in India. Such a diverse range of experience has given him a broad understanding of youth, social development and cultural change which are some of his main interests.

Paola Ciaffi - Young Innovations Europe, Web Coordinator

Passionate about culture and communication, Paola graduated from ‘La Sapienza’ University of Rome, majoring in Sciences of Communication. Curious, thirsty for knowledge, some of her favourite activities are travelling, writing and reading. She is particularly interested in human rights and intercultural dialogue. She seriously believes in the power of knowledge and communication as tools to fight ignorance and promote freedom and democracy.

Lucrecia Mena - Courses Manager

Petra Zist - Courses Manager

Brendan Ratter - IT Analyst

Kingsley Razak - Ghana/West Africa Representative

Kingsley BASUGLO is a young Ghanaian of 24 years, he is a Professional NGO/Non-profit Practitioner, Youth and Community Development Social Worker , a Freelance Writer and an emerging Social Entrepreneur. He has worked on several community projects under the auspices of the World Bank Institute and the British Council notably on the Debate to Action Project as a Volunteer Community Project Facilitator on the Millennium Development Goals.

Dennis Korbla Amego Penu - Ghana/West Africa Representative

Dear old Ghanaian. He’s a final year Bachelor of Science student in Medical Laboratory Technology at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His education has taken him throughout the entire country and in these experiences he has developed sensitivity to the plight of the underprivileged and vulnerable. He has been involved in youth work since 2005 and has championed youth work on both local and international platforms including the organization of the UN’s first Global Model UN conference, 2009 in Geneva in which he served as a member of the Secretariat. He currently serves as Deputy-Director of programs for a youth-focussed NGO, Life-Link Friendship Schools, Ghana. He has gathered tremendous volunteer experience in peer education, youth advocacy, leadership and organization. His interests are in the Millennium Development Goals with specific emphasis on Health Development and Climate Change.

Ebonie Fifita - Tonga/Pacific Islands Representative

Rex Paura - PNG/Pacific Islands Representative

External Advisers

Bernise Ang
Bernise 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 & social justice; and youth empowerment for social change. Now, Bernise is the founder of the Singapore International Youth Council, which 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 & the MDGs. She also serves as the National Focal Point in Singapore for the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS. Bernise has addressed a 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. 

Eric Schneider
Eric has a deep passion in cultures, futures and solutions. His major interest lies in making the worldwide sustainability change-making movement accessible to youth, and thus facilitate empowerment and acceleration of positive change. For this purpose, he develops instruments, media and strategies for positive change-making and youth leadership. A central aspect in this work lies in building online technology supported bridges and win-win situations between the sectors of education, civil society, administration and media. His flagship program is “pnyv! positive news for youth with vision”, http://pnyv.org, a multi-language multi-media online magazine. Its print editions serve to set up Dazibao (wall-newspapers) in school hallways, and thus nurture the creation of ISLEs, “informal sustainability learning environments” in school. The participatory approach has repeatedly earned pnyv! the status of an Official Project of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Eric also develops new principles and aims in learning for the 21^st Century, like democracy literacy, Fair Global Citizenship http://pnyv.org/literacies, omni-cultural learning and a holistic travel culture. In the context of re-inventing democracy and youth leadership, Eric is also promoting a new, youth- and action-oriented conference culture. Mail: Eric /at pnyv.org

Arthur Gillette
Arthur is an American, based in France for some 40 years. He has a B.A. in French and Luso-Hispanic studies from Harvard and a doctorate in international education (dissertation on Tanzania) from the University of Massachusetts. He worked for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO in such areas as adult literacy, cultural heritage and youth/sports and was posted to Ethiopia (and African regional post), Chile, Rome and Geneva. He has published several books on youth/education issues and still writes a lot for cultural outlets, guides tours in Paris and volunteers for several youth-related and other NGOs. His French wife cooks MUCH better than he does. But he washes the dishes.

The YAC Team

Our team is also composed of several other individuals working as teachers, trainers, mentors and translators.