HRH Princess Dr. Nisreen El-Hashemite

HRH Princess Dr. Nisreen Bint Prince El-Sharif Mohammed Bin King Faisal (I) Bin ElSharif Hussein El-Hashemite’s origins combine history, religion, politics and education, since she is from the Hashemite Family; the holiest family among the Arab World and a direct descendent of the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed (S).  

“I always want to establish my own legacy: a Legacy that is a bit far from my title, my family history and politics, a Legacy that is based on my achievements and serving humanity”.  

Princess Nisreen is the granddaughter of King Faisal (I) Bin El-Sharif Hussein, the first King of Iraq and founder of the Modern State of Iraq, where the Iraqi Nation with all of its diversified ethnic origins and religions for the first time, in its history became united under the King’s leadership and his commitment to democratic values, implemented through education, tolerance, mutual respect, and upholding good relations between neighboring and other international countries.  

“I want to be a doctor so I will be able to draw a smile on people’s faces”.  

Following in the steps of her ancestors, and vowing to preserve the traditions of her family; Princess Dr. Nisreen not only dedicated herself to serving mankind, but also is the first Royal Princess qualified in science and medicine, with a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences, Master of Science, Medical Doctorate (MD) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Human Genetics. Dr. Nisreen is an internationally recognized scientist and scholar, a winner of awards in the fields of science, arts, literature, and humanitarian affairs; and an author of several scientific papers, studies and books. Her career started in 1995 at University of London hospitals and Institutes where she developed a preventive technique known as Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis of single gene disorders that is now in use as a preventive procedure in more than 100 centers worldwide. She further helped raise public and political awareness of genetic disorders, its causes and socialeconomic value of prevention programs.  

She continued her career at Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Harvard Medical School, where conducted research on sex (biological) differences in tuberous sclerosis related cancers, which will lead to new therapeutic strategies and early detection of major types of cancer through accurate blood tests. In 2007, Princess Nisreen left her scientific career at Harvard Medical School, to which she was very committed, to devote herself to serving socio-economic sustainable development in the world, throughout the programs of Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) as its Executive Director. Princess Nisreen’s experience in Science and Innovation, vision and leadership led to a great development in RAST’s work, partners and affiliates into an international platform for catered socio-economic development programs that would answer the specialized needs of countries and regions.  

Since 2009, Princess Nisreen great efforts on Science, technology and innovation (STI) as the key drivers of economic and social development, led to creating international declarations and resolutions, as well as national policies that are well integrated into development strategies, addressing specific features of innovation in developing countries, and creating public-private partnership. Her fingerprints on shaping the future of sustainable economic growth through mobilizing science, technology and innovation is quite visible and recognized worldwide.  

Every February 11, we celebrate the achievements of women, known and unknown, remembered and forgotten, who have forged the way for those of us in science today. In addition to many achievements at the International arena, in 2015 The Science Princess, as known worldwide, HRH Dr. Nisreen is the first academic professional and CEO of an NGO credited with creating a UN International Day. From drafting and introducing the resolution to a successful lobbying, the UN has designated February 11 as “International Day of Women and Girls in Science”. Science is the Solution for Sustainable Development.. To bridge the world through peace, prosperity and sustainable development, the World needs Science and Diplomacy. Women Scientist in Diplomacy are the Near Future Leaders of the World Sustainable Development Agenda. 

In 2016, Princess Dr El-Hashemite founded an international campaign for “Science in Diplomacy”, followed by a movement of “Women in Science in Diplomacy”, which has led to the appointment of more women in science in diplomatic and senior governmental positions. I always believe that Humanitarian work is not only that kind of giving tangible items in emergencies, but giving knowledge, transfer of technology, developing education and health systems, creating equal opportunities for all regardless of ethnicity, religion or background… Real Humanitarian work is to give unconditionally. Dr. Nisreen’s humanitarian journey began at the age of 14, when her mother asked for her help and support with underprivileged children. Since then, she has worked to support elderly and disabled people, widows and orphanages, and refugees.  

As the Founder President of Jeans 4 Genes International, she seeks to improve the life of people with genetic disorders and raising funds to support scientific research. El-Hashemite has also worked closely with the United Nations and its entities on achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. She established the World Women’s Health and Development Forum as a Center of Excellence to improve women’s health. Princess El-Hashemite is the founder of the Women in Science International League. Princess El-Hashemite is also co-founded the Culture for Peace Program, which aims to create peace and tolerance between nations, societies and communities through art, music, and lectures. She is the first artist to use Arabic / Turkish coffee for paintings, donating the proceeds from her “Wonders of Coffee” collection to children and women charities. She is founder of the Science Café Program as well as the Children’s Science Café. 

Dr. Nisreen also established MUTE International Program, to promote, protect and ensure equal human rights for the deaf and hearing-impaired. In 1998, Princess El-Hashemite organized and chaired the RASIT-UNESCO Conference: The First International Congress of University Students, which led to the United Nations resolution observing August 12 as the International Youth Day. Since 2009, she has created, established and supported several youth programs including: The Generations in Dialogue Program, ENWAN Arab Youth Empowerment Programs, campaigns to renounce sectarianism and radicalization, to create synchronization, harmony and reconciliation in societies and communities.  

Dr. El-Hashemite devotes time to mentor and empower youth and girls in science. She always have time to visit schools and uses her titles as a Princess and a doctor to attract the attention of children and encourage them, mainly girls, to choose science as a career. My wings made me fly over mountains and seas, without the need to cross borders and obtain visas, I am flying everywhere, to whomever is in need. The Courage I have is to make a change, to be the heal from wounds. Yes, I am against the norm that others are doing, they have no courage to do anything. I believe that I am courageous enough to accomplish a lot before reaching 50!  

Doreen Bogdan-Martin

Doreen Bogdan-Martin was elected Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau on the 1st of November 2018.  She took office on the 1st of January 2019 and is the first woman in ITU history to hold one of the organization’s top elected management positions.

Ms Bogdan-Martin is a strategic leader with more than 30 years’ high-level experience in international and inter-governmental relations and a long history of success advising governments around the world on policy and regulatory issues.

From 2008-2018, she led ITU’s Strategic Planning & Membership Department. She was instrumental in establishing the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, on which she has served as Executive Director for more than a decade, and was an architect of the annual Global Symposium for Regulators, the pre-eminent global event for digital policymakers, as well as director of ITU’s first global youth summit, #BYND. She pioneered and oversees ITU’s ongoing contribution to the EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age, and is leading ITU’s collaboration with UNICEF on the Giga project to connect all the world’s schools.

Ms Bogdan-Martin is a frequent speaker at top-level international policy events and is spearheading ITU’s new Youth Strategy to more actively engage with the young people who are driving the next wave of digital transformation.

Since taking the helm as Director of BDT, she has led the implementation of a Results-Based Management system, improved internal accountability frameworks, and initiated a comprehensive review of reporting mechanisms across BDT’s global network of field and area offices, with a view to creating a more dynamic, responsive and fit-for-purpose organization.

Ms Bogdan-Martin holds a Master’s degree in International Communications Policy from American University in Washington, DC, post-graduate certification in Strategies for Leadership from the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is certified in Accountability and Ethics by the United Nations Leaders Programme.

She is an affiliate of the Harvard University Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society and is a Generation Unlimited Champion and a Champion of the EDISON Alliance led by the World Economic Forum. She serves on a number of advisory bodies, including the Geneva-Tsinghua Initiative, the SDG Lab Advisory Board, the UN Technology Innovation Labs, and the Alumni Expert Council of the Internet Governance Lab of American University in Washington D.C. She is also a qualified amateur radio operator.

Ms Bogdan-Martin is married with four children.

BDT Director, Twitter :  @ITUBDTDirector Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Twitter: @DoreenBogdan Doreen Bogdan-Martin, LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/doreentbogdan

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Now in her second term, she was first sworn into office on 19 August 2013. As the head of the UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, she is a global advocate and has led the organization’s innovative work on the disruption of society’s norms. Through coalition and movement building among global leaders in public and private sectors, and with civil society, she is driving the role of women in leadership, and ending discrimination and violence against women and girls. Before joining UN Women, she served in the Mandela Government as Minister of Minerals and Energy, and subsequently Deputy President, working on the fight against HIV/AIDS and coordinating efforts between the private sector, civil society and government to tackle poverty and education issues. Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka also worked as a teacher and gained international experience as a coordinator at the World YWCA in Geneva, where she established a global program for young women.

She is the founder of the Umlambo Foundation, which supports leadership and education.  

Salma Alrowaie

Salma Alrowaie is a high school senior from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She has been an active member of the Girls in Science 4 SDGs International Platform since 2019. Due to her passion for harnessing the power of ICT, Salma was assigned the Chief Media Officer in 2020. Moreover, she organizes webinars and creates content for the platform with the help of the media committee. 

Jayathma Wickramanayake

Jayathma Wickramanayake was appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in June 2017 at the age of 26. In this role, Jayathma works to expand the UN’s youth engagement and advocacy efforts across all four pillars of work – sustainable development, human rights, peace and security and humanitarian action – and serves as a representative of and advisor to the Secretary-General. Originally from Sri Lanka, Ms. Wickramanayake has worked extensively on youth development and participation, and has played a key role in transforming the youth development sector in her home country.

H.E. Prof. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has been the Managing Director of the Centre International de Développement Pharmaceutique (CIDP) Research and Innovation as well as Professor of Organic Chemistry with an endowed chair at the University of Mauritius. Since 2001, she has served successively as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro Vice Chancellor (2004- 2010). She has also worked at the Mauritius Research Council as Manager for Research (1995-1997). Ms Gurib-Fakim earned a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Surrey (1983) and a PhD from the University of Exeter, UK (1987). During her academic journey, she has participated in several consultation meetings on environmental issues organized by international organizations. Between 2011-2013, she was elected and served as Chairperson of the International Council for Scientific Union – Regional Office for Africa, and served as an Independent Director on the Board of Barclays Bank of Mauritius Ltd between (2012-2015).  

As a Founding Member of the Pan African Association of African Medicinal Plants, she co-authored the first ever African Herbal Pharmacopoeia. She has authored and co-edited 30 books, several book chapters and scientific articles in the field of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. She has lectured extensively across the world; is a Member of the Editorial Boards of major journals, has served on Technical and national committees in various capacities. Elevated to the Order of the Commander of the Star and Key by the Government of Mauritius in 2008, she has been admitted to the Order of the Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Palmes Academiques by the Government of France in 2010 and is the recipient of 5 DSc (s). 

Elected Fellow of several academies and societies, Ms Gurib-Fakim received several international prizes including the 2007 l’Oreal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science, the African Union Commission Award for Women in Science, 2009. On 05 June 2015, she was sworn in as the 6th President and the First Female President of the Republic of Mauritius and served in that capacity until March 2018. She was elevated to the Order of GCSK by the Government of Mauritius, and received the Legion d’Honneur from the Government of France in 2016. In 2017, she received both the lifelong achievement award of the United States Pharmacopoeia-CePat Award and the American Botanical Council Norman Farnsworth Excellence in Botanical Research Award. In 2018, she received the Order of St George at the Semperopernball, Dresden, Germany. In 2019, she received the ‘Trailblazing award for political leadership’ by the World Women Leaders Council in Iceland. In 2020, she was elected Honorary President of the International and Engineering Institute and received their 2020 5th IETI Annual Scientific Award. She also received the IAS-COMSTECH Ibrahim Memorial Award from the WIAS in Jordan. In 2021, she received the Benazir Bhutto Lifetime Achievement Award. In June 2016, she was in the Forbes List for the 100 ‘Most Powerful women in the world’ and 1st among the Top 100 Women in Africa Forbes List 2017, 2019. She is honoured as one of Foreign Policy’s 2015 Global Thinkers. 

Prof. Mona Minkara

Mona Minkara is one of the only blind professors in the field Bioengineering. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University. She lost her vision at the young age of seven as a result of macular degeneration and cone-rod dystrophy. She pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Middle Eastern studies at Wellesley College. In 2015, she received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Florida. Mona then joined the research group of Dr. J. Ilja Siepmann at the University of Minnesota where her research focus shifted to studies of surfactants using Monte Carlo methods.

She now studies surfactants found within the lungs and leverages that knowledge to conduct research related to COVID-19.

Mona is an advocate for blind and visually impaired individuals. She has created her own YouTube channel called Planes Trains and Canes through which she shows people what it’s like for a blind person to travel independently using only public transportation.

Prof. George Anthony Giannoumis

Anthony is an action researcher that focuses on technology policy and practice. He is an internationally recognized expert in the universal design of information and communication technology (ICT) and conducts state-of-the-art research on implementing universal design principles in practice. Anthony leads and participates in several large-scale research and innovation projects based in over 17 countries.

Anthony is an Associate Professor of Universal Design of ICT at the Department of Computer Science at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet). He maintains several international appointments including at the Harvard Law School Project on Disability at Harvard Law School, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, the Department of Science and Informatics at the University of Eduardo Mondlane, and the Department of Education at Roma Tre University. He works with the United Nations (UN) International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as the Vice Rapporteur for the subcommittee on ICT Accessibility and Access Coalition Liaison for EQUALS. He is the founder and Chair of the Board for the Global Universal Design Commission Europe AS and MyGoverNext Oslo. He is a member of the board for the Global Universal Design Commission and the Gender Equality in Technology student organization. He has been a member of the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion and was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship as part of the DREAM research network.

Since 2014, Anthony has acted as a principal investigator for research and innovation projects with budgets totaling over nine million EUR. He maintains a 25% success rate in acquiring grants and external funding and has an average score of 10.7 out of 15 for proposals submitted to the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program. He has authored over 30 peer-reviewed academic publications in leading international journals. He has accrued over 79 citations. Anthony has taught over 2,300 students and supervised 19 Master’s theses and one Ph.D. dissertation. He has also mentored over 18 startups, half of which have been led by women.
Anthony has received awards from the UN, OsloMet, Cambridge University, and other foundations and associations. He regularly teaches courses and lectures around the world, appears frequently on national and international media, and maintains a strong presence on several social media platforms.

Ceyda Süer

Ceyda Süer is a graduate of TED Ankara College. She holds Electrical and Electronics Engineering MSc from Middle East Technical University.  She started her career at NCR Turkey as a product specialist where she was responsible from product marketing management activities.  She then joined SBS Turkey,   as the Business Development Manager for Government industry, where her territory of accounts covered Defense Industry as well.  During this time, she lectured at Bilkent University as a part time instructor for Multinational Business Management and International Finance. She has held additional positions in management within the Public Safety and Defense Industries as the account team unit lead and with Vodafone Turkey Government Sr. Sales Manager, in 2013 and lead account teams in Central Government, Municipalities, Embassies and NGO’s. She is the member of board at Informatics Association of Turkey and acted as the Chapter Lead of Ankara at TurkishWIN (Women International Network). 

Dr. Beeta Ehdaie

Dr. Ehdaie serves as Senior Advisor on women’s economic issues to the Assistant Secretary of Economic and Business Affairs and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment at the U.S. Department of State.  She led in the conception and now the development of the Economic Bureau’s “Providing Opportunities for Women’s Economic Rise” (POWER) initiative.  She also advises on U.S. policy and programs aimed at fostering economic inclusion, supporting entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable economic growth.  In her role as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary, Dr. Ehdaie works on foreign policy matters pertaining to the science, environment and global health, which entails organizing and shaping the Department’s engagement on economic and health responses to global pandemics and climate change.

Women’s economic advancement in STEM has been at the heart of Dr. Ehdaie’s previous international experience and entrepreneurial ventures. She has worked in South Africa and Uganda to transfer innovative technologies to the field through the development of business models aimed at empowering local women entrepreneurs.  Dr. Ehdaie is also co-founder of Silivhere Technologies, Inc., and recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Science Policy Fellowship.  She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Virginia and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Gates Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

John Kim

John’s career has taken him across a diverse range of operating and investing environments from early stage startups to fortune 500 companies. For the last decade before founding cross border venture capital firm Amasia, John focused in finance, serving as Senior Vice President at Mercuria Energy Group, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs and Portfolio Manager at Korean National Investments. While in these roles he managed trading and investment strategies across a diverse set of asset classes and including commodities, public and private equity, fixed income and derivatives.

John started his career as an entrepreneur, founding music internet and e-consulting businesses before joining Merck & Co as a System Specialist. He left Merck to start his third company, a Delaware incorporated rock band called The Ally. John toured across America and recorded with top artists most notably receiving a platinum record for his album contribution with Grammy award winner Brandy. He is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Kauffman Fellow and a Member of the Young Leaders Circle at the Milken Institute.

John serves on various corporate and non-profit boards including those of Dialpad Communications, Kairos Society Asean and the Choson Exchange, a non-profit focused on teaching female entrepreneurs in North Korea. He has appeared on or contributed to the BBC, Channel News Asia and CNN. John attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the School of Engineering.

HRH Prince Zain El-Hashemite

H.R.H. Prince Zain bin Prince Adnan El-Hashemite, born in 2004, is the grandson of HRH Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) Bin El-Sharif Hussein, the Founder President of the Royal Academy of Science International Trust. Prince Zain’s origin combines history, education, and humanitarianism since he is from the Hashemite Family: the holiest family among the Arab World and a direct descendent of the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed (S).

Following in the steps of his ancestors, and vowing to preserve the traditions of his family, Prince Zain humanitarian work started voluntary since the age of 8 years. His first activity was creating social programs and raising funds to help underprivileged children in the State of New Jersey – USA. Being an Honor roll student throughout his school years, he always provides support and tutoring to other students in different subjects such as science and English.

In February 2016, with his conscious as a Global Citizen believing in Equality, Prince Zain started an initiative “Boys for Girls” to support Equality in Science. He presented his initiative at the First International Day of Women and Girls in Science, held at the United Nations Headquarters. He Throughout the years 2016 and 2017, he advocated throughout different platforms and by creating various activities, to recognise the role and contribution of women in science in world’s development. In 2017, he developed his initiative which is known as “Y4X” Global Initiative for Equality in Science and officially launched it in the year 2018 at the United Nations Headquarters during the third International Day of Women and Girls in Science. His Advocacy has a global impact on Multi-Stakeholders and created an awareness on the role of men and boys in achieving Equality in Science.
Per the request of the Deputy Executive Director of UN-Women, Prince Zain put his ideas on how to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. His vision “if we want to achieve the sustainable development goals, we need to start by making the goals simple and easy to understand by young students, and make them a part of the learning process and student’s development programs. These educated and well-prepared young students will turn into the good citizens who will practice the goals of gender equality, ending poverty, achieving zero hunger, good health etc. This will become part of their daily routine.”, was then translated into actions by the United Nations and its agencies.
In the year 2017, Prince Zain had a meeting with the 72nd President of the United Nations General Assembly, to discuss his vision on importance of bringing the United Nations closer to the peoples that it represents, as well as the necessity to include children and youth from different backgrounds both as agents and beneficiaries in the process of implementing the Sustainable Development Agendas.

Prince Zain has received several awards and recognitions, recently is a recipient of the United States President’s Education Program Award.

Currently, Prince Zain is a student at the Sophomore at Bergen County Technical High School in the State of New Jersey, majoring in Business and Strategic Asset Management. In his spare time, and in addition to his advocacy Programs for Equality in Science and the Sustainable Development Goals, Prince Zain composes and produces his own music.

Iva Gumnishka

Iva Gumnishka is the founder and CEO of Humans in the Loop, a social enterprise which provides opportunities for digital work and training to conflict-affected individuals, including refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons. Headquartered in Bulgaria, the enterprise is currently partnering with NGOs on the ground in Syria, Turkey and Iraq. There are also upcoming pilots of the model in Colombia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Palestine and Portugal. Iva holds a degree in Human Rights from Columbia University and was named Forbes 30 under 30 in 2018. 

Priya Samant

Priya is a changemaker and has experience working on the US Presidential campaigns and with the thought leaders globally. She has immersed herself and amassed deep experience in the areas of Technology and Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship, International Business, Emerging Markets, Impact Investment, Women and Youth empowerment, Films, Government and Politics. She has excelled in many leadership roles of Business and Partnership Development and Strategy Consulting for multiple technology organizations and also social cause groups. She has a unique passion for elevating society using innovation and brings a special set of skills that meld technology with the ability to identify the most significant societal needs. Thus, she finds herself at the forefront of solving very distinctive problems and delivering equally innovative solutions. She is also the creator of the concept impact advising for caused based cinema and the title “Impact Advisor ” which is given as a credit title in Bollywood films. Her third film, a documentary “My Home India” was listed and reviewed for Oscars 2020. Priya is an international speaker and has moderated panels for Caspian week at the World Economic Forum and Horasis Meetings. She is a member of 100women@Davos, The Digital Economist, The Dream Tank and TEDxBeaconStreet. She has been a speaker catalyst to Governor Dukakis, 3 times Governor of Massachusetts and 1988 US Presidential candidate, Eliza Reid, First Lady of Iceland, Steven Rothstein, Former Executive Director JFK Library Foundation, Amit Sharma, Former Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary Robert Kimmitt and Advisor to Treasury’s senior team under Secretary Henry Paulson in President Bush Administration, Suhas Subramanyam- Former Office of Science and Technology policy advisor to President Obama administration, Ambassador John Shattuck, Former Ambassador to Czech Republic and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor under President Clinton and many other notable names. Priya was born and raised in Mumbai, India and resides in the United States. 

Polona Šafarič Tepeš

Polona Šafarič Tepeš is investigating fusion driven cancers to earn a PhD degree at University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. She established a collaboration with Dr. Sordella at the world-renowned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY, a home of eight Nobel laureates, where she conducted her research work. She developed a new blueprint to study under-researched pediatric fusion-driven tumors, and started a clinical trial for the treatment of patients with mesenchymal chondrosarcoma in collaboration with U-Penn. She is a champion for underdog either in research or gender gap: pediatric cancers are extremely under-funded, under-researched area of science, but greatly needed for saving children’s lives. Similarly, gender equality in STEM is greatly needed to achieve her research goals. This prompted her to start working locally – she established a new Slovenian-women-union as a part of Slovenians educated abroad Association, connecting educated Slovenian women with women from different parts of the world and bridging gender disparities – starting in her own country-Slovenia.

For more information, please connect with her: www.linkedin.com/in/polonast

Hamisha Daryani Ahuja

Hamisha Daryani Ahuja is a Film Producer, Director, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, and Actress. Hamisha founded the company Forever 7 Entertainment, a Production company that deals in film making and content development in both the Nollywood and the Bollywood industries. She is the Executive Producer and Director on her first feature film ‘Namaste Wahala’ set to release on Valentine’s Day on Netflix. She has had the honor of being invited to work with various prestigious organizations such as Coca Cola, the Young President’s Organization, the Entrepreneurs Network U.K, Miss Nigeria Finalists, and The Big Brother Naija housemates where she coached the candidates on live television. She has also spoken on major stages such as WIMBIZ’s Annual Conference, which is the largest women’s gathering in Africa. Hamisha considers herself to be a citizen of the world. While she has spent most of her life in Nigeria in an Indian household, she has attended Boarding school at the American Community School of Cobham in the U.K, has a commerce honors degree from McMaster University in Canada, a Post Graduate in Hospitality from Glion in Switzerland, and an acting certificate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. These global experiences have given her a keen insight on the differing nuances of various cultures all over the world. Insight, which inspired her to create her first feature film: “Namaste Wahala” which brings forth the differences as well as the colorful similarities between Nigerian and Indian culture. 

Natalia Rincón

Natalia Rincón runs CHAOS, an AI startup focused on forecasting cities to improve liveability. She is an architect by profession and currently writes her doctoral dissertation on participatory urban planning and smart cities. Her urban planning expertise is complemented with a strong background in computer science. Ranked in the top 10 EU women entrepreneurs who foster the industry, Natalia advocates and represents the doer women in the tech community. Natalia drives social impact within politics too and serves as a deputy councilor in Tampere and as a member in several urban planning boards. She is also an advisor for foreign talent at the Ministry of Employment and Economy of Finland. She values resilience, creativity, and kindness, and constantly questions the status quo. People are her motivation to pursue innovation, as she strongly believes that this world should be a better place for everyone.

Hoda Kanso

Hoda Kanso is completing her final year of Master’s in Pharmacy at University College London, specialising in technologies that increase access to safe and quality medicines globally. Hoda is a peer mentor on the Girls In Science 4 SDGs International Platform. She also leads the UCL Fight the Fakes campaign, which raises awareness on the dangers of substandard and falsified medicines and is currently the programme manager of UCL’s Global Citizenship Programme.

Alma Nordenstam

Alma Nordenstam is a medical student at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, with a passion for research and policymaking in global health. Currently, Alma is a peer-mentor for the Girls in Science platform and Vice-President of External Affairs for the Swedish branch of the International Federation of Medical Students. She has a solid background in the youth civil society in Sweden, research assistant for the Center of Sustainable Health in Stockholm and is a recurrent co-author of the February 11 book series.