Mr. Ahmad ElHendawi,
Envoy on Youth to the United Nations Secretary-General

"The United Nations vision for empowering young people"
Mr. ElHendawi is currently the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon’s Envoy on Youth. Prior to this appointment, Mr. ElHendawi worked as the Team Leader at a World Bank-funded program to the League of Arab States on Institutional Development to Strengthen Arab Policy and Participation. He has also served as the Youth Policy Advisor to the League of Arab States in Cairo and as an officer to the Technical Secretariat of the Arab Youth and Sports Minister Council.

In addition, Mr. ElHendawi worked as a Team Leader for the National Youth Policy Project in Iraq, a Youth Program Associate at the Iraq office of the United Nations Population Fund and as an Emergency Program Officer at the non-governmental organization Save the Children. As part of his voluntary work, Mr. ElHendawi was among the co-founders of the All Jordan Youth Commission, the International Youth Council in New York and the Youth for Democracy Network at the Jordanian Commission for Democratic Culture, which he also headed.

Mr. Bahaa ElKoussy,
Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut

"Youth Engagement in the UN System"
Mr. Bahaa Elkoussy has served as the Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut since May 2009. Previously Mr. Elkoussy served as the communications advisor to the United Nations Special Envoy to Libya, the Deputy Spokesman for the United Nations Mission in Sudan, and the communication advisor to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha 2012.

Before joining the United Nations (UN), Mr. Elkoussy was a Corporate Communications Manager with Vodafone in Egypt. He also has an extensive background as a journalist as the Chief Middle East Correspondent, the Cairo Bureau Chief for United Press International and a reporter for Voice of America. Mr. Elkoussy holds a Masters in Political Science from Long Island University in New York.

Ms. Elyssa Koren,
Director of Advocacy at the World Youth Alliance

"Human dignity and human rights at the UN: youth voices and impact"
The World Youth Alliance, a global youth advocacy training coallition, took on Ms. Koren as the Director of Advocacy in October 2011. Ms. Koren holds a J.D. from the University of Toronto and a B.A. in International Relations from McGill University.

Ms. Mima Stojanovic,
Innovation Unit Research Coordinator at The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

"Learning From Our Students: The Global Design for UNICEF Challenge"
Mima Stojanovic is a Research Coordinator for the Innovation Unit at UNICEF and currently heads the City University of New York’s Design for UNICEF Challenge. Prior to her current role, Ms. Stojanovic worked at United Nations Population Fund’s Adolescents and Youth Program. Ms. Stojanovic holds a Masters in Public Administration from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.