RCE Youth Representatives
The RCE Network has two mechanisms in place for youth representatives as shown below:
- RCE Regional Youth Coordinators
RCE Regional Youth Coordinators are nominated by the RCE Regional Advisors, endorsed by the Ubuntu Committee of Peers and appointed by UNU-IAS for a term of two years. Their main role is to play a vital role in strengthening youth involvement in the decision-making process and facilitate youth-led and youth-focused initiatives at the regional and global levels.
The current RCE Regional Youth Coordinators for the 2023-2024 term are listed below.
Mr Evance Ouya
Evance Ouya completed a BSc. Wildlife Management at the Maasai Mara University, and an MSc. Wildlife Management Student at the University of Eldoret. Currently, he serves as the RCE South Rift Youth Coordinator. Through different developed grants, he has embarked and upscaled ESD ideals by leveraging volunteer University Students Environmental Clubs to train and mentor primary and secondary school students and community members. These initiatives have borne tangible results in the quest to combat the global problem of climate change. Some of these projects include: July 2018: Rufford Foundation funding (£4,999) for the project ‘Establishment of a tree nursery for environmental education and community awareness at selected degraded sites in Narok County, Kenya’; and July 2020: Rufford Foundation funding (£6,000) for the project ‘Environmental Management through Tree Growing for Climate Change Mitigation as a Platform for Public Education and Community Outreach Programme in Narok County, Kenya.’
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Mr Md. Nazmul Islam
Mr Md. Nazmul Islam is the RCE Regional Youth Coordinator for the Asia-Pacific region, and also serves as the youth coordinator for RCE Greater Dhaka in Bangladesh. Mr Islam is currently working as a Manager of the Education Extension Department of IUBAT University. He is also a representative of the KBAD program, a flagship project of RCE Greater Dhaka. He has jointly conducted various activities with RCE Greater Dhaka towards sustainable education and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. He has worked in line with the idea of higher education for all, towards the expansion of education and the development of the regional community, achieving incredible success. Apart from educational improvements, he has also conducted various activities for the development of the environment, climate, and agriculture, and has been involved in various developmental programs, projects, and organisational work since his student days. Mr Islam first joined RCE Greater Dhaka in 2014, and was selected as the Youth Coordinator of RCE Greater Dhaka in 2019 for his dedicated efforts and active contribution to various activities of the RCE. In performing his duties, he is devoted to playing a leading role in the development of the youth community.
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Jorah d'Avigdor (Community Manager), Aukje Sina Zijlstra (Communications Officer), and Maximilian Eisenbart (Policy Advisor) collectively act as the RCE Regional Youth Coordinators for the RCE community in Europe. They work together as a team, utilising their individual strengths to achieve the best possible outcomes during their appointed time period. While each member of the team focuses on specific tasks assigned to the Regional Youth Coordinator, they work together to unite their capabilities. The team is excited to work with others, create projects, and connect Europe's RCE Youth. |
Jorah d’Avigdor (she/they) is 18 years old and hails from RCE Ruhr in Germany. She is currently graduating from High School and plans to start university in the autumn. She is a champion for queer and women's rights and has been involved in various contexts. |
Aukje Sina Zijlstra (she/her) is a 21-year-old Frisian from RCE Fryslân, and is in her third year of a BSc in Global Responsibility and Leadership at University Campus Fryslân (RUG). She has always been inspired to implement trans-disciplinary sustainability in education. |
Maximilian Eisenbart (he/him), is 22 years old and serves as the current Youth Coordinator at RCE Fryslân. He has an interdisciplinary background and a broad range of interests, and he aims to advance sustainability in various fields, including education, policy, and youth engagement. |
Ms Oriana Silva
Oriana Silva is a French and Chemistry BA student at the University of North Texas (UNT). As a former Sustainability Intern, she has experience working with SDG Action Manager Tool, a self-assessment tool developed by B Lab, and in Sustainability Publishing. In 2020, Oriana had the opportunity to found, along with other students at Dallas College, The Sustainable Age – Student Journal, the first student-led journal based on sustainability in the North Texas area that integrates international students from different backgrounds and colleges, showing diversity and inclusion across the country. Oriana has had the privilege to work with many organisations affiliated to sustainability, as the Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE) - Americas and North Texas chapters, where she has actively served as Youth Leader and Communications Committee Member since 2020. She currently works as a Lab Technician at UNT, exploring how chemistry intersects several ecological fields, including Aquatic Ecology, Stable Isotope Ecology, and Food Web Ecology.
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RCE Youth Coordinators are designated by each RCE to represent the youth within their RCE, and to serve as a point of contact for youth seeking to network and engage with cross-RCE initiatives and activities. The representatives chosen are engaged with, and work with a diverse cross-section of youth within their region.
Below is a list of RCEs that currently have RCE Youth Coordinators. The contact details of their representatives can be found within the 'Contact Details' section of each RCE's profile page (accessed by clicking on the links below).
For more information, including responsibilities, or to designate a youth focal point (for those RCEs who do not currently have one), please download the RCE Youth Coordinator form here and submit it to the RCE Service Centre at RCEServiceCentre@unu.edu.
RCE Youth Coordinators
REGIONS
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST
RCE Greater Mbarara
RCE Ilorin
RCE Kakamega-Western Kenya
RCE Mount Kenya
RCE Port Harcourt
ASIA-PACIFIC
RCE Bangalore
RCE Chubu
EUROPE