The Global Citizen Prize 2022 is nearly here, shining a light on international activists who keep the world’s poor at the forefront of their campaigning, and celebrating these individuals who have shown exceptional commitment to achieving the UN’s Global Goals and ending extreme poverty.
Alongside the Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award which honors people who go above and beyond to make the world a better place, people who inspire us all to stand up and take action in our communities the Global Citizen Prize ceremony will also see the presentation of the 2022 Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award.
This award celebrates an individual aged 18-30, who has contributed meaningfully towards the goal of ending extreme poverty in their community, through their leadership, dedication, and innovation.
This year’s Cisco Youth Leadership Award winner is Nidhi Pant from Mumbai, India, a chemical engineer and cofounder of S4S Technologies, a near farm gate food processing platform that converts farm losses into value-added products through sustainable solar-powered technology.
You can hear more from Pant and learn more about her work with S4S Technologies here.
She will receive a substantial donation to her organization to help enable its continued growth.
Both Pant, and the extraordinary winners of the Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award who you can learn more about here will be honored at a prestigious intimate private dinner event, taking place on May 22 at New York’s Gotham Hall.
An exclusive stream of the Global Citizen Prize event will air on #YouTube and #Twitter on June 2.
But now, let’s meet the judges representatives from Global Citizen, Cisco, and esteemed activists and leaders in the international development field who chose Pant as the 2022 winner of the Cisco Youth Leadership Award.
Christelle Kwizera
The winner of the 2020 Cisco Youth Leadership Award, Christelle Kwizera is the founder and managing director of Water Access Rwanda.
She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma Christian University.
Kwizera is a Resolution fellow, a Rainer Arnhold fellow, a Sierra Club GPEP fellow, a MILEAD fellow, a Princess Diana awardee, and Foundation Channel’s 2019 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.
All of this was awarded on account of her leadership in addressing social issues, particularly those tied with environmental justice and youth issues.
After learning she’d won the 2020 Cisco Youth Leadership Award in a surprise phone call from singer-songwriter Nick Jonas Kwizera said:
“The work we do, keeping the water running for hundreds of thousands, we’re going to scale to millions because we’re tackling a challenge that affects 400 million people across Africa and over 2 billion worldwide.”
Francine Katsoudas
Francine Katsoudas is the Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer for Cisco.
In this role, Katsoudas oversees critical functions that instill Cisco’s conscious culture, contribute to the company’s overall performance, and advance Cisco’s purpose to power an inclusive future for all.
As head of the People, Policy & Purpose Organization, Katsoudas leads an ecosystem comprised of People & Communities, Corporate Affairs, Workplace Resources, and Government Affairs & Country Digital Acceleration.
This strategic alignment of functions and expertise ensures holistic care for the well-being of Cisco’s people, establishes Cisco as a trusted and valued partner to governments and global leaders, and extends Cisco’s reach to positively impact communities everywhere in alignment with the company’s purpose.
“Addressing the world’s most pressing issues will require the innovative, passionate efforts of young entrepreneurs like Nidhi, leading the next generation of global leaders who will help usher in a more inclusive, sustainable future,” said Katsoudas.
“Cisco is proud to recognize and support Nidhi’s incredible work leveraging innovative technology solutions to reduce waste and empower women farmers and families across India.”
Hugh Evans
Hugh Evans, Global Citizen’s CEO and cofounder grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and throughout his life has become one of the most recognized leaders in international development.
Over the past decade, Evans has built a movement of millions of people around the world who are working to end extreme poverty by 2030, in support of the United Nations’ Global Goals.
For his efforts, Evans has been named Young Australian of the Year (2004), was featured on #Forbes 30 Under 30 (2012), was named as one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business (2014), and received the GQ Man of the Year Award for Chivalry (2014), was recognized with the Diamond Ball Award for Humanitarian Work (2018), and was also honored in Town & Country’s Philanthropy Summit (2021).
Evans has been honored as Billboard magazine’s Humanitarian of the Year (2015), and his life story was profiled in 2017 in a CNBC special titled The Brave Ones.
Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and executive director of UN Women.
She was awarded a doctorate in technology and education from the University of Warwick in the UK.
A Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, Mlambo-Ngcuka became a Member of Parliament, deputy minister of the Department of Trade and Industry, Minister of Minerals and Energy, and finally, Deputy President of South Africa between 2005 and 2008. During her time as Deputy President, she worked tirelessly on programs and policies to reduce inequality.
Sanjeev M. Sherchan
Sanjeev M. Sherchan is executive director of Asia Society’s Global Initiatives Group in New York, which seeks to integrate the society’s multidisciplinary work across its various departments, center initiatives, and projects, to present globally impactful programs.
Sherchan began his career at the Asia Society in 2000 with a specific concentration on South Asia programming.
Before returning to the US for graduate studies in 1998, he worked for PLAN International-Makwanpur in Nepal.
He was a member of the National Democratic Institute’s shortterm Election Observation Mission during Bangladesh’s historic ninth parliamentary elections in December 2008 and was deployed to the Jessore District.
Sherchan sits on the advisory board of KTK-BELT, INC., a nonprofit organization that seeks to catalyze new models of biodiversity conservation and environmental learning in eastern Nepal.
Originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, Sanjeev received his masters of arts in international relations from Baylor University in Texas in 2000.
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