The One Young World Politician of the Year Award recognises five outstanding politicians under the age of 35, who are using their positions to have a positive impact on young people in their communities and countries.
The panel of expert judges has been invited by One Young World to choose five winners who are doing groundbreaking work as young politicians, elevating the opportunities for young leaders in politics.
The judges for the 2023 award are:
Fatou Jagne Senghore
Fatou Jagne Senghore is a prominent Gambian human rights and freedom of expression advocate. After founding ARTICLE 19’s West Africa office in 2010, she oversaw the human rights organisation's work for over a decade. She led ARTICLE 19’s work with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, advocating for the adoption of a declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa in 2002, and the establishment of the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression in Africa in 2004. Prior to ARTICLE 19, she worked for the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa and developed programmes for the judiciary and legal practitioners in the Gambia.
From 2019-2022 she co-chaired the development and adoption of Senegal’s first Action Plan on the Partnership for Open Government, and served as Chair of the Africa Freedom of Information Center. She has contributed to legal reforms in multiple countries, and litigated on behalf of journalists and human rights defenders.
Throughout her career, she has supported women political leaders, journalists, and human rights defenders, and has initiated training programs to support women’s political participation in Senegal and in the Gambia. She recently founded the Center for Women’s Rights and Leadership, a platform to advance women’s rights, political participation, and leadership in the Gambia. She is an Amujae Leader 2023 of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development.
Jagne Senghore has received many distinctions for her human rights work. These include the French National Order of Merit in 2018, the Shield Award for West Africa by the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network in 2019, the Press Freedom Hero Award by the Gambia Press Union in 2020, the Deyda Hydara Award in 2021 and Legacy in Activism Award by SheAwards Gambia in 2023. She was included in the Advance Media Inaugural List of 100 Most Influential African Women in 2019.
Laura Chinchilla
Former President Laura Chinchilla is a political scientist with a Master in Public Policy from Georgetown University.
She was the first woman to be elected president of Costa Rica (2010-2014). Previously, she served as minister of public security (1996-1998), congresswoman (2002-2006), minister of justice (2006-2008), and vice president (2006-2008). During her political career, Mrs. Chinchilla prompted police and justice reform measures to tackle crime and violence, digital and open government, the promotion of women's rights, and early childhood protection. She also promoted environmental sustainability policies, especially on preserving marine biodiversity, for which she was distinguished with international awards.
Mrs. Chinchilla has worked as a consultant with various international organizations, such as: the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She has been part of the advisory boards of the UNDP`s Human Development Report and the Global Happiness Report, and board member of the International Olympic Committee, the World Leadership Alliance - Club de Madrid, the Inter-American Dialogue, the Concordia Summit, and the Euro-America Foundation. Mrs. Chinchilla has headed various Electoral Observation Missions in the Americas and chaired the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age. She has taught at the Institute of Politics and Public Policy of Georgetown University (USA), the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (México), and the Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil).
Payam Akhavan
A renowned international human rights lawyer, Payam Akhavan LLM SJD (Harvard), OOnt FRSC, is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague and Special Advisor on Genocide to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
He was previously Full Professor at McGill University Faculty of Law (2005-20) and Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at European University Institute, with other appointments at Yale Law School, Oxford University, Université Paris Nanterre, Sciences Po École de Droit, and Leiden University. He is currently a Professor of International Law and Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto.
Professor Akhavan was the first Legal Advisor to the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (1994-2000) and also served with the UN in Bosnia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Rwanda, and Timor Leste. He has served as counsel in notable cases before the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He also serves as Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Global Affairs of Canada on the Flight PS752 tragedy, is Senior Fellow and Canadian Co-Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, and Co-Founder of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre.
He is the recipient of the 2021 Human Rights Award of the Law Society of Ontario and his human rights work has been featured in the New York Times, BBC HARDtalk, CBC Ideas, Maclean's, and other media.
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE is Founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). She is the former Director of LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security. Anderlini has 25 years of experience as a peace strategist working globally on conflicts, crises, violent extremism and peacebuilding. At ICAN, she spearheads the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL), comprising of over 90 women-led peacebuilding organisations in 40 countries.
Anderlini has led groundbreaking initiatives including being a civil society leader and drafter of the seminal UNSC Resolution 1325. Anderlini was the first Gender and Inclusion Expert in the UN Mediation Standby Team working on Libya, Syria, Somalia and Sudan. She has led global multi-country studies on women’s contributions to peace processes and men’s roles and vulnerabilities in fragile contexts. She is the author of Women Building Peace: What they do, why it matters (2007) and is published extensively, including in Foreign Affairs and Le Monde Diplomatique. In 2020, Anderlini was awarded an MBE for her services to International Peacebuilding and Women’s Rights.
