The One Young World Politician of the Year Award recognises three 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 three winners who are doing groundbreaking work as young politicians, elevating the opportunities for young leaders in politics.
The judges for the 2024 award are:
Hasina Safi
Hasina Safi was born on 10 December 1975 in Laghman, Afghanistan. She has done Master Teacher Training & BA in law and Political science.
She is a professional leader and a well-known civil society & women's rights activist. She is an expert with considerable and proven experience of over 20 years in development practices focused on organisational development, development of policies & programs, women's economic empowerment, capacity building, advocacy for women’s rights, civil society, peacebuilding and human rights.
She started her first formal struggle at the age of 15, teaching English as a second language to Afghan Refugee women. During the past two decades, she has worked in different national and international organisations at the leadership levels, i.e. International Rescue Committee, Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees, International Organisation on Migration, Afghan Women’s Educational Center, United Nations Development Program, Afghan Women’s Network, High Peace Council, member of peace negotiation team(2018), Acting minister of information and culture Islamic republic of Afghanistan and lastly serving as Acting minister of women affairs Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Ms. Safi has been one of the strategic advocators for women’s rights, representing Afghan women and civil society in several National, regional and International events, conferences, and symposiums on Afghan Women such as peace consultation jirga, traditional jirga, London conference, Kabul conference and senior official meetings, peace Jirga etc.
She has been nominated for the N-Peace Award and has received the Bibi Khadija Awards, prior to many other awards over her various positions.
She is a great supporter of education; she believes quality education is the key solution towards the sustainability of a nation with a commitment to transfer skills, experience and expertise gained through practice. Her journey towards success never lacked challenges – not something to doubt about an Afghan woman’s life. She also believes in a balanced professional and personal life. She is a mother of three children.
Kumi Naidoo
Kumi Naidoo is a South African human rights and environmental justice activist. He is the former Secretary-General of Amnesty International and also the first person from the Global South to lead Greenpeace International. Kumi served as Head of Training at the Independent Electoral Commission, the body that oversaw South Africa’s first democratic elections in April 1994 and served as one of its spokespersons. He is a senior advisor for the Community Arts Network and is active in his local community through the Yeoville Bellevue Residents’ Association.
He is professor of practice at Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, and continues to serve as a global ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity. His family has started the Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism to build on the positive legacies left by popular South African rapper Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado through his music and life’s work. Kumi is the author of Letters To My Mother: The Makings of a Troublemaker, a memoir that won non-fiction book of the year from the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences and was recently longlisted for the Sunday Times non fiction award. Kumi is also the host of the podcast Power, People and Planet.
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).