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Join UNA-Atlanta and partners to celebrate
the 77th anniversary of the United Nations at our virtual meeting
Empowering Youth to Nourish Peace
November 11, 2022
5:15 PM EST - 7:30 PM EST
5:15 PM EST - 7:30 PM EST
We will explore the interrelatedness of food security with the Global Goals, youth engagement and empowerment.
We're celebrating the 77th anniversary of the United Nations with the theme Nourishing Peace, looking into how the UN supports food security and peace together, and the opportunities to stand with the UN on these goals. We recognize that food security is closely related to many of the Sustainable Development Goals, including youth mental health. We recognize the critical role of youth in achieving the Global Goals and peace building. It is imperative that we ensure our youth are mentally fit and resilient in order to create sustaining peace, and proper nutrition is vital to a person’s mental well-being. We are bringing “Actors, Actions and Solutions” together.
Speakers at the webinar will shed light on
Speakers at the webinar will shed light on
- The actions being taken to address the challenges of sustaining peace
- The current resources that empower youths in creating sustainable communities
- Actions individuals of all ages can take to raise awareness on youth engagement in peace-building efforts with an emphasis on food security and mental well-being.
This virtual event is FREE of cost and open to the public.
Keynote Speakers

Nadi Albino has over 20 years’ experience in international development. Working intimately in the fields of Education, Youth, Early Childhood Development (ECD), policy development/analysis and much of the social sector. Ms. Albino has gained proven competencies in programming; program management: coordination: and delivery, in collaboration with government, the private sector, women and youth globally. She has an in-depth perspective on African and Asian development issues, with a strong track record of advancing gender equality, and working in fragile, post conflict and emergency environments. She is currently the Deputy Director for UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and was the UNICEF Representative in Lesotho until end March 2019.
Ms. Albino has worked in various capacities with girls/women, youth, and children, making her a flexible and proactive team player. She demonstrates strong collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills useful attributes for any team. She is politically astute, which has contributed to ‘big picture’ transformation in development interventions.
Ms. Albino holds a Doctor of Education (University of Fort Hare); with post graduate qualifications in Education and Change Management (University of Sussex), Policy Development and Analysis (University of Maastricht), Managing Education Sector Reform (World Bank Institute), Business Administration and General Management (Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and Conflict Resolution/Management (University of Birmingham).
linkedin.com/in/nadi-albino-3339413
@riveryei
Ms. Albino has worked in various capacities with girls/women, youth, and children, making her a flexible and proactive team player. She demonstrates strong collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills useful attributes for any team. She is politically astute, which has contributed to ‘big picture’ transformation in development interventions.
Ms. Albino holds a Doctor of Education (University of Fort Hare); with post graduate qualifications in Education and Change Management (University of Sussex), Policy Development and Analysis (University of Maastricht), Managing Education Sector Reform (World Bank Institute), Business Administration and General Management (Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and Conflict Resolution/Management (University of Birmingham).
linkedin.com/in/nadi-albino-3339413
@riveryei

Alicia Rivera is the Chief Financial Officer of Feeding Georgia Families who works to acquire sponsors and donors, and to coordinate community partnerships.
Alicia believes in the importance of giving with an open heart to those in need. At Feeding GA Families, there are no requirements or judgment, just a group of people dedicated to giving those around us, and each other, a helping hand in the moments it is needed the most.
Alicia has worked with Feeding GA Families as a co-founder and CFO for over 12 years. She has established partnerships with over 150 nonprofit organizations to distribute food across the state of Georgia and has established a nationwide distribution program to reach more people in need. Alicia holds a Bachelor of Arts with a course emphasis in Business Management, Psychology, and Public Service from Ashworth University.
Alicia believes in the importance of giving with an open heart to those in need. At Feeding GA Families, there are no requirements or judgment, just a group of people dedicated to giving those around us, and each other, a helping hand in the moments it is needed the most.
Alicia has worked with Feeding GA Families as a co-founder and CFO for over 12 years. She has established partnerships with over 150 nonprofit organizations to distribute food across the state of Georgia and has established a nationwide distribution program to reach more people in need. Alicia holds a Bachelor of Arts with a course emphasis in Business Management, Psychology, and Public Service from Ashworth University.

Dr. Jairo Garcia is an expert in urban sustainability and climate change. Dr. Garcia is the CEO of Urban Climate Nexus, the North America Curator for United Nations Habitat, a Sustainable Development Goals Educator Fellow, and long-term collaborator and lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and The Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Garcia is the former Director of Climate Policy with the City of Atlanta and the lead author of Atlanta’s Climate Action Plan. He received the 2017 Individual Climate Leadership Award by the EPA, and the 2021 Green Ring Award by the Climate Reality Project for this demonstrated an exceptional commitment to climate communications and climate action activism. His areas of research are in urban climate vulnerabilities with a focus on urban heat and food security.
Panel Speakers

Jamal Hill is an American Paralympic medalist who is dedicated to helping others learn how to swim with the ultimate goal of overcoming the drowning epidemic. The drowning epidemic claims over 350,000 innocent lives every year, mostly persons underaged 25, and mostly like bing in a low income community. As a Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Swimming Medalist for the United States of America, Jamal uses his global platform to provide swimming education resources, opportunities, and inspiration to millions around the world, including young people with disabilities.
Jamal is the founder of the Swim Up Hill Foundation which focuses on reaching low-and middle-income communities of colour both nationally and internationally that are at the greatest risk of drowning. To date, the organization has established partnerships across the United States, as well as international programmes in Colombia, Portugal, and within countries in Northern Africa.
Jamal is inspired to build an international network that removes the stigma associated with disability, fosters the inclusion and well-being of persons with disabilities into sports, and empowers an ever-expanding and inclusive aquatics global community for decades to come.
Jamal is the founder of the Swim Up Hill Foundation which focuses on reaching low-and middle-income communities of colour both nationally and internationally that are at the greatest risk of drowning. To date, the organization has established partnerships across the United States, as well as international programmes in Colombia, Portugal, and within countries in Northern Africa.
Jamal is inspired to build an international network that removes the stigma associated with disability, fosters the inclusion and well-being of persons with disabilities into sports, and empowers an ever-expanding and inclusive aquatics global community for decades to come.

AY Young is a producer, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur who powers his "Battery Tour" performances using renewable energy. He was recently named a United Nations (UN) Youth Leader for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and performed at President Biden’s inauguration. AY is currently working on a Global Goals album, labeled Project17 in collaboration with earth's biggest artists and companies to create one song for each of the 17 SDGs. He is on a mission to collaboratively make our planet a healthier, kinder, and more sustainable world together with a network of some of the most high-powered companies in the world. Let’s get plugged-in—it starts when we come together. Join the conversation at @aymusik and visit aymusik.com.

Szilvia Fodor, PhD is a psychologist, and works as an Associate professor at the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. She has courses on the psychology of teaching and learning, gifted education, school organizational psychology and positive psychology at school, and she is also involved in supervising MA and PhD students. Her main fields of research are positive psychological aspects of gifted education, the psychology of optimal/high achievement and school organizational psychology.
Besides teaching and research, Szilvia is active as a consultant for whole-school positive psychological interventions aiming to enhance wellbeing and mental health among students and staff and developed a complex e-learning material about positive psychological concepts and interventions for educational purposes. She held several online/offline workshops and trainings about wellbeing and mental health for teachers and young adults both in Hungary and other countries of Europe (e.g. Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia). She was the program coordinator of the Hungarian Templeton Project, which is a pilot program for the personalized support of exceptional cognitive talents.
Dr. Fodor is a regular consultant of the European Talent Centre, Budapest, member of the international advisory board of the European Talent Support Network and serves as the Vice-president of the ECHA (European Council for High Ability). She is an advocate of global wellbeing and sustainability, and an enthusiastic disseminator of scientific knowledge.
Besides teaching and research, Szilvia is active as a consultant for whole-school positive psychological interventions aiming to enhance wellbeing and mental health among students and staff and developed a complex e-learning material about positive psychological concepts and interventions for educational purposes. She held several online/offline workshops and trainings about wellbeing and mental health for teachers and young adults both in Hungary and other countries of Europe (e.g. Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia). She was the program coordinator of the Hungarian Templeton Project, which is a pilot program for the personalized support of exceptional cognitive talents.
Dr. Fodor is a regular consultant of the European Talent Centre, Budapest, member of the international advisory board of the European Talent Support Network and serves as the Vice-president of the ECHA (European Council for High Ability). She is an advocate of global wellbeing and sustainability, and an enthusiastic disseminator of scientific knowledge.

Okan Dursun is recognized as one of the 17 Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the start of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2022.
Okan is the Co-Founder of Twin Science, the world’s first ed-tech company that combines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning with SDGs education for young people to raise them as tomorrow’s changemakers. Twin Science has reached more than one million young people with Twin STEM Kits and the Twin mobile app in over 70 countries. Twin Science has been recognized as a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum, won BETT Awards 2020 and the Silver Play for Change Award from Toy Industry of Europe.
As a student, Okan started his journey with the Young Guru Academy, one of Turkey’s leading NGOs, while studying at university. He was selected as one of the 50 young talents among 50,000 applicants to develop impact-driven projects for refugees, orphans, the visually impaired, and others through volunteerism.
Passionate about eliminating inequality in education worldwide, Okan has also been leading a social responsibility project called the World Science Movement (WSM). The project aims to give children better access to STEM education. WSM has reached over 500,000 underprivileged children in Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Turkey. Okan believes that no curious mind should be left behind and he is dedicated towards working for this purpose until reaching all young people around the world.
Okan is the Co-Founder of Twin Science, the world’s first ed-tech company that combines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning with SDGs education for young people to raise them as tomorrow’s changemakers. Twin Science has reached more than one million young people with Twin STEM Kits and the Twin mobile app in over 70 countries. Twin Science has been recognized as a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum, won BETT Awards 2020 and the Silver Play for Change Award from Toy Industry of Europe.
As a student, Okan started his journey with the Young Guru Academy, one of Turkey’s leading NGOs, while studying at university. He was selected as one of the 50 young talents among 50,000 applicants to develop impact-driven projects for refugees, orphans, the visually impaired, and others through volunteerism.
Passionate about eliminating inequality in education worldwide, Okan has also been leading a social responsibility project called the World Science Movement (WSM). The project aims to give children better access to STEM education. WSM has reached over 500,000 underprivileged children in Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Turkey. Okan believes that no curious mind should be left behind and he is dedicated towards working for this purpose until reaching all young people around the world.

Arda Seckiner is a Sophomore at Innovation Academy in Fulton County, Georgia and a budding entrepreneur: "In my fifteen years of life, many things have happened. When I was young/toddler, my parents said I was a cute kid who would eat anything and everything that would be put in front of me. For example, my parents would display blueberries for me to eat, however I would play with them and smush them, then eat them. However, as I grew up, I thought I started to mature, however I had a long way to go. When I first started school, I was quite timid, however as the years went on and on, I began to become more and more social and open to new people. Furthermore, this is when I started to observe the people around me and the people I knew, so this led to me wondering how the people I knew were different from me. Then I went to the dentist for the first time, I fell in love with the science and was fascinated by the fact some man took a sharp chisel and scraped my teeth. However, my dentist also said I could keep my teeth clean by brushing and flossing. So, I would do it everyday so that I could follow his orders. However, one day I noticed that some people had come to school without brushing their teeth, so I asked why, and they said that they didn’t have the materials to do so. When I heard this, I knew I had to make a difference, so my mission is to give less fortunate kids in my area a chance to have a clean and healthy mouth."
Panel Discussion Moderator

Avi Karamchandani is UNA-Atlanta's Youth Envoy: Global Goal 3, Good Health & Well-being. He is a passionate, adventurous, courageous student at Lambert High School. He has many interests ranging from mental health and synthetic biology to basketball and cooking. He works hard through challenging situations and puts his best foot forward in any position. Ever since he was a young boy, he has wanted to find solutions to global issues and problems. At the age of 12, Avi decided to do just that with Fittoday: a platform devoted to improving the overall health of youth across the world. Mental health in children will no longer be overlooked; Fittoday allows children to easily convey their emotions to adults, caretakers, teachers, and parents. In addition, Fittoday allows adults to set certain physical activities schedules for child/student. Data entered through a child/student is immediately relayed to the adult, which can be viewed on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Avi is a student of Lambert High School's class of 2025, the founder/creator of Fittoday, a part of the Boys Track & Field team, the Lambert International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team, and a Black Belt in Karate.
This webinar is assisted by

Alíz Kun, U.S. Department of States Fellow for Community Solutions Program.
Rachel Bowen Pittman, Executive Director of United Nations Association of USA, shares with us the meaning of Nourishing Peace.
Special thanks to our partnering organizations: