KATHMANDU – The World Economic Forum has recognized Nepali youth leader Mr. Pradip Pariyar in its 2020 class of Young Global Leaders (YGL) for his contribution in empowering the youth and promoting social justice.
The Forum of Young Global Leaders was launched by the World Economic Forum’s founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab in 2004 to help the world address increasingly complex and interrelated challenges.
The World Economic Forum has been recognizing potential youth leaders across the globe with the YGL awards, investing in their leadership skills and innovative ideas to prepare them for meeting global challenges.
Mr. Pariyar is the only recipient of the YGL award from Nepal this year. In a statement issued on Wednesday (11 March), the Forum of Young Global Leaders said Mr. Pariyar was chosen for the YGL award 2020 for his potential in and contribution to youth empowerment, peace building and advocacy for social inclusion of the Dalits and marginalized communities. Previously, in 2015, Nepali Congress leader and MP Mr. Gagan Thapa had won the YGL award before serving as Health Minister.
After being selected in the YGL Class of 2020, Mr Pariyar said: “It is a very big moment of pride not just for me but also for Nepal’s youth movement and marginalized communities”.
Currently serving as the Executive Chairperson of Samata Foundation, a leading independent think-tank with specialization in the area of caste-based discrimination and marginalization, Mr. Pariyar has spent more than 18 years in formulating national and international policies for youth, peace and social justice.
He added: “Being a part of the YGL Class of 2020 award has encouraged me to step up my efforts toward inclusion, equality and social justice through public dialogue, policy advocacy as well as the implementation of innovative ideas.”
Previously, Mr. Pariyar has won the Asia 21 Young Leaders Award in 2018 from the New York-based Asia Society and the Youth Leadership Award in 2015 from the Ministry of Youth and Sports for his decade-long contribution to youth empowerment and leadership development. He was a Youth Fellow of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in 2011.
Mr. Pariyar was instrumental in bringing out Nepal’s first youth-responsive budget in 2011, and played a key role in formulating National Youth Policy (2015) and Youth Vision-2025. He also contributed to the first UN Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security from the perspective of social inclusion. In 2018, he presented a shadow report on Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to the UN’s Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Geneva.
Mr. Pariyar has experience of working for youth and peacebuilding in Somalia, Myanmar and Timor Leste and has trained more than 2,000 youth across the globe. He has been frequently sharing his ideas and insights on the issues related to youth, peace and media on a myriad of national and international forums.
About the YGL 2020 award
The Forum of Young Global Leaders is an independent non-profit foundation bringing together diverse, dynamic and globally representative leaders for a five-year, personalized leadership program.
With 1,300 members and alumni representing over 100 nationalities, YGLs head governments and Fortune 500 companies, are recipients of Nobel Prizes and Academy Awards, and serve as UN Goodwill Ambassadors. Each year thousands of candidates are publicly nominated. With the purpose of creating a truly representative body, candidates are evaluated by a selection committee, which selects between 100-150 new members each year.
The Forum aims to create a world where young leaders take responsibility for a sustainable future. It cultivates a community of responsible leaders to build bridges across sectors, regions, ideologies and identities, and to achieve trust that transcends current divides.
The foundation invests in enriching leaders’ insight and capacity to realize sustainable economies and societies. It shares their stories to illuminate what leadership could and should look like across the world.
Note to the Editors
The World Economic Forum is announcing the YGL 2020 award on 11 March (Wednesday) 2020 at 11:00 CET (Nepali time-3:45 p.m.). Therefore, the press release is embargoed until then.
For more information
Mr. Bikash Rai
Program Manager
Samata Foundation
Sanepa, Lalitpur, Nepal
Phone: +977-9801059505
Ms. Bridhika Senchury
Communication and Outreach Officer
Samata Foundation
Sanepa, Lalitpur, Nepal
Phone: +977-9843056265