Twenty Something Yak

Mr. Lowell Fuglie, an American citizen, worked for 17 years based in Dakar, Senegal, as West Africa Regional Representative for the American relief and development agency Church World Service. His mandate during that time was to identify local African partners in West Africa (non-government agencies, church development offices, village associations) and work with them to implement development projects to assist the neediest. Listen to what he learned about the Moringa Tree and Malnutrition. Visit UnitedNationsYak for all the details.

Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, Arun is the fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi. Growing up under the discriminatory apartheid laws of South Africa, he was beaten by “white” South Africans for being too black and “black” South Africans for being too white; so, Arun sought eye-for-an-eye justice. However, he learned from his parents and grandparents that justice does not mean revenge, it means transforming the opponent through love and suffering. Visit UnitedNationsYak for the whole story.

Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, Arun is the fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi. Growing up under the discriminatory apartheid laws of South Africa, he was beaten by “white” South Africans for being too black and “black” South Africans for being too white; so, Arun sought eye-for-an-eye justice. However, he learned from his parents and grandparents that justice does not mean revenge, it means transforming the opponent through love and suffering. Visit UnitedNationsYak.com for the rest of the story.

Steven M. Hilton has worked in the field of philanthropy for more than 25 years. He joined the Foundation in 1983 and has held numerous positions over the years, including program assistant, program associate, and vice president, programs. He was named president in 1998 and in 2005 the Board of Directors also appointed him CEO. Visit UnitedNationsYak.com for all the details.

Magdalena Piskunowicz, borne in Poland in 1984, is a current Headquarters’ Summer Intern at the United Nations in the Financing for Development Office, DESA.
She has studied law at the University of Gdansk in Poland and is now doing her masters degree in international law in the UK – University of Sussex. During her studies she focused on the issues of corporate social responsibility and human rights protection.

Working in a law firm for two years made her realize that she is more passionate about the international affairs than business life.
However, the experience gained whilst working on the corporate and company law cases proved to be useful as now she is dealing with international financial issues for the purpose of developing countries. (more…)

AFM Shamsuzzaman, more familiarly known as Pappu, is a photojournalist and craftsperson specializing in batiks and papier mache handicrafts. He has worked for UNICEF, UNDP and UN/DESA for 26 years as a database administrator and photographer. During his many years in New York City, he has taken many courses in photography, crafts, graphic design, digital art and film making from various institutions such as New York Institute of Photography, School for Social Research, School of Visual Arts and New York University’s Department of Film, Video and Broadcasting. He returned to his home country, Bangladesh, in 2004 and established a subsidiary multimedia company for Shaw Wallace Bangladesh group of companies. SWBL is a company with a high degree of CSR, whereby the major portion of all profits are channeled to a foundation to promote education in Bangladesh. Its largest donation to date is the construction of a 10-storied building to house the Mathematics Department of Dhaka University. He is married and has 2 children. (more…)

Ambassador Byron Blake, Jamaican, is currently Senior Adviser to the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
He was twice responsible for the economic and environmental negotations for the Group of 77 and China (a negotiation group for 131 developing countries, members states of the United Nations).
His interests include regional integration, development economics, environmental issues as well as international trade and the role of business in national development.
As a former Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM, he maintains an avid interest in international negotiations especially for small countries. For more informatin on his work in CARICOM is http://caricom.org; and for the G-77 see http://G77.org (more…)

Ambassador Byron Blake, Jamaican, is currently Senior Adviser to the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
He was twice responsible for the economic and environmental negotations for the Group of 77 and China (a negotiation group for 131 developing countries, members states of the United Nations).
His interests include regional integration, development economics, environmental issues as well as international trade and the role of business in national development.
As a former Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM, he maintains an avid interest in international negotiations especially for small countries. For more informatin on his work in CARICOM is http://caricom.org; and for the G-77 see http://G77.org (more…)

Ambassador Byron Blake, Jamaican, is currently Senior Adviser to the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
He was twice responsible for the economic and environmental negotations for the Group of 77 and China (a negotiation group for 131 developing countries, members states of the United Nations).
His interests include regional integration, development economics, environmental issues as well as international trade and the role of business in national development.
As a former Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM, he maintains an avid interest in international negotiations especially for small countries. For more informatin on his work in CARICOM is http://caricom.org; and for the G-77 see http://G77.org (more…)

Ambassador Byron Blake, Jamaican, is currently Senior Adviser to the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
He was twice responsible for the economic and environmental negotations for the Group of 77 and China (a negotiation group for 131 developing countries, members states of the United Nations).
His interests include regional integration, development economics, environmental issues as well as international trade and the role of business in national development.
As a former Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM, he maintains an avid interest in international negotiations especially for small countries. For more informatin on his work in CARICOM is http://caricom.org; and for the G-77 see http://G77.org (more…)