Faces of Leadership

What does being a “current or future leader” mean to you? 

“From the perspective of indigenous youths, they look up to a leader who can be the one to bridge their people to different stakeholders or actors. A leader should lead the people towards communication. A leader should represent the voices of the community by being inclusive and impartial. With these characteristics, all voices can be heard, regardless of gender, race, culture, or religious beliefs.”

How do you, as a current or future leader, help to shape a better world? 

“I would like to answer this by remembering my encounter with an old leader. He was already blind and deaf from old age when I met him, but his wisdom is something I still carry with me today. He told me, 'If you work with us, do not cover our eyes, and tell us the solution to our problem. But let us look at the conflict or problem together, so that we may address it together.' He taught me that, as a leader, I am not here to tell people what they should do with their issues and problems. I am not the one to solve their problems. Instead, I am there to accompany them. When these communities can address their local problems or even micro problems, there is an impact on a regional or national level, because even the smallest issues have roots with a bigger structure.”

What inspires you in your work? 

“I believe it’s in my character to work for peace. Personal conflict has always made me uncomfortable. I have never fought with my friends. Whenever there is a conflict or a dispute among my friends, I am the first to call for resolution.”  

How do you, as a current or future leader, help to shape a better world? 

“In 2014, I established an NGO, Mandwi. We are working to mitigate conflict; it means peace in society. In Nepal, we have different kinds of disputes. Youth, women, and the poor and vulnerable often don’t have access to justice in our society due to money. Vulnerable communities cannot access the judiciary, so we are working on a quasi-judiciary to get justice to their doors.” 

How do you, as a current or future leader, help to shape a better world? 

“I'm the director for the democracy and governance unit at the Asia Foundation international office. The Asia Foundation works in 20 countries in Asia, and part of the program with the Asia Foundation that I have been concerned about is peacebuilding and conflict resolution. We have portfolios in democracy promotion, building and promoting freedom of religion tolerant society, as well as countering violent extremism.” 

What inspires you in your work? 

“My passion for women, peace, and security work stems from my early professional experience in conflict and peacebuilding, which sparked my interest in contributing to peace efforts. I believe in women's immense capacity and crucial role in building sustainable peace. I find inspiration in empowering women to contribute to peace processes. Witnessing the stories of women who are mothers and caregivers further strengthens my sense of purpose and fulfillment, both professionally and personally. I am continuously driven by the desire to create a space where women's voices and actions can shape a more peaceful future.”  

"There is a leader in all of us. We should not be bound by metrics in measuring leadership because leadership styles evolve and change through time. I look at leadership not as a position to attain but more about how we choose to think and act and how we inspire others to think, feel, and act.

As the first Attorney General of a fresh Bangsamoro Government in the Philippines, I am happy to see that women are consistently claiming their space in governance. There is a constant reminder that women belong anywhere she wishes to be a part of. In the Bangsamoro Organic Law, there are many provisions mentioning the role and active participation of women in politics and governance. It should not, however, always be about the numbers, i.e., how many women run for office or hold key government positions. It should be about meaningful participation of women in shaping policies, implementation, and overall governance."

"According to Confucius, in believing a teaching, we actually do not need to claim to be the most correct… or even feel as the only one who is the most correct. We should feel happy if the road being trodden by another belief is just as true as [our own]. Because we want all human beings to be safe [so no] one is left behind, even just one person. Confucius said that man must develop the religion (the way), not vice versa. That is to say, humans are given the responsibility to formulate guidelines for personal and community order. Because God has given truth that has been embedded in human nature, actualization is our duty as humans. Therefore, a good human being will know exactly what he believes (know what you believe) and realize and fully understand why he believes something (why you believe). Someone can only become a mature and independent individual who can interact in [a] wise and smart [way], because he already has an accountable faith."

"Growing up, it has been my aspiration to pursue a career in law. Personally, experiencing legal issues in Nepal and studying and observing legal issues domestically and internationally, my goal has slowly crystallized to become a lawyer that will primarily serve under-served communities.

"Raised in a traditional and uneducated Nepali community, since my childhood, I was extremely disturbed by the growing disparities among the people to get justice. As a result of this, I have been motivated to serve communities (primarily the most vulnerable groups) that have little to no access to justice and to address ignorance, indifference and insensitivity and thereby create lasting meaningful change through my little efforts.

“I am driven by this purpose to become an outstanding attorney and propose that my life is on a track toward the professional excellence necessary to exact the changes needed in my homeland and in other countries with similar concerns."

"Dr. Aung Naing Oo, a member of Mon State Parliament [Myanmar], touched my life because his servant leadership impressed me. His dedication to listening to public voices has led to a significant structural change in society. In this fragile context, the relationship between different groups was at its lowest point, leaving very little space for tolerance. It was challenging to engage with diverse actors. It was a very long process to facilitate and to get a trusting relationship with a very high-status actor who participated in the peace-building process. After a year, the process was highly participatory, ensuring the inclusion of different perspectives on action plans to make society better places. The current leader mobilizes people to make a change. I worked in a youth empowerment program that aimed to develop change agents to work in local development, building partnerships to support the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals.”

"The gap between rich and poor is shockingly wide in Asia with the top one percent bagging 73 percent of the wealth, according to Oxfam. My purpose in life is to reduce the inequality between rural and urban areas of South and South East Asia through social entrepreneurship, policy intervention, [and] collaboration. This pushed me to start Givfunds Social Ventures: an idea sparked from a talk with Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.

"Givfunds raise donations and use them as a revolving fund to give low-cost working capital funds across multiple rounds to thousands of impactful social enterprises. South Asia has more than 10 million social enterprises solving the most difficult problems, such as working with inmates in India's biggest jail or reducing the farmer suicide rates, or reducing the pollution levels in the world's most polluted cities. Our mission is to provide neglected small-medium social enterprises in South and South East Asia with access to catalytic, concessionary capital at scale."

"My motivation in the field of peacebuilding stems from my career objective to contribute to resolving local disputes among communities affected by protracted conflict and other related misfortunes.

“Earlier in my carrier, I supported different humanitarian work, mainly emergency and recovery interventions. However, I developed a special interest in conflict transformation, a peacebuilding approach aimed at reframing how to pursue peacebuilding initiatives. It explicitly emphasizes creating a greater understanding of the fundamental relationship as well as structural patterns, while also creating an environment for improving those relations. Working with communities in reconciliation and dialogue activities has helped me develop a rapport with various conflict actors, mainly in Somalia and Kenya.

“To transform conflict and create frameworks for cooperation and peaceful coexistence among communities over the years, I supported local youth organizations as a volunteer to mentor and guide them so they could contribute to peace efforts and not be cajoled into violence by parties in conflict

"I am inspired when I train young journalists to use new media tools for storytelling and increase cross-cultural understanding. They learn about others' cultures, increase their empathy for completely different faith and ethnic groups and act as changemakers to spread love and care without boundaries. I always believe in passionate youth contribution and participation in the peacebuilding process. I advocate for youth engagement as an active contributor in the decision- making process. Youth with journalism skills who adhere to journalism ethics will play a crucial role in the post-war context in Sri Lanka in bridging ethnic divides. I started to train young journalists to use mobile journalism and created a community of peace journalists to advocate for peace and reconciliation in the country."

"I am inspired by the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) initiated by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. SEP proposes a middle path toward a well-balanced life through moderation, reasonableness, and self-immunity to protect from internal and external changes. SEP inspires me to seek a sustainable lifestyle and try to educate young people to live sustainably.

Climate change is undoubtedly the biggest global challenge. As a peacebuilder, I am honored to work with many young leaders on a project called Participatory Environmental Education for Indigenous Youths in Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos PDR. This is an organized effort to teach youth from the ASEAN countries to manage behaviors and ecosystems to live sustainably.

I am always grateful to be a part of future leaders' team to mitigate climate change, build peace, and help underprivileged children and youths to optimize their strengths while finding ways to work around obstacles."

"To me, leadership is about service and responsibility. It's about having a sense of purpose that's shaped by the larger community's interests and not just by your own. I draw inspiration from the greater purpose I am committed to serving as we tackle one of the most fundamental flaws and injustices of our time - the lack of equitable and inclusive education for all. This purpose is shaped by the values that I have embraced in my life and in our work - empathy, equity, and justice - instilled in me by my parents and realized through life experiences and circumstances. Making social entrepreneurship my career path - a drastic shift from a more secure and lucrative investment banking career - was the biggest hurdle I have had to overcome. It was both an internal battle of finding the courage to act on my conviction and an external battle to sustain my pursuit of purpose in a path less traveled. Yet, it's been the most fulfilling journey, and I am committed not to look back."

"While most of the industry players are tapping the massive growth of solar farm and grid-tie systems, I've chosen to follow the root cause of energy poverty by innovating in solar applications and installation procedures. I am promoting solar technology to meet electricity needs for developing countries. I am the founder of Suncrox Solar, a social enterprise that officially connects the solar energy industry's commercial growth and ensures the impact reaches the group that needs it the most; off-grid communities through cross-subsidization. In terms of concept for social initiative implementation, we not only supplied the solar energy system, but we equipped them with the knowledge to install them themselves and maintain the system. Give a man a solar home system, and you empower him until the system breakdown. Teach a man to install solar, and you empower him for a lifetime."

“My inspiration in my work is always ‘the need to do more’ or ‘the lack of something.’ Ever since I was a kid, I have felt an urgent need to help out or contribute to society. My dad said that when I was two, while walking in the park, I saw street children and I begged my dad to adopt them all after giving them food. He told me that one day I’d be able to help more people.

"Professionally, there are still many things that I want to accomplish. As long as people are still discriminated against, bullied, abused, there is still much work to do. I get disappointed sometimes and want to give up, especially when you need to wrestle with people who are in authority but lack knowledge, skills, and empathy, but I don’t give up. I only take a break. As a leader, it is very important to learn how to collaborate and see the bigger picture. I believe in partnership especially with the communities we want to serve. I also think that we should not lose our identity as a leader or as a follower.”⁣

"For some time now, I've growingly realized that dealing with myself is the toughest and most interesting challenge I've had to face... You'd think that after living with me for so many years I would get bored, or there would be no more surprises.

"I'm not in a great place with this relationship at the moment. And when you aren’t in a good place with yourself, not much else seems to matter. That’s why it’s tough because you want things to matter. And sometimes they do. That’s what keeps it interesting, knowing that if you were ok with yourself, you’d care. Seems so simple right? Care for yourself to care for the other. Yet, it’s still the toughest and most interesting challenge I’ve had."

"Since starting my career as [a] program officer at The Nippon Foundation, I have been inspired by the chairman of the foundation's faith and leadership. The chairman has always demonstrated the faith of "practice over theory'' in a tangible way. During my assignment as a deputy head of the Myanmar office from 2013-2017, setting up a liaison office and implementing humanitarian assistance were challenging for me… It was the first time for the foundation not only to establish [an] overseas office but also for a grant-making foundation to implement projects. I overcame the challenges to keep the faith and led the team members by taking actions, not just giving instructions.

"The role of a leader is to guide the way by taking action and show an attitude of activeness in a difficult situations. I believe this behavior will be a trigger to open the door for any challenges and have a positive influence all around, and finally, it will lead to the best results and a better world." ⁣

"I have always been inspired by the stories of people who are dedicated to contributing to change and transformation. I was born in Mumbai, India, to an Indian father and Filipina mother, raised in Nigeria, and then migrated to Canada at the age of 10. The greatest challenges that I am still overcoming in my professional life has to do with my complex identity as a person of both the Global South and the Global North, as a woman of color, and as a mother of two daughters. I have had to constantly navigate systems and institutions that are patriarchal and structurally flawed as they do not always value gender, diversity, equality, and inclusion.

"Being a leader means sharing my knowledge and experiences to engage in dialogue, dedicating myself to finding peers who I can learn from and building diverse community spaces which uplifts marginalized voices. As an academic, yoga teacher, and social justice advocate, I am committed to exploring the connections between inner and outer peace."

"Bigger purposes and making a difference in society always fascinated me. I was born in Pakistan and grew up in a supportive family, but Pakistan is still characterized by a lack of opportunity for girls, poverty, crime, and terrorism. I always felt that there were strong societal gender-specific expectations from me, and I struggled a lot to face resistance, but giving up was not an option. These early experiences inculcated a spirit of hard work and social responsibility in me that has been responsible for my work towards sustainable development. I always wanted to do something about the youth's mindsets and their involvement in policy-making.

"With this purpose, I co-founded and now chair Youth General Assembly (YGA). I knew that 'one leads from where one stands, and one doesn't need a powerful position to be a leader.' To polish my skills, currently, I am pursuing a doctorate degree at the University of Tokyo and, most of all, I am raising a son who is definitely a feminist and a peace-builder!"

"Working in peace and conflict studies, I am constantly inspired by the individuals I engage with - public servants, civil society actors, researchers, and everyday citizens. Their passion and desire for transformative change is key to my development. Leadership is about influence and leading by example - how I impact those I lead. I draw on leadership models that focus on both understanding my core values and expressing them consistently, and prescribing certain ethical values - respect, fairness, trust-building, collective action, stimulate vision and inspire others, and decision-making based on these values.

"My leadership philosophy brings value to both the organization I work in and to research end-users who strive to bring about meaningful social and political change. This means building awareness of my effectiveness in creating a vision for a preferred future and establishing an appropriate values-driven culture that determines results."

"I got an opportunity to work in a Cyclone Emergency Response Program in the southern part of Bangladesh just after my graduation. It was challenging but was an inspiration to continue working in the humanitarian sector for people and community. I am working with UN as Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Analyst in Rohingya Refugee program. Being a women in a conservative society, it was never easy to be a humanitarian worker. On top of that, female M&E Analyst[s] [were] not very common in this sector which is why my daily challenge was to prove myself better than my male colleagues in terms of completing the tasks. I was confident about my work and senior management had full support on my accomplishments to prove them wrong who had doubts.”

“I am inspired by the NiUnaMenos feminist movement that started in Argentina and the organization of a group of women's rights collectives in Chile, which have played a key role in mass demonstrations over equality and high costs of living. Veronica Gago's book, 'Feminist International: How to Change Everything,' captures these efforts beautifully. One challenge I encounter in my professional life is counteracting systems of patriarchy. My contributions to a better world include developing forms of collective participation and action, so we lead as a community rather than operating as a nation of individuals.”

“I'm inspired to enable children to participate in conversations and raise their collective voice. I started my career as a child rights activist and eventually utilized my time and energy to produce future leadership truly equipped with knowledge, skills, and the art of actions. During the two decades of my professional engagement with children, I have been busy in the formation of child clubs and connecting children's networks across the rural and urban areas in the region. As a child rights activist, I have had the privilege to contribute to the child-friendly legislative development and policy implementation process in Pakistan. As a child mentor, the most inspiring outcome of the activism is to see the child leaders who were trained and oriented to become the peace ambassador, environmental change-maker, and child rights promoters. I truly believe the emerging leadership of children would positively contribute to shaping society in a way where every child is living with entitlements.”

"My life journey has wound its way through many different places across the globe. It has taken me from conducting and producing large creative productions to advocacy, cultural entrepreneurship, edutech, and beyond. Regardless of profession or how far I travel, I find myself in the same place: that point where societies and cultures overlap and diverse perspectives collide to create something new. That ancient meeting-place we have come to know as confluence.

"I have long been involved in various intercultural, interfaith, and other peacebuilding initiatives. My projects leverage technology to enhance these human experiences and bridge the divide between stories and data. The ability to navigate our way through how we see the world and how we relate to each other has become central to global citizenship and a peaceful world. Learning to understand culture and diversity acts as drivers to enrich and build cohesive communities.

"My life's motto is a universal truth that remains unchanged: 'I exist because of you – you exist because of me – we exist because of each other.'"

“My biggest inspiration remains the thought leaders who echo voice for co-existence in these divisive times. I have grown up in an environment of hate, psychological manipulation through cult indoctrination. Now, it's all reflecting us through digital messaging. I believe the space for mediating voices across the globe is shrinking and more and more people becoming prey to misinformation. Back in 2015 when I started a digital campaign 'Mashal e Rah' to counter hate speech through online means, it was an emerging issue but in four years and during COVID times, digital access made it easier to spread hate and fuel violence. I believe community leaders should form informal alliances and networks to fight extremism and violent behaviors. It may create a larger impact than a formal peace-building exercise. I deeply enjoy working with young people, listening to their grievances, conducting dialogue on contemporary issues and creating a tolerant society.”

"There have been two life changes that have shaped my career and leadership qualities. The first experience was moving to Myanmar at the age of five just after the military coup in 1988. After arriving, I suffered peritonitis, and my mother was on her own in a foreign country left to make decisions concerning my health care. My father's employees risked their lives to rush me to the under-resourced Yangon children's hospital during the curfew hours. The people who came to help me took a chance and went out of their way to save my life, inspiring me to develop a career in public health. In 2009, I experienced a 7.6 earthquake and ran out of a hotel as it was collapsing. The trauma and shock I experienced that day unleashed a capability, a trust, and a resilience I didn't know I had allowing me to grow, adapt, and survive. To me a leader is resilient, adaptable, patient, speaks in a language that is understandable and relatable. They recognize the strength in others and their capability."

"I was born and brought up in the region of Kashmir in India, one of the most beautiful places on this planet, and, paradoxically, also one of the most disturbed ones. I was about to leave the high school when an armed conflict broke out in Kashmir. I was passionate about studying literature, economics, and history, but I got displaced from my home city and got to study engineering in South India. I worked on international development across 16 countries in Asia and Africa for 11 years and returned to Kashmir in 2018. The tipping point was the pain and trauma I witnessed in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. After my return, I started a social entrepreneurship initiative - Ziraat Times - which brought sustainable development, agriculture, abusiness, and jobs to the center stage of development discourse in the region. Being a leader to me means to be able to help create a common ground of peaceful engagement and dialogue in places that are torn by violent conflicts."

"As an evaluator, I am used to walk in the dark while fostering public-private dialogue. My job requires a constant innovation approach. Moreover, I am constantly monitoring my adaptability, accountability, and audacity pillars to boost sectorial team outputs. I have deepened my knowledge in public-private partnerships to improve well-being with adaptive leadership frameworks creating expertise and a learning environment with a failure philosophy. Practicing leadership is not about being heroic. Committing yourself to the hard day-to-day, long-term work of making progress on an adaptive challenge is heroic. I believe all these elements will support my endeavor to shift cultures of practice using evaluation to impact government agencies and their daily analytical capacities and resources. Better policy decisions will provide better outcomes for people, and the discipline of evaluation will regain momentum in the digital era. After all, evaluation is an approximation to reality."

"My inspiration is to address the vicious circles of violent conflict in my country and continent. For the past nine years, I have been on a mission to change the culture of violence among the youth and build a new generation of youth who are ready to give peace a chance. The biggest challenge I faced in my work was institutionalizing and concreting peace in learning institutions. By creating peace clubs and peace education programs, I have helped transform violent relationships among students, administrators, police, and host communities in learning institutions. As a leader, I long and work for a world at peace with itself, where human rights and dignity is upheld, and young people can achieve self-actualization in a safe and sustainable environment. I aspire to be a global ambassador for Sustainable Development Goal number 16 on peace and security. My commitment is to continue designing, implementing, and scaling impactful projects for conflict transformation."