We are pleased to introduce you to the 18th IYLC Facilitators Team.
Andreas Mjelva (Norway)
Andreas has recently completed his Master of Arts in International Relations at the University of Edinburgh and is applying for PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies at University of Oslo. He is very passionate about football and has worked as a coordinator and coach in several sports projects, including Tines Football Academy. Andreas took part in a volunteering project in the Dominican Republic, where he contributed to building of schools and water closets as to improve the hygiene conditions in educational environments. He has spent two weeks in India, during an exchange project with Regional Institute of Education in Bhubaneswar. In 2004, he traveled to Tanzania, where he took part in a conference on HIV. Andreas was a participant in the 17th IYLC and is very excited to be coming back as a facilitator this July.
Ayushma Regmi (Nepal)
Ayushma recently completed her Bachelor’s in English Literature from St. Stephen’s College, India, and has begun a Masters in Development Studies at Kathmandu University, Nepal. Her primary interest lies in Education and she has pursued this in a number of ways. She spent a semester at Rishi Valley School, India, where she participated in an individualized study program on alternative education. Her experiences of these months have left a profound impact on her life and reconfirmed her belief that children teach us more than we can ever hope to teach them. She is currently working in the capacity of library coordinator for Open Learning Exchange Nepal, an NGO that has collaborated with the One Laptop Per Child Program to provide laptops equipped with additional educational materials to children in rural public schools. Her work includes building a digital archive catering to the needs of Nepali school going children as well as teachers. She is deeply interested in poetry and along with writing, she has also volunteered as the Poems and Book Reviews Editor for VENT magazine, a Nepali online magazine that is committed to citizenship journalism. More recently, she has also started conducting creative writing workshops to encourage the Nepali youth to express themselves through this medium.
The 15th IYLC was her first exposure to international relations and she found the entire experience very compelling as well as inspiring and has plans of organizing a national level leadership conference within her University in the near future. She believes that the IYLC is an excellent platform for exchange of ideas amongst the youth and is thrilled to be a part of it again.
Beatrix Allan (France)
Having moved to Paris at the age of six, Beatrix considers herself a Parisian at heart despite her persistent American accent in English.
She completed a double LLB in English Law and French Law (maitrise) with the University of Essex and Universite Paris X Nanterre in 2007.
Pursuing her interest in international law and human rights, Beatrix continued on to receive a Masters in International Humanitarian Law with the Geneva Academy and the Graduate Institute (I.H.E.I.D.). With an avid interest in politics and world cultures, she loves to travel and meet new people as well as ramble on about international law. She participated in the 9th IYLC and after a first go at being a facilitator at the last conference, she returns to Prague for another amazing IYLC experience!
Lwandile Simelane (South Africa)
Lwandile is an Alumna of the 17th IYLC in 2009 and is studying her final year in Political Science, Philosophy and Public Management and Governance with Honors at the University of Johannesburg. She was born in Mpumalanga before taking residence in Johannesburg. Although she likes long walks on the beach her greater interests rank as reading, relaxing and partying. She was the first female to hold the position of President of the student body at the University of Johannesburg and finds that her greatest challenge was being one of the co-founders of the Independent thinkers a student driven political movement. Her political interests range from European politics but far greater focus on African particularly South African Politics. Apart from politics Lwandile is a keen sports fanatic; currently she is the Secretary General of World Youth Hockey and a founding member of African Olympic Academy Participants Association as well as an enthusiastic supporter of Rugby, Soccer and Cricket and is still active in field hockey. She is looking forward to meeting new people at the 18th IYLC and is happy that she wont have to bare snow.
Manuel Delgado (Mexico)
“My name is Manuel Delgado, I was born in México but I also have Costa Rican nationality, I am 23 years old. My bachelor was in Communication Studies and I finished it last december at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico´s City. I have been working for two years in an important transnational pharmaceutical and nowadays I am developing in the marketing area. I participated in the 11th IYLC as an alumni and I must say it was one of my best experiences ever. The people I met there continue being very good friends of mine and what is more important, I could fully testify that nationality, religion or ethnicity are not enough arguments that can defeat the dream of building a peaceful world to every single person. I consider the IYLC an important scenario, because it´s diverse audience allows creating a single structure with an heterogeneity of ideas; tolerance is not a luxury, it is the main resource to generate any change. I like meeting new people; I think that everybody has the power to offer something valuable to learn. Reading is my favorite hobby and I love making sports, especially football soccer. I consider myself an open and friendly person, very dispose to confront new challenges. I am planning to do a master abroad and continue expanding my adventure at IYLC in this edition and in future opportunities.”
Thomas Hughes (United Kingdom)
“Hi guys, I’m Tom. Having had such a great time as a participant at the 16th conference last summer, I was itching to get involved with Civic Concepts again and cannot wait to facilitate at the 18th IYLC! I live in Derby, England but my family come from Wales and my loyalties sway towards the welsh, especially when it comes to the Rugby! This July I will be graduating from Cardiff University having completed an LLB in Law and French and I plan to stay on at Cardiff next year to study for an LLM in Human Rights Law. My Erasmus year spent in France was an invaluable cultural and academic experience. Having to integrate into a new society was a stimulating challenge and made me very conscious of the importance of cross-cultural debate and communication. I found the IYLC the perfect way to feed a desire to work with, talk to, and learn from progressive, inspiring students from such diverse backgrounds. I look forward to meeting you all in Prague this summer, where, if last year’s weather is anything to go by, I shall be wise to remember my shorts and sunglasses this time!”
Victoria Mbogo (United Kingdom)
Victoria was born in Kenya and brought up in the historic and cosmopolitan city of London. Currently she is in the concluding stages of an MSc in International Development and Human Rights at Swansea University in the UK. She is especially interested in African development and hopes to interact with and help develop governance in Kenya. With a bachelor’s degree in Law, Victoria has a vast knowledge of British Law and chose to specialise in Public and Criminal International law. Academically she keenly observes the relationship between law and global governance in the international arena, something that she feels she has been able to develop further in her masters.
Victoria has worked with NGO’s in the UK, namely an organisation local to her university, Asylum Justice that offers free legal advice to asylum seekers. Currently she is working as the Project Manager for the African Youth Leadership Council (AYLC), a new venture being pioneered to broaden the lessons of the IYLC to the continent of Africa.
Victoria is passionately behind the aims of Civic Concepts International, she firmly believes in the need to develop young people for their role within their society and the IYLC provides part of that in bringing together people from all over the world. As a past participant, she attended the 11th IYLC in July 2006 where she learned a lesson that impacted her world view greatly. That lesson was the importance of maintaining a people centred view point in being a world leader because leaders lead people not statistics, a fact that she believes is all too often forgotten.
Such was the gravity of her experience that she was fortunate enough to return to Prague for the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th conferences as a facilitator. These were opportunities that she feels privileged to have had and is thoroughly looking forward to the 18th IYLC and the adventures that lie in store. In her spare time Victoria is a keen singer and has held and a committee position in her University’s Gospel Choir. Additionally she loves dancing, travelling, reading, and the occasional game of Squash.
