Meet some young leaders and find out more about their motivation and mission
Taylor Small
Taylor Small is Vermont’s first openly T transgender legislator and one of eight in the U.S. now. She has been a strong advocate for the marginalised people, especially those belonging to the LGBTQ+ community. Elected in November 2020, she passed a bill into law banning the use of LGBTQ+ Panic Defense in Vermont in 2021. She is the Education Program Manager at Pride Center of Vermont, a statewide non-profit organisation working for the LGBTQ+ Vermonters. The 28-year-old lawmaker previously worked with the Vermont Department of Health and has been an active member of the mental health services at Howard Center and Northwestern Counseling and Support Services. Over the years, the young activist has been working towards increasing access to care for marginalised community members through educational outreach and evidence-based interventions. In September, she was honoured with Politician of the Year Award by One Young World, a British charity working to develop young leaders.
Naisi Chen
Naisi Chen is New Zealand’s only Chinese MP and the second youngest Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. The 28-year-old leader is the Deputy Chairperson of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee and a member of Governance and Administration. Coming from Beijing, China at the age of 5, she has been serving as a bridge between the New Zealand population and the immigrants since her college years. During her years as a law student at the University of Auckland, she actively participated in student politics and served as president of the New Zealand Chinese Students Association, vice-president of the Auckland Chinese Student Association and a member of the Advisory Board of the New Zealand China Council. As president of the New Zealand Chinese Students Association Chen worked with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardem, politician Nikki Kaye, the police and the Human Rights Commission and brought changes to the international student well-being strategy and other government agency policies.
Mari Copeny Amariyanna
Fifteen-year-old Mari Copeny, globally known as “Little Miss Flint”, in 2016 drew then U.S. President Barack Obama’s attention to contaminated drinking water being supplied to the residents of Flint, Michigan. Mari, then 8, did not let her age dissuade her from making a significant impact on the environmental problem and even told the country about the reality faced by victims of state negligence. Her letter to the President prompted him to visit the city and survey the water crisis himself. He then approved $100 million to repair Flint’s water system. In 2017, she became a national youth ambassador to the Women’s March on Washington and the National Climate March. She is also actively working towards preventing bullying and is part of the anti-bullying group Trendsetters Productions. She is also a member of the Flint Youth Justice League.
Nida Allam
Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam is the first Muslim woman ever elected to a public office in North Carolina, the US. The 28-year-old woman has been the first Muslim woman to serve on the board of the North Carolina Democratic Party and had also served as chair of the Durham Mayor’s Council for Women. During her student years at North Carolina State University, she led a campaign, along with local healthcare workers, to provide free healthcare to low-income community members. She was inspired to be politically involved and increase community safety through solidarity after three of her friends were killed in the 2015 Chapel Hill shooting, which had targeted North Carolina’s Muslim community. She has been actively participating in several grassroots movements and even served as a political director for US Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Presidential campaign. She was also the organising director for Justice Cheri Beasley’s campaign for the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Shirly Pinto
Shirly Pinto, 33, is the first hearing-impaired member of the Israeli Parliament. At the age of 18, she got enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and served in the Israeli Air Force Technical Corps. In 2009, the Air Force Commander had honoured her with an outstanding medal for her service. Being one of the founders of The Israeli Center for Deaf Studies, she continues to work for the upliftment of the status of hearing-impaired people using sign language, and create awareness on the need for those people to be accepted by the public. She was also the leader of 1 sign I am Equal campaign to bring awareness on the importance of sign language in public and promote legislation of the Israeli Sign Language as a recognised language in Israel. Following the campaign, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev became Israel’s first university to recognise Israeli Sign Language as an official language for the hearing-impaired in the country.
Ofelia Fernández
Ofelia Fernández is the youngest member of Buenos Aires City Legislature. She was elected as the legislator at the age of 19. Besides being an Argentinian politician, she is also a political activist. At the age of 15, she became her schools youngest president of the student body and was part of several student strikes. Later, she was a part of the ‘Revolution of the Daughters movement to support legalisation of abortion in Argentina. The 22-year-old woman was the youngest speaker at the G20 counter-summit held by the Latin American Council of Social Sciences in 2018. She has been a leading voice for Argentinian youth, especially in the struggle for women’s and LGBTQI+ equality. The young lawmaker has been urging for officials to be taught about gender issues. She has been protesting against feminicide, sexual abuse, and gender pay gap.
Picture Credit : Google
