Sustainability awareness session organized by Fellow Sana Ait Laaziz
I am grateful to NELIS for trusting me to lead the OML-MENA Fellowship Program. This role has been both challenging and rewarding. With support from passionate team members like Peter David Pedersen, Nivine Nasrallah and Frantz Dhers, we’ve built a strong foundation for the program in the region. The 2023 cohort set the groundwork, and the 2024 cohort has reinforced that foundation, helping us expand our impact.
This year, we saw our program grow, reaching North Africa, the Arab Peninsula, and beyond—from Egypt and Lebanon to Mauritania and Somalia. We received 175 applications, selected 25 Fellows, and worked closely with them to train an additional 300 champions across the region. Some Fellows chose online sessions, while others in countries like Algeria, Mauritania, Libya and Somalia opted for in-person formats to maximize local engagement.
The diversity of this year’s cohort is inspiring, with Fellows tackling critical issues in their communities:
– Fatma Zahran from Egypt supports youth with disabilities by providing them access to sustainability education, with volunteers translating material into sign language.
– Marwa from Tunisia and Joelle from Lebanon focus on biowaste and recycling, organizing discussions with university professors and youth.
– Mohamad Al Arnaout from Lebanon is helping youth and startups understand legal literacy, ensuring they know their rights and avoid unnecessary challenges.
– Sana from Morocco raises sustainability awareness in her community, holding sessions for a diverse audience including students, professionals, and homemakers.
– Wiem from Tunisia organized a local competition to support social entrepreneurship solutions, an initiative backed by NELIS.
– Abdirahman from Somalia empowers women through capacity-building sessions, while Sharma educates shepherds on environmental knowledge in remote areas.
– Radwa from Egypt advocates for equality by raising awareness of critical social issues.
– Abdellahi from Mauritania plans to provide youth training on local market preparation and trends like AI and sustainability.
– Fellows from Yemen—Reem, Hafsa, Mohamad, and Ashraf—have trained over 100 champions on youth employment and environmental challenges in the country.
– Sabiha and Mahmoud from Algeria collaborated to deliver in-person capacity-building training on sustainability and stress management to young professionals.
Fellow Sharmarke Yusuf with a shepherd in Somalia.
As we prepare for the third phase of the Fellowship Program, “Time for Action,” we look forward to seeing the proposals our Fellows will develop with their champions. These inspiring individuals are creating meaningful change across the MENA region and I am proud to be part of their journey.
By Hasan Awad
OML-MENA Program Lead
