I intend to start a job training and placement system for LGBTQIA+ refugees fleeing stringent laws impeding gender expression from their countries. Considering current realities; for example, whilst the Uganda Refugees Act of 2006, allows for the freedom of movement and work from rural to urban settlements, it does not provide a framework that favors practical assistance hence majority of refugees in urban areas, remain jobless. Worse still, some of these refugees, together with the influx of refugees into other countries, may resort to survival sex with a view to earning a living. Therefore, with a view to averting this, I hope to build a system that: 1) Trains LGBTQ+ refugees on particular key technical areas fitting for online freelance jobs. 2) Through partnerships with freelance jobs providers, enable the refugees take up the jobs. 3) Rehabilitate MSM refugees who have gone into sex work by providing a decent form of living through the freelance jobs. 4) Reduce HIV transmission rates through the whole process by encouraging better sexual practices during the course of the training.

AverTeach

Kenya

MISHLEY ONYANGO OTIENDE

Nepal is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. The country is a very young democracy. Empowerment Collective interviewed 400 women in Terai, Saptari District at Goganpur village of Nepal, in which 98% of them did not even know how to sign their name. If they don't know how to sign their name, how can they even understand the inequalities? Currently in Terai, women frequently bear 8 – 10 children, many of whom do not survive infancy. Additionally, Terai is a place where humans are often trafficked for sex, labor, and domestic servitude. Children are forced to work and get married at a young age and women have no rights. Their identities are taken from them, oftentimes their lack of education or disabilities are used against them in severe forms of shameful names and verbal abuse. Women are living in extreme poverty, disrespected, victims of domestic violence, and treated like a commodity. The fast fashion industry profits and thrives off of inhumane working conditions. The majority of those trapped in modern-day slavery are women, who labor for long hours without a fair wage. In sweatshops, women are limited to sewing only one part of a garment, when they are capable of so much more. Our goal is to empower women with skills and knowledge first in Darbhanga District then across Nepal and India. When women are empowered, they are able to pull themselves and their families out of poverty and society progresses.

Creative and Economic Empowerment for Women

Nepal

Nasreen Sheikh

The purpose of this project is to create programs aim to enlighten people about HIV/AID, Conduct a Nation wide test most especially among student of higher institutions. We will be organising different event through out the period of four months, which include Monthly media education, Courses, workshop on HIV/AIDS, Screening for HIV. We have plan to create a system which help us analyse the participation of targeted audience. A population of above 500 for the workshop and 10,000 + for the other programs will be deem successful. In all we plan to attend to about 10,000 people which we believe will project into a multiple of 5 lives, 50,000.

Curbing the Spread of HIV/AIDS In Nigeria

Nigeria

AZEEZ FUHAD DAMILOLA

EDUFUND_CMR is an initiative designed in July 2021 to help displaced students from Cameroon's Northwest and Southwest regions access funds to support their education. In November 2016, the Anglophone crisis broke out in Cameroon, caused by the Francophones' marginalization of the Anglophone Cameroonians. The crisis has led to the death of thousands of people, and schools burnt down, destruction of homes and property. With these insecurities at hand, most of the population had to run to the two francophone regions, especially Yaounde, Douala, and Baffoussam, to ensure their peace and security. Some of these displaced persons had to drop out of school due to the difficult conditions they faced in the french regions, especially the hardships due to their limited family incomes. Many young people have resorted to other means of survival, such as early marriages, street hawking, and criminal acts. Therefore, this project aims to reduce the number of school drop-outs and give them hope for their future by providing school didactic materials and paying tuition fees for those who can't afford them. Also, a fellowship will be introduced as another part of the project to help mentor these young kids, especially those who have dropped out of school to return to school.

EDUFUND_CMR

Cameroon

Sualiy Berinyuy

I am building an educational organization and platform that provides access to education for children in villages and slums across Nigeria. This organization focuses on a specialised curriculum called 'WARA' which means writing, art, reading and arithmetic. The method we make use of is research to ascertain which villages are in dire need of our educational services and all our services are for free.

Education for a Change

Nigeria

Mamman Jamilu

"Gareleya neotodryosh" is an experimental exhibition space that does not have a permanent location, a clear format or precise restrictions. “Gareleya” expositions are located in places unsuitable for comfortable art conditions: abandoned industrial or residential facilities, plants and factories, typical Soviet apartments, etc. In this way, "Gareleya" creates a point of interest in a place where nothing interesting usually happens. The project was created in Lysychansk (Luhansk region) to protest the lack of any exhibition spaces that are tolerant of young and contemporary art - without conservative criticism or censorship. The main focus of "Gareleya" concentrates on working with artists from Luhansk and Donetsk regions, but is not limited to them. Our main task was to create new opportunities for young artists of Donbass, create a community and promote young talents. Many young artists from our region got their first exhibition experience by participating in our project. At the moment, “Gareleya” is the face of the young art scene of Donbass and its main ambassador. We are engaged in the creation of not only exhibitions in Ukraine, but also outside of it. This year we were able to create an exhibition with the works of young artists from the Donbas regions of Ukraine in Tbilisi, Georgia and in the public spaces of Germany, in 17 of its largest cities, at the same time, because the works of artists were shown on digital screens in the subway and at bus stops. Now we are documenting the Russian war against Ukraine, collecting personal stories of young artists and residents of Donbass, who are experiencing the active stage of the war for the second time, thereby creating an online archive called "14-8-22", which we fill with personal stories and art reflections of people for whom war is a big part of their life.

Gareleya Neotodryosh / "14-8-22"

Ukraine

Vitaliy Matukhno

Build a Center for Youth Development in Computer Programs

Innovators Club

Iraq

Waseef abbood mahmood

Insurgency in the northern part of Nigeria, had displaced most of the people in the northern Nigeria. There have been increasing Number of camps for refugees. There has been little or no support from the government. There is increasing need for food, medical treatment and education for the primary and secondary children who might not return to classroom anytime doom. This project will provide, good food, health care and educators to keep up with this difficult situations. The project will also provide counseling to restore some sort of psychological trauma caused by the recent condition if these people and the lost of loved once.

Lives to the refugees in the northern part of Nigeria

Nigeria

Olughu Chima Stephen

As a Kashmiri woman, the raging conflict engulfing our community has motivated me to educate and make other people conscious about the politics of conflict and the cost that people pay because of it. From gaslighting to the downright negation of our demand for basic human rights, the absence of freedom and the perpetuation of violence in Kashmir has not only affected my values but made me realize that research is not a mere social science exercise. It made me aware that empirical research on security and civilian issues must underline the emotional truths as well as be accountable to the community and the people it claims to represent and, aware of. So, I nudged myself and founded the Kashmiri literary and cultural magazine, namely, Maaje Zevwe (meaning ‘mother tongue’). Simply put, Maaje Zevwe is an initiative led by Kashmiri women, who attempt to showcase the survival voyage of the Kashmiri community by authentically defining the various dynamics of being a ‘Kashmiri’, across the narratives of resistance through language, culture, art, and music. The women behind Maaje Zevwe recognize the need for a women-found, women-led, and gender-inclusive space, where we redefine the Kashmiri culture, music, language, and art from a different lens. The main objective of the magazine is to add a unique dimension to the existing discourse in Kashmir by stimulating the informal documentation of lived realities of Kashmiri people and broadly, it also aims to transcend the structural restrictions of academia stocked with legal jargon and encourages people to document their raw experiences, unedited and unfiltered. Through this platform, we want to establish, register and document the words of Kashmiri women, often raped, killed and exoticized in the name of the masculine imaginations on all ends. Maaje Zevwe is a feminist voice of resistance, refusal and rejection.

Maaje Zevwe

India

Sabahat Ali Wani

We are fully aware that we cannot change everything as we may wish but we have the ability to trigger actions of governments and community leaders to consider including our issues among priority issues and put sustainable measures in place to address them. We have observed that due to cross cultural realities and movement and transactions of Mano River union (MRU) citizens between countries, no country can have sustainable solution to child rights issues caused by COVID 19 during and after the pandemic. As youths, we want to take the lead in facilitating cross border or sub regional collaboration to address the issues. Hence our idea is to increase inter-country (bi-lateral) and sub-regional solidarity and joint efforts among youths in addressing child rights issues. Our specific objectives include: a) To strengthen the capacity of sub regional youth network including increasing its collaboration with relevant adult organizations and networks working in the MRU region b) To increase the awareness of the public and decision makers about the extent to which COVID 19 has affected children’s development in order to trigger urgent actions by the governments, regional bodies, communities and CSOs/CSO networks c) To promote youth perspective and amplify youths voice in influencing decisions of MRU governments towards addressing COVID 19 socio-economic issues during and after the pandemic d) To empower children and young people including those at border communities to take action that prevent and response to all forms of abuse against children and young people especially child trafficking

Mano River Youth Network

Sierra Leone

Morlai Augustine Saio Kamara

I grew up seeing my mother struggling with mosquitoes bites, they always let her skin with dark dots which is not esthetic. Then she catch malaria and her life was never the same. I am still worry about her future. And I want to help her prevent those mosquitoes bites with Po'M. I want to make a brand of cosmetics products that will be able to keep mosquitoes away. In my country many people are dying from diseases caused by mosquito bites. Po'M is a soap, a body cream and a spray based on eucalyptus oil and lemongrass oil. Those diseases are not really popular in Developed countries so those mosquitoes product are not really their first concern. In Haiti those products are expensive, this is the reason why I want to make a brand for those who can't afford those kind of product. The other solutions used by poor people are bad for health, they can cause cancer and other mortal diseases.

Po'M

Haiti

Diarly Bazil

Pragati is an online platform helping women in the informal sector in India gain expertise and information crucial for an employment shift from the informal to the formal sector. Important information on factors such as specialization of labor, minimum hours of work and minimum wages would be provided to the women. Exposure to tech harness would be provided to underprivileged section of the Indian society and this way the gender income gap would be reduced and there would be a rise of employment in the formal sector for women compared to the informal sector.

Pragati

India

Aratrika Chakraborty

The Soma Digital Programme was initiated in 2021 to deliver digital learning content to youth between the ages of 18-35. Soma digital program is prioritizing the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in learning in Kenyan communities by; facilitating public-private partnerships to mobilize resources for e-learning; enhancing connectivity and network infrastructure; investing in digital equipment and facilitating technical support and maintenance of ICT equipment. These components, among others, aimed to integrate ICT in education, harness the emerging technologies and increase equity and access to education. These efforts have made meaningful and lasting contributions to digitalization in the Kenyan education sector. Digital literacy is a central aspect of communication. Digital technologies such as the development of smartphones and online platforms like Facebook and Twitter have tremendously increased access to information. In the professional world, employees are required to have a digital identity to enable interaction in platforms like zoom, Microsoft teams, and google classroom. Engaging in virtual spaces requires the ability to ask important and relevant questions, express ideas clearly and respectfully, and build trust just as in in-person interactions. Practical skills are essential in using technology to access, create and manipulate information sustainably and ethically.

Soma Digital Program

Kenya

Florence Namataka Mwambu

The foundation of The Spear of African Peace (SoAP) is the art of storytelling. I unknowingly suffered trauma during the 2013 South Sudanese civil conflict. I didn't know how to move forward after losing my precious ones. This could not be far worse than a mother who had been raped, her daughter had been killed, and forced to feast and drink from her blood. Many people are repressing these painful issues and they do not talk about it, but we know that art and storytelling can be therapeutic, and that is the motivation behind our endeavor. According to our extensive research, young people who are refugees and internally displaced persons in particular battle enormous challenges. The combination of mental health concerns with an absence of peace, security, and human rights violations came out very vividly. We know from personal experience that only art and storytelling can directly reach the human soul. We developed this therapeutic essay contest pilot project, which will be executed in UN protection civilians' site (camp) Juba, South Sudan with applicants drawn from various nations in East Africa, in the hope that it will heal the broken souls and give young people an opportunity to contribute to the global peace campaigns. At a later time, we plan to replicate it throughout the rest of the world. The purpose of this project is to host an essay contest that will introduce ideas and viewpoints of young people from the East African nations. The top three winners in each age group (children 10-17 and adults 18-30) will get the chance to present their essays in person in Juba, South Sudan. They will also receive prizes, certificates from the appropriate authorities, and their essays will be published on our website as a blog and in other media.

Spear of African Peace (SoAP)

South Sudan

Yoal Domai Dar

Talented academy is an all-inclusive initiative that is committed to achieving the goal of 'everyone matters, no one must be left behind. The talented academy has the interest of the vulnerable, the poor, the disadvantaged, and the marginalized population of the excluded in society and is at the risk of violence and discrimination must be prioritized. According to the UN high commissioner of refugees, there were over 89 million displaced people globally at the end of 2021 of which I am inclusive. This is alarming and needs an immediate remedy to give people peace and stability to make the world a better place. Talented academy has the following long-term impacts at heart; First, Providing mental health support and access to education. This is necessary to bring them out of the mental trauma that they went through. We aim to first transform these people through training and mental health awareness and programs that would inculcate in them the mindset that they are not left behind and that they matter. This program will set the pace for them to believe in themselves as capable of being the change the world needs. Education and training as well as adaptation programs would equip them with the needed knowledge to take up responsibilities by themselves and act on them without fear or timidity. Secondly, Increase the representation of female leaders from vulnerable groups. In every marginalized or refugee, women and children make up the majority of the vulnerable. According to WHO, women, and girls make up 50% of any refugees, internally displaced, or stateless population. According to WHO and women in global health, 75% of the decision makers leading the health industry are men. It is sad to know that this leads to biased decisions that are less impactful to the vulnerable. Talented academy will therefore train women and girls to take up leadership roles and decide on answers that solve their problems instead of being dictated to by people who do not face the problem. Moreso, the Talented academy will help train the marginalized groups for the job market. Through one of the Talented academy's flagship programs, Opportunities Avenue, the beneficiaries will be trained and equipped to enhance their talents and skills and given the necessary resources to start businesses or be connected to the right job they fit. Talented academy will also launch a campaign on the inclusiveness of marginalized groups in decision-making, employment, and scholarships for refugees. These and many more solutions are yet to be introduced but this can only be done with the help of the Watson Fellowship program. I believe that through Watson, these ideas will be brought to light and refined to solve the problems faced by these groups of individuals in our communities. Also, through Watson, I would meet industry experts and global leaders that will help groom my project to be the best fit solution. Networks from Watson will also open endless opportunities for me that will make this dream come true. I cannot underestimate my personal growth while at Watson which will enable me to see and scale up my project to become a world-changing project. In the long-term impact, Talented academy seeks to provide adequate support for sustainable income and livelihood that would help the beneficiaries.

Talented Academy

Ghana

Mathew Ndekudugu

We are changing the way that working Americans file taxes. 70% of all working Americans and businesses file with a tax professional, CPA, relative, local office, etc. Turbo Tax has made the process for DIY'ers (30% of the market) easier but the rest of the industry still operates in the stone ages. We are creating a fully cloud based, modern technology solution for CPAs and tax professionals. Using OCR technology, CRMs, and APIs for integration we will allow the tax professional to finish returns in as little as 20 minutes. After 2 years, In 2022 we officially became 1 in 15 IRS Approved Tax Pro Softwares.

TaxxWiz

United States

Tevin Harrell

Team Bertho is a global platform that gathers and publicizes stories from a diverse demographic of people, enterprising to provide essentials to a sustainable living all around the globe. Founded in 2016, Team Bertho works on documenting the life experiences gathered from of all race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexuality; striving to ensure global peace through inclusivity and connectivity. Team Bertho circulates these stories, morals and experiences in hopes that the audience benefit by learning the ever-flowing yet true nature of life and reality along with applying the learnings to their own lives. With the power of curiosity, empathy and compassion – Team Bertho created an inclusive universal dais where people can come together with their own valuable contribution to the world and its people. Mission: The mission of Team Bertho is to foster sustainable positive global connection fueling individual social, emotional and cognizant development as well as community build-up and evolvement. Vision: As knowledge is and expanding, there is no certain end to becoming percipience and Team Bertho follows this statement as a captaining value. Harvesting gems of insight from around the globe, Team Bertho continues to march towards their vision into creating a worldwide connection amongst people of every country of every continent representing the platform for change, development, inspiration and engagement.

Team Bertho

Bangladesh

Murshidul Alam Bhuiyan

My name is Samuel Nsabimana. I am a Congolaise Refugee who lives in Kiziba refugee camp-Rwanda. After attending higher education, I have learned that refugees also deserves to get access to technology services so that they can live in better condition. My business idea is to provide technology services in the refugee camp in Rwanda. those technology services include video production, photography, graphic design, internet, and online services related. I believe that if there is a great effort to enhance this it will be helpful and it will increase the well-being of the refugee community as well as the host community. I have started this project in the Kiziba refugee camp and it is impacting the whole community, especially the youth. However, there are different challenges that we are facing. Also, I would like to see this project implemented in another refugee camp so that it can impact the communities.

Technology service provision in refugee camp

Rwanda

Samuel Nsabimana

Despite being the richest continent in the world with abundant resources, Africa's poverty has driven it into relegation on the global stage. The Steff Musho Show - an audiovisual podcast focused on leadership in Africa aims to challenge the status quo through thought provoking conversations with African leaders across all sectors.

The Steff Musho Show

Kenya

Stephanie Musho Ageng'o

My project”End KAFALA”, is already one year old! Am a survivor of Lebanon’s abusive Kafala(Sponsorship) System. Lebanon’s restrictive and exploitative kafala (sponsorship) system traps tens of thousands of migrant domestic workers in highly abusive conditions amounting, at worst, to modern day slavery. The Lebanese law fails to protect the workers, and the establishment has no interest in changing the current system either.This oppressive system that gives Lebanese employers high degree of control over workers has led to cases of human trafficking, forced labour, exploitation, sexual and physical abuse etc.After losing the legal battle I had filed against my abuser(employer) in the court of law, I chose to use my painful and traumatizing experience under my initiative “END KAFALA”, to create awareness at a large scale to educate other migrants. I don’t just end at “creating awareness”,am a foot Lawyer who walks from jail to jail seeking freedom for those wrongfully thrown behind bars and raising alarm. I have samples of bailouts applications that I have submitted to different courts for several nationals and successfully secured release bonds for them.Versed with experience, am also playing key roles absconded by diplomatic missions and affiliated organizations too I.e sourcing tickets,PCR cost, travel bags and clothing for migrants trapped at the general security for the same reasons to allow them travel back to their countries of origin.Considering the tough economic crisis in Lebanon, migrant workers in jails(both internal and general security) are at risk of starving! I therefore use the food donations and hygiene kits I receive to distribute to them and follow their cases until they are fully released. I have been laying out my painful experience in creating awareness and empowering other migrants. “This shouldn’t happen to anyone”.

“END KAFALA SYSTEM, ITS SLAVERY”.

Kenya

DIMA ISMAIL