Omnis Mentorship Programme:
Local leadership
for sustainable change
Omnis Mentorship programme
Based on the successful model of the Alaa Murabit Mentor Programme, the Omnis Mentorship Programme coaches selected participants to fulfil their aspirations and inspire a new generation of young local leaders. Participants are individuals often ignored in the decision-making of the international system, women and youth. We facilitate training in research, public speaking, policy writing, and leadership skills, also engaging them in political and social fora.
Guiding these leaders to view the world from a sustainability lens, we also promote dialogue and collaborative learning between participants. However, mentorship alone is not enough. In recognition of this, we are dedicated to creating a platform for leadership, enabling our mentees to not only learn but to amplify their voices, share their knowledge and contribute to the learning experience. Appreciating the impact and role they have is essential to ensuring a thriving civic engagement.
Meet our current Omnis mentees
ZAHRAA
SAAB
Zahraa is a Master of Public Health Student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health whose work and interests fall at the intersection of health policy, global health, urban health, and health equity. This is mirrored in her role as a Co-founder and Health & Science Editor of The Blank Page, an educational online platform that promotes a culture of youth leadership, empowerment, and inclusivity through the written word. She strives to become a public health leader who addresses the needs of the most vulnerable communities at home and abroad.
Six-Word Story: Heart swelled, fingers tingled: an idea
Fun Fact: I majored in English during my undergraduate studies and have a love for the literary arts (I’m always open to talk about current reads!)
Favourite Quote: “I have a life to garden. A multiverse to wake from sleep” – Nayyirah Waheed
MOHAMED
RAHALL
Mohamed Rahall is a current undergrad in his final semester majoring in Sociology and minoring in Political Science at the University of Alberta. He is interested in the discursive ways that sexual health and education operate within the context of religion, culture, and citizenship. Overall, Mohamed is passionate about ensuring the necessary spaces that lead others to self-actualization.
Six-word Story: He found himself, again, and again…
Fun Fact: I’ve traveled to 18 countries, and counting!
Favourite Quote:“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” – Wayne Dyer.
LINA
HAN
Lina Han is a first generation immigrant from South Korea who has spent the fall semester at American University as a Fulbright Killam Fellow. As she finishes off her last year of her undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa, she wishes to continue exploring new frontier technologies and their potential to foster development and humanitarian efforts. Her other policy focus centers on advocacy for improved human rights in North Korea, which she undertakes through her club HanVoice UOttawa.
Six-word Story: And yet she did it anyway.
Fun Fact: I have perfect pitch but I can’t sing on pitch.
Favourite Quote: “We need to move past the business of saving lives to the business of building lives.” – Ertharin Cousin, World Food Programme
Meet our former
Omnis mentees
Helena Nourzad is a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, where she spent her college career focusing on international relations with a keen interest in security, development and the Middle East. She developed a passion for traveling and learning about other cultures at a young age. Her goal now is to find a career path to apply her education, background and insights with an international NGO, the government or within media.
Six-word Story: So, she got on the plane.
Fun Fact: I have two alpacas (one gives kisses).
Favourite Quote: “I’ve been tested by fire, and the fire lost.” – Ann Richards
Akrem Basha is a third-year student at Minnesota State University, Mankato studying Information Technology and Marketing. His interest lies at the intersection of technology, leadership and entrepreneurship. Originally from Ethiopia, he enjoys playing tennis, traveling and exploring different cultures.
Six-Word Story: Found my home away from home.
Fun Fact: I have played tennis for over 8 years and participated in a national tennis championship in men’s doubles in my home country.
Favourite Quote: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
Conner Kingsley is a current undergraduate in his final year studying Environmental Studies and Operations Management at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is extremely interested in policy, diplomacy, and the environment. After finishing undergrad, he hopes to go to law school starting Fall 2018 (waiting on acceptances now—fingers crossed)! In the future he hopes to become involved in environmental law as well as anything related to civil rights and international law.
Six-word Story: So he changed his direction. Again.
Fun Fact: I listen to Selena Gomez on repeat when I want to relax.
Favourite Quote: “Carpe diem. Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary.” – Dead Poet’s Society
Aniqah Zowmi is a Masters of Social Justice and Equity Studies student from Canada. Her expertise intersects youth engagement, social enterprise, and human rights. She hopes to continue her work in this field, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa Region.
Six-word Story: Empower youth to change the world.
Fun Fact: Despite working in youth engagement and social justice, my background is interdisciplinary: my Honours Bachelors degree is in Neurobiology.
Favourite Quote: “You all have a little bit of ‘I want to save the world’ in you […] I want you to know that it’s okay if you only save one person, and it’s okay if that person is you.”- Unknown
Ibrahim Redwan is a recent Engineering graduate from Malaysia. He is passionate about social impact projects. He would like to contribute towards global peace, health, and sustainability.
Six-Word Story: In the pursuit of Social Impact.
Fun Fact: I can speak 5 languages and I’m also a bit proud of my cooking skills.
Favourite Quote: “Humanity is the greatest religion.”
Ashly is a Political Science and Chinese Language student at McGill University. As an Oslo Scholar, Ashly undertook the mentorship with Dr. Alaa Murabit to broaden her understanding of the field of human rights. During this mentorship program, she refined her public speaking skills, research capabilities, and writing capacity, while gaining invaluable insight into diplomacy and multilateral organizations through Dr. Murabit. Passionate about women’s rights and access to justice, she hopes to use this platform to bring awareness to the importance of gender equality in international development.
Read Ashly’s Impakter article on gender equality and the SDGs here.
Jasleen Ashta is a final year undergraduate student at McGill University, pursuing studies in Cognitive Science, with a focus on computer science, as well as International Development. Jasleen plans on using her education and extracurricular experience to pursue further studies and a career within the realm of public health research and policy. She is grateful to have had the opportunity to be a mentee of Dr. Murabit through the Human Rights Foundation’s Oslo Scholars Program, and learn as much as she could from Dr. Murabit and her team.
Meet some of
Dr. Alaa Murabit’s
former mentees
Benya Kraus was a third year student at Tufts University, majoring in International Relations with a concentration in International Security when she joined this programme.
Being an Oslo Scholar and working with Alaa was such a meaningful experience to her, as it helped shape her understanding of and career trajectory in the fields of gender, security, and peace and conflict negotiation. While working with Alaa, she also interned at The Constitution Project, a DC based bipartisan legal think tank advocating for equity under the law, especially for the most marginalized members of society.
A third-year student at Tulane University in New Orleans, the city that has her heart, Hanan is studying Neuroscience and Public Health with career goals either in international law or palliative care. To keep well-adjusted, Hanan balances her mostly science-learning course load with well-developed outside interests, ranging from elderly care to refugee relief, writing, and travel. Hanan is passionate about finding creative ways to uplift traditionally silenced voices.
Based in New York City Michael is completing a Master’s of Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He previously has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Biology and has over five years of experience in scientific research and human health. Michael has co-authored a published paper in a national genetics journal and is co-authoring a manuscript to be published in 2017.
Nayana Bijli is a recent graduate from Tufts University. Born and raised in New Delhi, she came to Tufts to extend her interests in history, economics and politics. Majoring in International Relations and Economics exposed her to coursework on the socio-political climates in Europe and Asia and international finance.
Her aspiration to work with a strong and respected advocate for human rights culminated in an application to the Oslo scholars program and ultimately an internship with Dr. Alaa Murabit. As a scholar/intern with Alaa, she gained practical experience on the workings international institutions, speech writing, negotiation, and diplomacy. She values the experience for both professional and personal reasons.
Aàron is a Law student based in Montreal, originally from El Salvador. He loves to travel and enjoys conversations with people from all around the world with different positive ideas. With an interest in security, particularly in Latin America and the Middle East, Aàron believes the law will lead to improved and sustainable ways of solving global security issues.
“I was inspired to join my ambition of helping people in my native country, El Salvador, with my passion, law, to create an organization promoting accessibility to justice in El Salvador. This project that will affect many lives positively in El Salvador would have been a million times harder without Alaa’s help, her advice, her resources, her guidance and her invaluable time when discussing about my personal project and its realization”
Two of our former mentees, Ashly Yu and Jasleen Ashraf, at the UN General Assembly in New York. Watch their interview with the SDG Media Zone on UN TV.
