QLC Booklet 2018

Featured Presenters

Fran Siracusa, a Spanish teacher and Educational Technologist, is the co-founder of #TeachSDGs, Calliope Global, and Edcamp Tampa Bay. Her passions are student-centered learning, global projects, World Language study, sustainable development and social good. Fran creates unique opportunities for teachers and students to develop a culture of innovation through the incorporation of digital technologies and sustainable global partnerships. In order to authentically improve the educational landscape, she shares her expertise and experience through teaching, speaking, and professionally writing for educational companies, magazines and blogs. In 2017, she earned the prestigious ISTE Global PLN “Innovation in Global Collaboration” Award. Finally, Fran happily promotes educational excellence by serving as an Edutopia guest blogger, and as an “ambassador” for Kahoot!, Buncee and Flipgrid.

Gilberto Duarte is a Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Gilberto currently leads the secondary level of the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, which seeks to produce and disseminate education material on UNODC’s mandates. He previously worked at the UNODC Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil, and holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations.

Judith Cunningham is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Montessori Model UN. Judith founded MMUN to help students find their voices, take action and build peace. MMUN is named after Dr. Maria Montessori who said to the United Nations, “If the world would listen to the children, they would hear new, innovative solutions to the world’s problems”.  As an educator and former head of school, Judith’s experience enabled her to design MMUN to align with the developmental interests of students from 9-18 years of age moving from awareness of the global-local nature of problems to a sense of responsibility to take action to implementation of student project plan.

Salam Kedan is a 23-year-old BA graduate of Tel Aviv University International in Liberal Arts. Salam is a Muslim Arab who grew up in a Muslim Arab town called Baqa al Gharbiyye, under the control of the Israeli government; she joined Model UN when she was 16 years old, traveling and joining many international conferences made her more aware of her identity, situation and made her a more open, curious and confident person. It also gave her hope and a passion for making a difference. Through Model UN, Salam met and created friendships with students from all around the world; she has a deep interest in dialogue and raising awareness to promote understanding and peace in the Middle East. She opened her centre, Salam Centre for Peace, to provide more opportunities for the youth in her community.

Wisdom Addo is the Executive Director at the West Africa Centre for Peace Foundation (WACPF) a non-governmental organization that serves the youth in schools and communities through education on human rights, leadership training, and peace building in Ghana and Liberia.  Wisdom also serves as the West Africa Chapter Coordinator for the PeaceJam Foundation USA. His work, which provides peace education for the youth that counts on the learning ability of human beings which focuses on the acquisition and advancement of capacities, skills, values and knowledge contributing to the establishment of a global and sustainable culture of peace as it comprises of all stages of life and socialization of human.

Alain Meidinger is currently a History and Geography teacher at Lycée Français in The Hague, Netherlands. He has a Master’s Degree in History and Geography from the University of Bordeaux, France. Alain serves as Co-Chair of the THIMUN Foundation, the largest MUN organisations in the world. He is also the Chairperson of MFNU a French MUN in The Hague. His main goal is to develop the MUN programme in the French worldwide. French MUN conferences already exist in Egypt, France, Morocco, Qatar, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey. 

Kinvara is the Content & Curriculum Manager at World’s Largest Lesson, a global schools programme delivered in partnership with UNICEF, to encourage student learning and action in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Kinvara leads on the creation and production of all World’s Largest Lesson’s online content and has delivered workshops and webinars on the SDGs to students and teachers all around the world. In her previous role, she was the Teacher Training Lead in rural Eastern Nepal, where she designed professional development courses for newly qualified teachers. Kinvara has worked around the world, including Norway, Italy and Australia, teaching English as foreign language. She began her career in education as a primary school teacher in London, qualifying through the Teach First programme.

Steve Macdonald is an entrepreneur and investor and Founder of Teenage Entrepreneur Corporation – a rapidly emerging provider of training and development of young entrepreneurs around the world. He is committed to empowering young people to pursue futures of their own imagining and to taking their place in tackling the challenges of our time. He is an investor in multiple businesses with young or student founders. In addition to Teenage Entrepreneur Corporation, he is co-Founder of Crypto Launchpad, hapzly, Soshal List and Progreso Apps and is Chief Investment Officer of Gold Bits Coin Pty Ltd. He was previously co-Founder of an Australian investment management company which he exited after 8 years. Steve has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s Degree in Applied Finance.

Tausif Akib Khan is a final year student at North South University, Bangladesh; majoring in Marketing. He is also the founder & CEO of The Koala Hub which is a youth based company. Currently Tausif is handling Joey Fund project with the Teenage Entrepreneur Corporation through which young entrepreneurs will be provided seed capital & initial funding for their businesses. He is also a prominent member of Bangladesh MUN circuit. Apart from that he has ushered new opportunities for young students through The Koala Hub by empowering them for the better future. He believes no matter how hard the life becomes you can’t stop running, against all the odds you have to survive and contribute towards a better future.

Since 2009, Khoi Vo served in Savannah College of Art and Design‘s Interior Design department. While chair, he led the department to its No. 1 rankings by DesignIntelligence of both the undergraduate (2012-2016 & 2018) and graduate (2012-2014, 2016 & 2018) programs. For 2018, DesignIntelligence named him as one of the 25 Most Admired Educators in the fields of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture, recognizing his active educational engagement in the design community and his leadership in innovative interdisciplinary collaboration.Khoi Vo is active with the Council of Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) as a site visitor. He currently sits on the national board of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) where he serves on the awards committee, as a foundation trustee, and as a student advisory council member. Vo’s academic credentials include a Bachelor’s degree in design and architecture and a Master of Architecture degree. In May 2018, Vo was named Vice President for SCAD Hong Kong, where he oversees the daily operations of the campus including academic services, student success, admission, accounting and finance, human resources, marketing and public relations, physical resources, technology services, and institutional effectiveness. He lives in Hong Kong with his wife, Kristen, and son, Caleb.

Alice Mcdonald is Campaigns and Policy Director at Project Everyone, a not for profit which seeks to put the power of great communications behind The Sustainable Development Goals (also known as the Global Goals). She leads policy and campaign work on a number of initiatives including ‘Goalkeepers’ – a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . She was previously Head of Campaigns and Advocacy Manager at Save the Children where she ran one of the biggest global coalition campaigns ever – action/2015. Alice has extensive experience of developing and implementing advocacy and campaign strategies at national and global level and has contributed and authored several policy reports and articles. She has worked around the world from Ethiopia and South Africa to Rwanda where she was a governance adviser in the Office of the President. She began her career at the British Labour Party where she headed the Research Unit and was senior political adviser to the Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP.

Andrew Newman is a Fine Arts teacher, Director of Student Activities and MUN Director at John Burroughs School in St. Louis. After attending Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Washington University in the US he stopped pursuing a medical career fixing the heart and decided to become a teacher to listen to the heartbeat of his students.  He has dedicated his 26 years in education helping guide High School students to find their curiosities, pursue their passion and empower them with the wisdom that they can have a powerful and positive impact on the world.

Kishor Kumar Das. A Bangladeshi entrepreneur and corporate professional lives in Latin America, having multidimensional exposure across various sectors in Bangladesh and abroad.  He is one of the brightest professionals in Strategy  & Marketing in telecommunication sector. He has been associated with many social causes aimed at alleviating various social malaise and bridging the gap or disparity in the society through various initiatives on education, healthcare, shelter, Refugee, migration, livelihood and capacity building since last six years. He is known as the founder of “Bidyanondo Foundation”. Bidyanondo is a charitable voluntary organization with a mission to foster philanthropy across the globe by designing innovative programs that engage students & professionals with disadvantaged communities of the world and work together to educate, empower and lift orphaned and vulnerable section of the society.

Evan Wesley is the Vice President for Student Activation for Thirst Project. He spends his time traveling around the United States, speaking to middle school, high school, and college students about the global water crisis. Evan has spoken to over 75,000 students as a Keynote speaker, working with and speaking to groups including United Nations, UNICEF, National Association of Student Councils, Key Club International, HOSA, WorldLink Peace and Justice, North American Hair Association, Paul Mitchell Schools, and Millennium Campus Network. To date, Evan and the Thirst Project team have given clean water to over 330,000 people in 13 different countries. Currently, Evan and the Thirst Project team work closely with the government and Kingdom of Swaziland (now eSwatini) to build freshwater wells for communities in need, with a goal to END the water crisis in Swaziland by 2022.

Laura Restrepo is the Manager of Youth Engagement programs at UNICEF USA, where she oversees UNICEF Clubs on high school and college campuses and the development and implementation of youth related activations in the U.S. In her current role, she has led youth trips to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Tajikistan. Prior to UNICEF USA, Laura resided in Philadelphia where she managed state and privately funded programs in early childhood education and intervention. She has worked in the public and private sectors with a focus on international development and business. Laura has been involved with UNICEF for over 15 years serving in different capacities.

Lisa Martin has devoted the past two decades in MUN program development. In October 2017 she founded the MUN Impact Movement, aiming to link the Model Un community to the SDGs and the United Nations itself. She has also focused efforts on supporting Hope for Education and Leadership in Afghanistan (HELA) and exploring partnerships and synergies with work being done at the United Nations. She is a strong proponent of using 21st century technology and associated best practices to enhance student recognition, inclusiveness and voice within the MUN community. Lisa is also the founder of Online Model United Nations, and more recently, the Head of THIMUN Qatar. She currently lives and works in California.

Sulaiman Sulaimankhil is studying business administration (BBA) at the Swiss UMEF University of Afghanistan (Dunya). He is the co-founder of  Hope for Education and leadership in Afghanistan and is currently working as the Deputy CEO of the organization. Sulaiman also works as the programs officer of Skateistan in Kabul. He is highly involved in leadership activities, and also empowering today’s youth through his many different activities. His dream in the future is to be an active leader of his society and global community, and have the ability to help people, and bring a huge change to the world. Sulaiman believes in globalization and thinks it is the only way to lead the world to a better future. Sulaiman was born to do something for his fellow citizens in Afghanistan and the people of the world.

Rahmatullah Hamdardis the CEO and Founder of Hope for Education and Leadership in Afghanistan (HELA) Organization, the first ever MUN NGO of its kind in Afghanistan. He was a founding member of the THIMUN Qatar Afghanistan Initiative and participated as both a delegate and MUN Director. Since a young age he has been teaching at different educational centers and organizations and currently he is working at an international NGO in Afghanistan, Free to Run, which works for women’s empowerment and gender equality. Rahmat was a recent participant in UNODC’s MUN Training with the Education for Justice initiative.

Robin de Zeeuw is a second-year university student at the Erasmus University College (EUC) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. There he is working on completing his double major in International Relations & Political Science and Economics & Business. Although he was born and grew up in the Dutch Caribbean, Robin has had extensive experience in high-school and university-level MUN participating in everything from admin to Secretariat. He served as the President of the General Assembly of THIMUN 2016 and also as a Board Member for the MUN organization at EUC. He believes that Model UN is something that should serve as an enabling feature to individuals and that it is critical to the development of certain skills in a high schoolers academic and social career. He is also involved in the HELA initiative as an Advisory Board Member and encourages students to take their MUN experience and make something of it.

Rustam Makhmudov is a Public Information Assistant at the United Nations Department of Public Information. He is organizing educational events at the UN Headquarters for high-school and college students for the International Day of Peace and the Remember Slavery Programme. He is from Tajikistan and has firsthand knowledge of how the work of the UN can have a big impact on peoples’ life and strives to educate youth on the importance of the Sustainable Developmental Goals and overall UN mission.

Stephan Anagnost became a full-time teacher in 2009 & is currently teaching Global Politics & Theory of Knowledge at the Lincoln Community School in Accra Ghana. His role as an educator is preceded by a 15 year career including international peace building, human rights training and sustainable development work for the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights and as a private sector consultant. He became a full-time father in November 2016.

Tanzil Ferdous is the first Bangladeshi to win “Emerging Young Leaders Award” by the United States Department of State. She was awarded with this honor for her commitment towards youth activism, dedication for community service, and her advocacy towards women and children’s rights. She is currently working for the biggest refugee crisis in the world with UNHCR. She is committed towards helping people in need and has embarked on this journey since a very early age. Her mission is to keep working for her community and equip women with leadership skills for them to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Jordan Hattar is a 26-year-old humanitarian and director of Help4Refugees.org. Since receiving his master’s degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge in 2016, Jordan went on to intern with Mrs. Obama Reach Higher initiative in the White House from September of 2016 until January of 2017. Since then, Jordan has been speaking full-time in schools around the world, delivering more than 180 presentations in 30+ countries. Jordan’s message has a lot to do with compassion, empathy, and service.

QLC Presenter Applications are Closed

Local Adult Presenters – deadline Sept 30th 2018

Local Students Presenters– deadline May 3rd 2018

International Adult/Student Presenters- deadline August 30th 2018

Please find a supporting document for how to run an interactive workshop here

Each year the QLC  sponsors a number of international presenters; flights, hotel and visa assistance are provided. Applicants will also be considered and accepted without QLC sponsorship.  For international applicants, you will be given the option to indicate whether or not you wish to be considered as an unsponsored presenter (travel and accomodation would not be covered).

Local Presenters: If you are an adult professional and live in Qatar, and would like to present a 50 minute workshop at this years QLC, please complete the online application form. The deadline for submission is Sept 30th 2018, and presenters will be accepted on a rolling basis.

International Presenters: If you live outside the state of Qatar (student, teacher, professional), and would like to present two 50 minute workshops at this years QLC, please complete the online application form. The deadline for submission is April 30th 2018, and the office will be in touch with you shortly after application.

Student Presenters: If you are a student living in Qatar, and would like to present a 50 minute workshop at this years QLC, please complete the online application form.  The deadline for submission is May 3, 2018, and confirmation will be given shortly after, by our student executive team.

 For your reference, please see the workshops and presenters featured in last year’s conference QLC Booklet 2017 Final.