2024 Global Fellows
Meet the 2024 class of Ford Global Fellows!
Allison Yang Jing
“The virtual world is not only a reflection of existing power structures: It is a critical, creative, and connected space for humans to experiment and build a sustainable world. It is not an escape or financial investment but a part of our living experience that is socially and culturally responsive and responsible.”
UNITED STATES
Ashura Michael
“Every individual, regardless of their abilities, has inherent value and should have the opportunity to fully participate in society. Inclusion is not just a matter of accommodation but a recognition of the richness that diversity brings to our communities.”
KENYA
Chioma Agwuegbo
“Leadership involves three kinds of accountability: first to the people for whom the power is held in trust, then to the cause or reason for your intervention, and finally to yourself. It is feminist, accountable and open to reflection and deliberation.”
NIGERIA
Dedren Snead
“A world free of educational disparities is one full of global citizens of all ages who participate in creative, social, and technical communities that build solutions instead of barriers.”
UNITED STATES
Eka Putra Nggalu
“Creating a better world for everyone is a calling that cannot be avoided as long as we live. Struggle, in whatever form, must first strengthen the capacity of those who live as citizens, no matter the country.”
INDONESIA
Farai Morobane
“The different and unique ways we've experienced oppression are only as unifying or as polarizing as we allow them to be. We need to find ways of movement building that have an awareness of that impact.”
SOUTH AFRICA
Jean Kassir
“I envision a world where the responsibility of exposing, acknowledging, and condemning injustice is not placed on the shoulders of the most marginalized individuals.”
LEBANON
Jefferson Barbosa
“ I visualize a safe press and social movement that tells the stories of their places and their people, dismantling polarization. I see new generations of communicators emerging in the countries of the Global South and being able to feed their democracies.”
BRAZIL
Jennifer Avila Reyes
“Journalism cannot only be extractive, as in simply getting information and publishing it. Journalism must be a bridge between power and the voice of the citizenry, in all its diversity.”
HONDURAS
Jonathan Jackson
“Stories are elemental: they form the building blocks of how we see ourselves and make meaning in places that are not often seen.”
UNITED STATES
Kanzha Vinaa
“Collective power, if we nurture it, can change our current world to be more inclusive, diverse, and mutually respectful. In a perfect world, one without stigma and discrimination, we would see everyone living lives free from fear. I want all people, regardless of their gender and identity, and allies to come together and say loudly that injustice must end.”
INDONESIA
Lucía Vijil Saybe
“Leadership means challenging the status quo, even when it's uncomfortable.”
HONDURAS
Luciana Viegas
“There is no justice without thinking about people with disabilities, especially when it comes to minority populations that have histories marked by absence and neglect. Inspiring others is key to building a less unequal future.”
BRAZIL
Michelin Sallata
“Disrupting persistent inequality in the world should start from the grassroot and ancestral values that the Indigenous Peoples and local communities embody. Leadership is about acknowledging oneself as a torchbearer to create more leaders for the future.”
TANA TORAJA, INDONESIA
Musa Kika
“Disrupting persistent inequality in the world requires strength of character, humility, and consistent values and compassion, because the forces they confront are remarkably powerful.”
ZIMBABWE
Namatai Kwekweza
“When I reimagine the world, it is a place in which youth and women are leaders able to make decisions that affect their present and future.”
ZIMBABWE
Natalia “Nati” Linares
“Artists and culture workers can change hearts and minds to resist exploitation and disrupt persistent inequality in the world.”
UNITED STATES
Nina da Hora
“The challenge I am working to address revolves around algorithmic justice and algorithmic racism. In the context of the rapidly advancing fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning, these challenges have become increasingly significant.”
BRAZIL
Okito Wedi
“Creativity has the power to restore dignity and beauty to the lives of those who have been forgotten.”
SOUTH AFRICA
Sahar Aloul
“Unequal distribution of unpaid care work, and lack of its recognition as work, deprives women from their voice and participation in social, political, and economic life.”
JORDAN
Sylvia Arthur
“I imagine a more equal, just, diverse, and interesting world in which everyone can fulfill their potential. A world in which individuals, communities, and society are integrated and there is no conflict between what is good for the few and what is good for all.”
GHANA
Tania Edith Pariona Tarqui
“Our Indigenous ancestors, grandmothers, and older sisters have traced the path of resistance and struggle that points the way for new generations. A better world is one in which Indigenous women, youths, and girls live free from all forms of violence and fully exercise their rights with equality, autonomy, and dignity.”
PERÚ
Tatyana Sleiman
“When I reimagine this world without barriers to well-being opportunities and rights, I see it as a safer and kinder community. I see it as a world where laws and policies are set in place to protect people and encourage them to thrive.”
LEBANON
Weixiang Chen
“To effectively eradicate inequality, it is crucial to recognize the significance of empowerment.”
UNITED STATES
Willie Oeba
“The idea is not to change the world, but to spark the mind that will change the world, because leadership is in delegation.”
KENYA
Yolo Akili Robinson
“Healing work without healing justice—without an analysis of systems of power, without an invitation to evolve our imaginations—is not healing. It’s conformity and a reductive colonial caricature of liberation.”
UNITED STATES