By Bimbola Oyesola
Nigeria’s Eric Andrew, Hugh Jones of Canada and others have been announced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the candidates selected for the 2024 Young Trade Leaders Programme.
The programme which also has candidates from France, China, Argentina is a new initiative aimed at fostering a better understanding of the WTO’s work and international trade among young people.
In all eight individuals from six continents have been selected to participate in the inaugural programme, which lasts one year, starting from 7 August.
According to WTO, the Young Trade Leaders Programme has been established to bring young people closer to the work of the WTO.
“By creating a global network of enthusiastic young trade leaders, it aims at promoting a better understanding of the WTO’s role in supporting international trade,” said the global trade body.
It noted that the Young Trade Leaders are invited to bring fresh ideas about the role of trade and the WTO, while also having the opportunity to learn about the organization’s work and advance its mission.
The candidates, WTO said we’re selected after a rigorous selection process, from almost 2,000 applications from around the world to form the first cohort of WTO Young Trade Leaders.
It stated that the selected participants were chosen on the basis of their background and experience, and the strength of their application.
The selected candidates are:
Eric Andrew, Nigeria, founder and team lead at agricultural non-profit AgrofixiNG; Phoebe Britten, Australia, youth advocate and Founder and CEO of Inspire Tomorrow Education; Hugh Jones, Canada, young lawyer in international trade; Yassine Krouk, France, bachelor’s student in political science at Sciences Po Lille; Sunny Li, China, young professional in international relations.
Others are Florencia Mastrorilli, Argentina, young lawyer in international trade; Nasubila Ng’ambi, Malawi, researcher in international trade law and Elina Sultanbekova, Kyrgyz Republic, bachelor’s student in international relations
Benefits
Participants will have the opportunity to take advantage of training courses organized by the WTO, to benefit from WTO Secretariat advice and mentoring, and to receive support when organizing WTO-related activities in their home countries.
Participants will also travel to Geneva for the 2024 WTO Public Forum in September, where they will attend a full-day workshop and participate actively in Forum activities