From 2016 to 2017, served as Acting Special Adviser on Follow-up to the Refugee and Migrant Summit. From November 2014 to April 2017, served as Deputy UNDP Crisis Response Bureau Director and Deputy UN Under-Secretary-General. From August 2012 to October 2014, served as Senior Regional Director for Asia and the Middle East in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) Bureau, overseeing Asia including Afghanistan, the Middle East including Syria and Lebanon, and Western Sahara. From September 2008 to July 2012, served as Senior Director in the Policy, Evaluation, and Training Division of the same bureau.

Graduated from Waseda University Faculty of Law. Holds a master's degree in International Relations from Georgetown University in the United States. Held various positions in international organizations including Legal Officer, Human Resources Policy Officer, Head of Former Yugoslavia Field Offices in Sarajevo and Mostar, Senior Adviser to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Former Yugoslavia, Special Assistant to the Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees at UNHCR, First Officer in the UN Reform Team in the Office of the Secretary-General at UN Headquarters, Head of Secretariat and Director of Program Coordination at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). From 2005 to August 2008, served as a professor at the Faculty of Law and the Graduate School of International and Public Policy at Hitotsubashi University. Concurrently during this period, served as a Senior Advisor for Peacebuilding at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and a member of the Foreign Ministry's Overseas Exchange Council. Returned to the United Nations as a Senior Director in 2008.

Married with two daughters.

Julian Castellón Odabachian was raised by two architects and artists in Alameda, California before moving to New Jersey where he received his Bachelor’s of Science and Engineering in Mechanical and Aerospace engineering from Princeton University. Upon graduation, Julian worked at Tesla as a Mechanical Design Engineer developing small electromechanical safety-critical components intended to reduce the risk of battery fires. Though he was able to develop his engineering skills at Tesla, he did not feel like he was changing anyone’s life for the better or making an impact on the world. A previous internship at Neuralink had given Julian a taste for the human-element inherent within biotechnology, and he jumped at the opportunity to lead the mechanical design of the MouthPad^, a Human Computer Interface device which allows people with motor impairments to easily interact with phones and computers through use of the mouth. He is passionate about using technology to solve the ills of the world and sees great opportunity for Augmental to make technology more equitable and accessible for everyone.

Shorna-Kay Richards has been Ambassador of Jamaica to Japan since September 2020, with concurrent accreditation to Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and New Zealand.

She served as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations (2012–2016) and dealt with matters concerning the United Nations First Committee, the Arms Trade Treaty negotiations, the United Nations Disarmament Commission, the Biennial Meeting of States on the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and the Open-ended Working Group on Taking Forward Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations. She was also actively involved in negotiations on oceans and the law of the sea.

She is currently the Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters and the Board of Trustees of the UN Disarmament Research Institute since January 2024.

Ambassador Richards joined the Jamaican Foreign Service in 1994. As a UN Disarmament Fellow in 2005 she undertook study visits to Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Ken Shibusawa founded in 2001, Shibusawa and Company, Inc., a strategic advisory firm for alternative investments, ESG/SDGs alignment and human resource development. He also founded in 2008, Commons Asset Management, a mutual fund dedicated to deliver long term investment opportunities to the Japanese household. In 2023, he founded &Capital, Inc., an impact fund management company for Africa. He has extensive market experience at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs as well as Moore Capital, a global macro hedge fund, where he was the representative managing director of the Tokyo Office.

He is also trustee and co-chairperson of the Global South Africa Committee of KeizaiDoyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), and is a member of numerous government committees, including the Council for New Form of Capitalism, established byPrime Minister Kishida. He also serves as a member of Asia Advisory Board of Chiratae Venutres, a leading venture capital fund in India investing in tech startups. In addition,he is an advisor to the Office of the President at the University of Tokyo, steering committee member of UNDP SDG Impact, board member of the International Foundation for Valuing Impact, a special advisor to the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Boards) chair, chairman of GSG (Global Steering Group for Impact Investment) National Advisory Board Japan. And most recently was named as co-head of Triple I (Impact Investment Initiative) for Global Health, an initiative that was endorsed by G7 leadership at the Hiroshima Summit.

He is a published author and writes frequently for magazines, journals, and internet media.He also publishes and hosts of a podcast, Made With Japan https://madewithjapan.net/He was educated in the United States from second grade elementary through college(University of Texas, BS Chemical Engineering, 1983), and then returned again for graduate school (UCLA Anderson School of Management, 1987).

Aminetou is an environmental advocate with a passion for peace, security, and empowering youth and women. She serves as the president of the Selfie Mbalite NGO, which promotes environmental protection and ecological development in Mauritania. Aminetou is an alumna of the Mandela Washington Fellowship 2021, an Obama Foundation Leader Africa 2018, a One Young World Ambassador 2018, and a Youth Climate Hub Initiative Ambassador.

She is a member of several networks such as Resilient40 and GAIA Africa. Aminetou is also one of the key young authors of the sixth Global Environment Outlook, an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme.

She has worked as a youth advisor at the African Union and as a technical advisor in charge of communication at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Childhood, and Family.

Since 2018, Aminetou has been recognized as one of Africa's most influential figures. Currently, she serves as the North Africa Head of the African Youth Council of the Alliance of African Leaders against Malaria (ALMA).

A 2018,2019 One Young World Ambassador, Ibun’s first study abroad was at the age of 8 years old on her own. She has since studied in China, Canada, Mexico and Spain. During her journey in four different countries, she learnt the importance of education and the potential of human connection. After returning to Japan, she completed her BA at Waseda University School of International Liberal Studies and began working at Johnson & Johnson in the field of digital marketing.　In a deeper pursuit of her dream of realizing a “borderless world”, she founded HI.LLC. Providing ESG consultancy, leadership development, and education for sustainable development to companies and schools around the world. In 2021, she was also selected as Forbes JAPAN 2021 “ Best 100 talent”.

Joined Sony Group Corporation as secretary and on to HR after graduating from International Christian University. In 2004, she founded her own company on HR consulting and advertising agency (media buying, creative production) for the Japanet Group.In 2018, she joined the V-VAREN NAGASAKI Football Club as Senior Executive Officer in charge of public relations and game operation. In 2020, she became the President of the Club.Haruna continues her academical pursuit on Business Administration and Education, and currently studies at the Faculty of Education, Graduate School of Education in the University of Tokyo pursuing Ph.D. degree in pedagogy.In March 2022, she was appointed full-time Board of Directors forＪ.League and Member of Executive Committee of JFA. In Ｊ.League, CSR initiatives called “SHAREN!” was her main focus. In September 2023, Takata became the second Chair of WE League. Also currently assumes the position of President of Nadeshiko League, Specially Appointed Director ofＪ.League, and Vice-President of JFA.

In 1997, he established NEXT Co., Ltd.., (now LIFULL Co., Ltd.). The company developed the real estate and home information website "HOME'S" (now LIFULLHOME'S) into one of the largest websites in Japan, and currently operates 37 group companies in Japan and overseas, providing services in more than 60 countries and regions. The company's corporate message is "Make every LIFE FULL". The LIFULL Group offers a full range of services related to daily life, not only in the real estate field, but also in areas such as regional development and nursing care.

His ultimate goal as an individual is "world peace," and he is involved in various activities such as holding the PEACE DAY festival every year on September 21, the International Day of Peace.

Eriko is a tech and social impact angel investor focused on Wellbeing and Sustainability, and currently an advisor to VCs, Board Member of private and public companies, Director of Tokyo Women in VC, and executive coach.

Eriko is former founding member and Managing Director of Japan’s first ESG focused VC MPower Partners, and GP of Fresco Capital and Investment Director of Mistletoe, etc. and started her career in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and UBS and later became Japan country manager of Silicon Valley based drone startup.

Author of “How we live, will be how we work” (Daiwashobo, 2018) and translator of New York Times best seller “Mission Economy: A moonshot guide to changing capitalism” (Mariana Mazzucato, 2021). Mother of two children.

Currently residing in Belgium, she is an accomplished editor with an academic background from Waseda University, holding a degree in Political Science and Economics. Her career commenced at Forbes Japan, subsequently evolving during her tenure at Nikkei Inc., where she specialized in reporting on job hunting and the startup landscape. She significantly contributed to Nihon Keizai Shimbun Publishing (currently Nikkei Business Publications), playing a crucial role in the production of over 60 business titles, including the bestsellers "Introduction to SDGs" and "Blue Chip Kids," each achieving sales surpassing 100,000 copies. In parallel with her editorial career, she completed her MBA at NUCB. In August 2022, she embarked on an entrepreneurial journey, offering consultancy for foreign enterprises seeking entry into the Japanese market, along with media consulting services.

She is presently enhancing her expertise in European Business and Economic Policy through the Advanced Master's Programme at the Louvain School of Management. Serving as the Japanese ambassador for One Young World, she actively contributes to publications such as Business Insider and Nikkei, further demonstrating her commitment to global communication and business integration.

Since 2010, Margianta’s experience ranges from grassroot work to high-level advocacy in regional and international networks, with intersectional focus on youth development, global health, and social justice in policy making process. Margianta has been invited to speak about the importance of inclusion and wellbeing for working class youth at UNICEF Leading Minds Conference, UNICEF Global Forum for Children and Youth, Global Mental Health Summit, Nobel Prize Dialogue, and the One Young World 2018 in the Netherlands, where he spoke in front of almost 2.000 people from 193 countries and was introduced on stage by Terry Crews, a Hollywood #MeToo activist and actor. Some of his recent works include his role as a UNICEF consultant where he provide inputs for UNICEF's Youth Advocacy Guide and protocol on youth participation and mental health. Margianta is also a part of the CSO Advisory Board for UN in Indonesia and the youngest Council Member of Being Initiative that funds research and innovations to support youth mental health in Global South countries.

Moeko Takagi is currently a manager for Global Partnerships in Asia at Digireha. She will be the inaugural CEO of the Indian subsidiary as of October 2024. Moeko is a working mother of a 5-year-old daughter. Moeko’s vision is to build world peace through communication which led her to continue English language training in the United States by pursuing education in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) from the School for International Training and later a master’s degree in applied linguistics from Texas Tech University. Moeko’s postgraduate career began as a language teacher for Asian refugees in the USA. She then worked as a project coordinator for the Nippon Foundation, Asia's largest foundation, where she worked in project management, fundraising and media relations for social change projects. She has promoted these projects with a high level of expertise in solving social issues. Her role at Digireha supports their mission to develop tools to make society more inclusive throughout the Asian region for people with disabilities of all varieties. She is also studying public health at Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health and conducting research on consultation among parents of children with severe mental and physical disabilities.

Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. His father is American and his mother is Japanese. Born in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Resident 2018 Miss Kamakura.
When she was in elementary school, she transferred from an international school to a public elementary school and became aware of her minority status. Interested in cross-cultural exchange, she studied abroad in Thailand during college. Witnessing the disparity between rich and poor and poor children, she participated in volunteer activities in Thailand and Cambodia while still in school. Her goal is to become a mass media speaker and promote social participation among the younger generation. 21 years old, she has had her own radio personality show on J-WAVE and Fmyokohama, and is currently in charge of Over View, a weekly live show on Mondays and Tuesdays on ZIP FM. He also appears irregularly on Abema Prime as a commentator, narrator, and interviewer for foreign artists.

Sara is the pharmacist and diet expert who founded Wellibites to create a healthier world which became the market leader in record-time. The combination of rising numbers of type 2 diabetes and obesity worldwide and that there were no healthy and tasty candy on the market led to the realization that we need a super tasty candy that also does good. Sara started to develop the recipes in her home kitchen in Sweden. Wellibites is a unique and healthy candy, completely free of sugar, gluten, fat and palm oil and also vegan, low in calories, contains only natural colours & flavours and the only candy on the market that is vitamin and mineral enriched. In addition, it is the only candy on the market that has all the USP:s that consumers request in one product.

Apart from her passion to help public health with her innovative healthy candy she is also passionate about encouraging female entrepreneurship, and especially amongst underrepresented groups. She does inspirational talks and shares her knowledge and experience generously to help more people take the leap towards their dreams.

She has received honorable awards for her business and entrepreneurial journey from H.M King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden, Prince Daniel of Sweden, Female Entrepreneur of the year, Bravest boss of the year, Top 100-profile in Sweden making the business more sustainable and more.

Sybilla Patrizia is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and photographer based in Tokyo. She is currently developing her feature documentary ‘PLASTIC LOVE!’, which deals with Japan’s toxic relationship with plastic and which was featured in HERMÈS’ Social Good Book. In 2022, she shot the cover of the Financial Times’ HTSI Magazine, featuring Japan’s best-selling author Mieko Kawakami and ‘The Dark Side of Manga’, a VICE short doc on child abuse in Japanese manga which won an Emmy in 2023. At Tokyo Docs 2023, ‘The Shape of Blue’ was awarded Best Pitch Award, Sunny Side of the Doc Award, and DocedgeKolkata Award. ‘A Bloody Taboo’ about the stigma against menstruation in Japan, was awarded at Tokyo Docs and premiered at Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival in 2021.

Daisuke Furuta is a Journalist and editor-in-chief of the Japan Fact-check Center(JFC). Daisuke started his career as a news reporter for The Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s national newspaper. After working in Japan and branch offices in Southeast Asia, he was assigned as a digital editor in Tokyo. In 2015, he joined BuzzFeed as the founder and editor-in-chief of the Japan edition. He left BuzzFeed in 2019 and set up his own company, "media-collab," to support Japanese news media for digital transformation. He worked as a teaching fellow at Google News Lab from 2020 - 2022. He trained more than 20,000 journalists and students for digital reporting and fact-checking in two years. He was named JFC's first editor-in-chief in September 2022 and launched it the next month. Daisuke is a board member of the Digital Journalist Education Institute(D-JEDI). He is an alumnus of the City University of New York Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership.

Born in 1977. Graduated from Kyushu University, Faculty of Economics. After founding and serving as president of SMS, he led the company's listing on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and its expansion in Asia. In 2015, he founded REAPRA in Singapore, forming a business group focusing on Asia and investing as a learning support company to create an industry that solves social issues that span across generations. He also manages the Katsudoiku Foundation, which conducts educational activities to bring out the ability to continue to live vibrantly with society, and the Unsun Foundation, a general foundation that seeks affluence that looks nine generations into the future.

Born in 1977. Graduated from Kyushu University, Faculty of Economics. After founding and serving as president of SMS, he led the company's listing on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and its expansion in Asia. In 2015, he founded REAPRA in Singapore, forming a business group focusing on Asia and investing as a learning support company to create an industry that solves social issues that span across generations. He also manages the Katsudoiku Foundation, which conducts educational activities to bring out the ability to continue to live vibrantly with society, and the Unsun Foundation, a general foundation that seeks affluence that looks nine generations into the future.

Born in 1998, he studied abroad in Denmark, where the youth voting rate exceeds 80% in 2019, and established NO YOUTH NO JAPAN to promote political participation of the younger generation. In 2022, he established NewScene, a general incorporated association, which conducts the FIFTYS PROJECT, a movement to encourage and support young people in their 20s and 30s to run for local elections in order to close the gender gap in the political field. He is also a founder of NewScene, a general incorporated association. She holds a master's degree in economics from Keio University. TV Asahi, Yoko Oshita! Wide Scramble, Tokyo MX Horijun Morning Flag, TIME Magazine's Next 100 People #TIME100NEXT 2022.

Suzuka Nakamura was born in Nagasaki in 2000 and is a student of Sophia University in Tokyo. Her grandmother is a HIBAKUSHA, a victim of the atomic bombing in Nagasaki. She started her peace activity based in Nagasaki from high school. After entering university, she joined projects to promote the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Tokyo as a campaigner of ICAN ( The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons). She is also working as a member of “GIIN WATCH'', a project asking and visualizing all Japanese diet members’ thoughts about TPNW. Now she works as a co-founder of “KNOW NUKES TOKYO ''.

My name is Oscar Anderson, I have been a ambassador for One Young World for about nine years, talking about my experiences and beliefs as a disabled person. I have lived in Asia for most of my childhood and I’ve always been a fervent believer that disabled people are just “ordinary people with extra challenges,” who should be given equal access to the amount of opportunities as any other normal person has access to. Just because our bodies are wonky , doesn’t mean that we aren’t able to function within society.

I’m now living in England, I have finished college and I’m hoping to do it online university course on international relations as well as become a published author.

My name is Bibi Aziza BEGHAM, and as an Afghan woman deeply committed to social change, I've had the honor of attending the One Young World Summit in 2018 in the Netherlands. For nearly 12 years, I've dedicated myself to serving at the Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation, a nonprofit organization striving to empower Afghan girls and women through education and opportunity.

At the summit, I shared insights from my grassroots work, advocating for gender equality and empowerment. Through mentorship programs and collaborative initiatives, I've worked to uplift women in my community, breaking down barriers and fostering opportunities for their advancement.

Drawing upon the values and principles of the Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation, such as empowerment, equality, and community, I strive to continue making a meaningful impact in the lives of Afghan women and beyond. By embodying these values, I am committed to shaping a more just and equitable society for all. Through my ongoing work, I aim to inspire positive change and create a brighter future for generations to come.

Salam, means "peace" in Arabic an carried that meaning through his life, has known displacement twice. War forced him from his homeland Syria, where he rebuilt his life for over seven years in Sudan. Yet, war erupted again, pushing him on a journey to forge a new path in entirely new countries and continents.

Despite these challenges, Salam's spirit remains full of hope. A passionate entrepreneur driven by social innovation, his work in Sudan wasn't just about rebuilding his own life. He partnered with a Sudanese startup to promote positive change. Through gamified experiences and board games, tackling critical issues:

Political dialogue: Fostering communication and understanding.
Critical thinking: Empowering individuals to analyze information effectively.
Hygiene and nutrition awareness: Improving health outcomes in marginalized communities.
Salam's dedication extends beyond his own experiences. As a One Young World Ambassador (The Hague, 2018 - Enterprise for Peace Scholar), he champions the cause of refugees and displaced people. He advocates for a shift in perspective, urging the world to see their potential and the opportunities they bring, not just their struggles.

Fang Liu is a Policy Fellow at APLN and holds a Master's degree in Global Affairs and Policy from Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies. She received her first Master’s degree in Transcultural Studies from Heidelberg University and a Bachelor’s degree in German Language and Literature from Sun Yat-sen University. Currently, she serves as the APLN coordinator for several projects and network member activities, including the joint project 'Nuclear Weapon Use Risk Reduction' and 'Asia Dialogue on China-US Relations.' Her research interests include East Asian history, Chinese politics and foreign policy, as well as the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons.

A third-generation atomic bomb survivor from Hiroshima.

After completing undergraduate and master's degrees in education psychology at the Faculty of Education and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo, he is conducting research on "Inheriting War Disaster Memories and Developing/Verifying Peace Education Using Technology" at the Nagatani lab at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo. Specifically, he is promoting the practical use of digital archives and digital sandbox games in educational settings, focusing on technologies such as digital twins and metaverses.

Engaged in signature campaigns for nuclear disarmament and the transmission of atomic bomb experiences since high school, he served as a youth non-nuclear special envoy commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the United Nations Disarmament Conference in 2014, the NPT Review Conference in 2022, and the International Conference of the Wise. In 2024, he was selected as one of the 100 youth leaders by UNODA (United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs) for the Youth Leader Fund for a World without Nuclear Weapons.

He is also active in the context of women's participation in peace and security. In 2023, he participated in discussions at the World Assembly for Women with Dr. Denis Mukwege and others, and the outcomes were registered in United Nations documents. He is a member of Women In International Security.

While engaging in research and social activities, he also works for a foreign IT company, contemplating the utilization and social implementation of the latest technologies such as generative AI.

Ayumi started her career at Career Design Center in 2002. After working as a sales manager at Google, she founded at Will Work in 2016. After working at Money Design, worked at Plug and Play K.K. as CMO, overseeing marketing and PR. 2022 founded the Startup Ecosystem Association and became its president. She is a Startup Strategy Fellow at Tokyo Metropolitan Government, an Ambassador for Entrepreneurship Education Promotion at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and an expert member of the Startup and Investment Working Group at the Cabinet Office's Council for Regulatory Reform.

Born in 1968, he received his master's degree from the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Waseda University. He joined Patagonia in 1999, and was the Japan Branch Manager from 2009 to 2019. He became a non-executive board member of the J-League in 2022 and an executive board member (sustainability area) in March 2023.

Jeans recent work includes Protest Event Analysis in Authoritarian Regimes and The Use of Natural Language Processing Models to Collect Protest Data. She has a PhD in Cybersecurity from UNSW Canberra focusing on the analysis of government propaganda and mis/disinformation in the context of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. jean’s work in the field of technology and human rights was acknowledged in 2022 when she was awarded by the Women in AI Ethics™ (WAIE) as one of the top 100 Women in Artificial Intelligence Ethics globally.

Robin is an award-winning social entrepreneur and educator based in Japan. He is the Co-CEO of Social Innovation Japan, a platform empowering people to take action on today's most pressing challenges. He is also Co-founder of mymizu, a platform reducing plastic waste through the power of technology and community, which has saved millions of plastic bottles from going to waste through its crowdsourced plastic-free hydration network.

Originally with a background in humanitarian aid and international development, Robin has spent 13+ years working with social enterprises, NGOs and inter-governmental organisations, and has managed sustainable development projects in countries including Japan, Haiti, Vanuatu and Mozambique. To date, he has conducted mission-driven empowerment programs for tens of thousands of people, including workshops, leadership training and scholarship programs. Robin also serves as an advisor and mentor for a range of mission-driven organisations, and is a guest lecturer at several universities.

In 2017, Robin founded the “Michinoku Trail Walker” project, a sustainable tourism initiative helping thousands of people enjoy outdoor adventures in Japan’s disaster-stricken Tohoku region and contribute to the area’s long-term recovery. In 2020, he was recognised by M.I.T. Technology Review’s ‘Innovators Under-35’ Awards and in 2022 won Business Insider Japan's 'Beyond Millennials' Award. His work has been featured in global media including CNN, Vogue and Netflix.