Let's meet the 2024 WIC Global Youth Leaders!

Poornima Meegammana [Photo provided to wicinternet.org]

Poornima Meegammana, a prominent Sri Lankan social entrepreneur, is deeply committed to empowering girls and women in the realm of technology. She is the founder of the prestigious Nextgen Girls in Technology initiative, a groundbreaking endeavor aimed at bolstering the participation of girls and women in technology career paths. Throughout the past decade, Meegammana has tirelessly devoted herself to the advancement of technology education and development, with a particular emphasis on young people.Her unwavering dedication in this field has garnered her numerous prestigious global accolades, including the esteemed UNESCO Prize for Girls and Women's Education in 2020, recognition on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2022, the prestigious Champion award from the International Telecommunication Union's WSIS Prizes in 2020, and the Internet Society's 25 Under 25 Award in 2017, among others. Furthermore, she was honored as Sri Lanka's Social Entrepreneur of the Year by WIM in 2022. Currently, Meegammana holds the position of director of youth development at the Shilpa Sayura Foundation, where she spearheads the implementation of the innovative Nextgen Skills program. This program has already made a significant impact, reaching more than 3000 school and university students this year alone.

Nuriddin Samatov [Photo provided to wicinternet.org]

Nuriddin Samatov, a research assistant and ICT specialist at the Research Institute of Environment and Nature Conservation Technologies, which falls under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan, excels in the fields of climate risk assessment and crop/hydrological modeling. In the year 2023, he had the opportunity to serve as a visiting scholar at the prestigious Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, through its Global Young Talents Program. As a finalist and key team member of the Global Call, a component of the AgriTech4Uzbekistan Innovation Challenge, Nuriddin played a pivotal role in the development of 'IWater', an innovative and groundbreaking water management system. Out of 579 submissions, 'IWater' secured a top 10 ranking, testament to the ingenuity and prowess of Samatov's team. In addition, he was a finalist at the Moonshot Young Leaders Camp and is a fellow of the Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme (GCYLP), a prestigious initiative organized by ITU in collaboration with Huawei.

Farah Gul Rahuja [Photo provided to wicinternet.org]

Farah Gul Rahuja, hailing from Dadu, Sindh, Pakistan, holds a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from COMSATS University Islamabad. With over four years of experience in the development of AI and ML projects, she co-founded PakGPT, a chatbot designed to empower citizens with access to essential information. She introduced this platform in her village, aiding individuals in enhancing their skills, accessing family planning resources and addressing unemployment issues. Currently, Farah is engaged with PakAngels on Hacktheon, a hackathon focused on GenAI and LLM that aims to promote regional development within Pakistan's startup ecosystem. Additionally, she serves as a Generative AI Trainer at Utech Dubai, where she mentors students in developing skills and boosting their earning potential. Driven by a passion for practical AI solutions and cybersecurity, Farah leverages her expertise in natural language processing, computer vision, and AI to empower communities and inspire the next generation to pursue STEM education.