In this webinar, three young activists will discuss the strategies and responses of youth-led organizations to the current crises of the "aid" system, focusing on their strengths, lessons learned, and perspectives on the future of aid. They will share their lessons learned in advocating for youth’s rights, especially in recent months; key messages and recommendations for donors; and advice for other youth-led NGOs navigating the crises. 

This webinar is aimed at a general international "aid" audience interested in children's rights and youth-led organizations, including donors and funders, researchers, practitioners, graduate students, community-based and national NGOs, INGOs, and more.

Based on their experiences, three young leaders and activists will discuss:

• Adaptation strategies by youth-led organizations facing funding cuts

• Leveraging entrepreneurship as a tool to sustain youth-led initiatives and community empowerment in the face of funding gaps

• Rise of anti-migrant and anti-refugee narratives, and the effects of displacement on youth-led organizations working with migrant, refugee, and host communities

• Recommendations for international donors and funders on how to better support youth-led organizations

• Suggestions to achieve the meaningful inclusion of youth-led organizations in decision-making processes

Attendees are encouraged to submit questions for the speakers in advance (in English or Spanish) to mara.luna@kuja.org.

This event is co-sponsored by the Collaborative on Global Children's Issues, Georgetown University and Global Fund for Children.

Speakers

Krista Rivas Gutierrez - Tertiary Refugee Student Network in Latin America (TRSN)

Krista Rivas Gutierrez is a student of architecture and international relations, a DAFI scholarship recipient, and the Global Lead of the Tertiary Refugee Student Network (TRSN), where she works to strengthen youth leadership and advocate for policies that expand opportunities for displaced students. Her work focuses on amplifying the voices of displaced youth and ensuring that their stories, challenges, and contributions are recognized in global decision-making spaces. With a strong background in youth-led initiatives, Krista has actively promoted access to higher education, economic empowerment, and meaningful participation of young refugees and displaced persons. Krista has represented youth at high-level international forums. Through advocacy, public speaking, and media engagement, she helps reshape the narrative around displaced youth—not as victims, but as change-makers leading solutions in their communities.

Wardah Noor - Founder & CEO xWave Pakistan

Wardah Noor is a social entrepreneur and the founder of xWave Pakistan, an initiative that leverages technology to empower marginalized communities. Her work focuses on training underserved youth—especially women in rural areas—in employable IT and soft skills. Under her leadership, xWave has expanded across multiple regions, training over 300 students in technical skills and thousands more in essential workplace competencies. Recognized with the Prime Minister's Youth Excellence Award and honored by international platforms such as Giving Tuesday and the Global Fund for Children, Wardah’s commitment to inclusive digital education is transforming lives. She aims to train and place 10,000 students into the workforce, contributing meaningfully to Pakistan’s digital economy.

Kimberly Barrios - Vice-president Jóvenes Artistas por la Justicia Social (JAJS), Guatemala

Kimberly is an internationalist, youth leader, and project manager with over five years of experience in volunteer work and political advocacy through citizen participation spaces. She is Vice President and co-founder of Jóvenes Artistas por la Justicia Social (JAxJS), a youth-led NGO, and a member of the UNFPA Youth Advisory Group. She also serves as a Young Peacebuilder with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). Her work focuses on youth empowerment, leadership training, and network-building, with a strong emphasis on strategic partnerships to advance social justice and sustainable development goals.

Moderator: Mara Tissera Luna, KujaLearn Content Advisor.

Date and time: June 12, 2025

• Mexico City, Mexico/Guatemala City – 10:00 AM
• New York, USA – 12:00 PM
• Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro – 13:00 
• London, UK – 16:00
• Geneva, Madrid 17:00
• Cape Town, South Africa – 18:00
• Nairobi, Kenya – 19:00
• Islamabad, Pakistan: 21.00 
• Delhi, India – 22:00

Duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes – Language: English and Spanish with live interpretation into both languages.

This webinar will explore debt justice and reparations as solidarity-based alternatives to traditional forms of development “aid,” especially in light of the current crises of the "aid" system.  

Three experts, bringing diverse regional perspectives from Africa and Latin America as well as global insights, will examine the current state of the debt crisis in their regions and globally. They will share common advocacy goals, ongoing reform efforts, and concrete recommendations for achieving development without reliance on external debt or the traditional “aid” paradigm.

We will discuss:

• Reparations and reparative justice from a pan–African perspective;

• Responsible lending and borrowing, and cancellation of illegitimate debt;

• Africa- and Latin America-led proposals for structural reform of the global financial architecture to address systemic inequalities rooted in colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade, and neocolonialism;

• Advocacy strategies ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), and in support of the establishment of a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt.

This session is open to a broad, non–specialist international cooperation audience—including professionals, graduate students, and staff from small and large organizations—regardless of prior familiarity with the international neoliberal financial system, debt, or reparations. Participants are encouraged to submit questions for the speakers in advance (in English, Spanish, or French) to mara.luna@kuja.org.

Speakers

Priya Lukka is an economist in international development working globally to understand alternative realities and perspectives to neoliberalism through raising awareness of communities working for repair and reparations, which is also the focus of her PhD enquiry. Priya has most recently worked as Macroeconomist, covering the region of Asia, at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations, and as Chief Development Economist for Christian Aid.  

Catherine Mithia is the Policy Research & Advocacy Officer for Sovereign Debt Management at the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development – AFRODAD. As a published author, she has contributed insightful work on governance, the impact of illicit financial flows, and the role of credit rating agencies, offering a nuanced African perspective. Her work focuses on delivering research–backed policy alternatives that promote innovative and sustainable solutions to development challenges across Africa.

Daniela Berdeja Ruiz is the Sovereign Debt Analyst and Coordinator of the LAC Vulnerability Atlas at the Latin American Network for Economic, Social and Climate Justice (LATINDADD). In this role, she leads regional coordination efforts to map and systematize key economic, financial, social, and climate indicators across Latin America. Daniela is a Bolivian economist and engineer with expertise in quantitative methods for economic analysis, sustainable and economic development research, and policy work related to financing and sovereign debt. Her work also explores the intersections between gender and austerity policies.

Mara Tissera Luna (moderator), KujaLearn Content Advisor.

Date and time: June 5, 2025

• PST, USA – 09:00
• Mexico City, Mexico – 10:00
• EST, USA – 12:00
• Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro – 13:00
• London, UK – 16:00
• Geneva, Madrid –  17:00
• Cape Town, South Africa – 18:00
• Nairobi, Kenya – 19:00
• Delhi, India – 22:00

Duration: 1.15 hour – Language: English with live interpretation into Spanish and French.

As International Funders and Donor Countries, including the U.S. are stepping away from global cooperation, dynamic community-led Global South organizations are showing us the way to inclusive and effective community development and resource mobilization. FEM in Colombia has been working with Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities for over a decade to reclaim their lands, pursue their dreams and build their communities. Join us to learn more about this model community-driven organization and its successful funding diversification model. This is an in-depth conversation with Ana Maria Gonzalez, FEM's Co-Founder. Translation in Spanish and French will be available.  

Speaker 

Ana Maria Gonzalez-Forero

Cofounder - FEM Colombia

www.femcolombia.org

Ana Maria is Colombian political scientist & mother of 2. Co-founded FEM (2007), securing land rights for 20,000 Afro-Colombians in 17 years via participatory models & social enterprises. Obama Scholar '18. Served Cartagena Gov't, tackling displacement & exploitation. Now with Voces Nuevas, advocating for Global South inclusion & a new world order.