AsianScientist (Feb. 12, 2016) – The Aspen Institute has announced the 2016 class of the New Voices Fellowship, a program designed to amplify the voices of experts from the developing world in the global development discussion.
The 21 new Fellows are leading scientists, educators, doctors, policy experts, activists and economists, and come from 13 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. They will undertake a program of intensive media training and mentorship to help them reach a broader global audience through both traditional and new media, as well as speaking engagements.
During the program’s first three years, New Voices Fellows were featured over 1,000 times in media outlets and delivered several TED talks. Under a training partnership with the Moth, a non-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling, New Voices Fellows have told their stories to live US audiences and through radio and podcast syndication.
This year’s fellows include a senior doctor spearheading the development of a vaccine against Ebola; an activist championing the issue of mental health in developing countries; and a doctor studying how climate change impacts global health in poor communities, among others.
“With this class of new Fellows, we’re continuing to connect journalists and policymakers with development and global health experts from developing countries,” said New Voices Fellowship Director Andrew Quinn. “Together, their first-hand perspectives can ensure that development policies are smart, effective and sustainable for the long haul.”
The New Voices Fellowship expanded this year to include three specialized tracks of Fellows involved in Food Security, Vaccines & Infectious Diseases, and Development Policy & Finance.
The 2016 New Voices Fellows representing Asia are:
Sathya Raghu
India
Co-Founder, Cosmos Green
At Cosmos Green, Raghu works towards the emancipation of small and marginal farmers from poverty by using an inclusive development model of partnership with farmers which has thus far seen 1,500 farmers receive training and achieve dramatic cost reductions. He also co-founded Kheyti, an end-to-end technology and market solutions provider for small and marginal farmers.
Ramon “Renzo” Guinto
Philippines
Co-Founder and Director, #Reimagine Global Health
Dr. Guinto is a medical doctor turned advocate, whose current work focuses on the intersection of climate change, energy policy and human health. He founded #Reimagine Global Health, a youth think-and-do-tank and a campaigner for the Healthy Energy Initiative of Health Care without Harm-Asia.
Anjali Sarker
Bangladesh
Deputy Manager, BRAC Social Innovation Lab
Sarker co-founded a startup that was featured in Forbes, Toilet+, when she was twenty years old. She won The Global Social Venture Competition Asia-Africa for her social business plans. She then joined the Bangladesh Youth leadership center, Ashoka. Currently with BRAC, she uses open-source tools to conduct countrywide projects that engage and empower rural communities in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Ranjitha Puskur
India/Malaysia
Senior Policy Advisor, Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research Research (CGIAR) Program on Aquatic Agriculture Systems (AAS) at WorldFish
Before her newest position, Dr. Puskur led CGIAR-AAS’ gender strategy. She has been part of the CGIAR since 2002, working at the International Water Management Institute and then moving to the International Livestock Research Institute where she led the research team working on innovation in livestock systems. Her work focuses on generating knowledge, learning and evidence that can translate into technical and institutional innovation and lead to more equitable outcomes for women in development.
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Source: The Aspen Institute.
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