Pooja Kapahi

Digital Communications and Campaigns, UNI Global Asia & Pacific

Pooja is a passionate youth activist working to amplify the voices of young people in India. In her role as senior program officer for USAID’s Momentum Country and Global Leadership program, she handles the youth portfolio of the project in India. Previously, as the communications and advocacy consultant with International Growth Centre, Jhpiego India, and South Asian Workers Gender Platform, she was involved in providing technical support for youth-centric, youth-led advocacy programs; and creating youth-centric videos, case studies, graphics, training materials, and campaigns. In her previous work with Restless Development as a youth power global leader and Women Deliver young leader (2018) she has coordinated sustainable development goals (SDG) campaigns and pushed for youth policy and meaningful youth participation at the national and international levels. In 2017, she coordinated the Speak campaign by CIVICUS “No Means No, Consent Matters,” which brought awareness towards gender-based violence and early and forced child marriages. In recognition of her work in these areas, she was selected as a 2018–2019 young leader for Women Deliver. She was also selected to speak at the Youth Zone session titled “Young Leaders Speak: Harnessing Creativity to Move the Needle for Girls and Women” during the Women Deliver Conference in June 2019 in Canada and as a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2018 global goalkeeper. As a powerful advocate for strengthening youth participation in national and international decision-making forums, she has attended the 2019 National Conclave on SDGs in India, 2018 Partners Forum (PMNCH), Commonwealth Youth Forum in 2018, the Commission on the Status of Women in 2018 (CSW62), and the High-Level Political Forum in 2017 as a youth advocate.