Young Guyanese selected to serve on Commonwealth Youth Council

Two young Guyanese professionals – Sunita Samaroo and Leiann Van Lange – now serve on the prestigious Commonwealth Youth Council for the period 2018 to 2020.

The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) is the official voice of the young people across all Commonwealth nations. The council’s aim is to further advance the youth development agenda by integrating young people intothe development work of the Commonwealth at national, regional, and Pan-Commonwealth levels.

It also provides a sustainable platform for unified engagement with decision makers and youth-led development initiatives.

Sunita and Leiann were both appointed to the Caribbean and Americas Regional Committee as Members without specific portfolios. In this vital role, they are both responsible for assisting in the leadership and management of volunteers and general assistance to other committee members.

Sunita is a young leader with a passion for development. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in International Relations, and is apart of the Guyana National Youth Council (GNYC).

Over the past 11 years, she has served on several youth organizations and movements championing human rights, and Commonwealth Youth Council development.

Her involvement has ranged from advocacy and activism to monitoring and evaluation. Her activism centers around her passion for working with vulnerable groups and has worked to implement several projects ensuring those groups are positively engaged.

Leiann hails from Georgetown and is a Project Coordinator atUniversity Research Co. LLC. She holds a Bachelors in International Relations from the University of South Florida and is currently pursuing a Masters of Business Administration.

She has experience working with non-profits, through herengagements with diverse organization such as the DC based crowdfundingplatform – GlobalGiving, the UNDP country office in Guyana, and theInternational Center for Tropical Agriculture, a research institute inColombia.

Leiann has worked towards youth empowerment since working as a peer mentor during college. She also spent time volunteering with an educational non-profit in the mountainous Quiche Department of Guatemala, whichshe believes, cemented her desire to work for advancing a more robust youthdevelopment agenda.

Sunita and Leiann will work alongside eight other young professionals from the region on the Caribbean and Americas Regional Committee of the CYC.

The Commonwealth Youth Council will be undertaking an aggressive brand and project awareness campaign, to ensure all young people across the region are aware of the organization’s initiatives. (Commonwealth Youth Council)