Youth Empowerment Session #6
Rethinking the Future: The Great Reset
Chandran Nair
Chandran Nair is the Founder and CEO of the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT), an independent pan-Asian think tank based in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur focused on advancing a deeper understanding of global issues including the shift of economic and political influence from the West to Asia, the dynamic relationship between business and society, and the reshaping of the rules of global capitalism. He is the author of Consumptionomics: Asia's Role in Reshaping Capitalism and Saving the Planet and the creator of The Other Hundred, a non-profit global photojournalism initiative to present a counterpoint to media consensus on some of today's most important issues. His new book The Sustainable State: The Future of Government, Economy, and Society is due to be published in the Fall of 2018. Chandran was chairman of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in the Asia Pacific until 2004, establishing the company as Asia’s leading environmental consultancy. Chandran has served as Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. He is a Member of The Club of Rome and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Moderated by Nimra Chohan
Nimra is an environmental scientist, activist, and co-author of the world’s first Code of Professional Conduct for Legislators. Inspired by the public trust doctrine, the code commits politicians to make evidence-based decisions. She has worked with WWF, The World Bank, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). As the founder of Pakistan Sustainability Network, she has led campaigns that have set legal precedents. Nimra has designed pioneering research on the impact of climate change on rural livelihoods and advised governments on adaptation. Nimra has served on delegations to various UN conferences and was invited to speak at the World Economic Forum's events. As a Canadian youth delegate to COP21, she worked closely with the Canadian Environment Minister and diverse stakeholders for a more ambitious Paris Agreement. Nimra has been involved with organizing school strikes in Pakistan and has organized and spoken at various grassroots protests and events in the US and Canada. She is Global Shaper alumni and AIESEC alumni, currently pursuing an MSc in Global Climate and Energy Policy. Her research focus is on how covid-19 recovery can make or break efforts to tackle climate change.
Helen Or
Helen Or grew up in Hong Kong and later studied in Singapore for her Bachelor's degree (National University of Singapore), and France for her MBA (INSEAD). Helen is a management consultant and an executive coach. She worked for Spencer Stuart, Booz Allen, and IBM before running her own consulting practice. She has over 25 years of experience conducting client projects across the Asia Pacific with clients in Greater China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia. Her projects cover a wide range, from business strategy, to operations management, process re-engineering & organization restructuring. Helen is also an experienced executive coach working with senior executives on leadership and developing agile, resilient and forward looking mindsets.
Moderated by George Batah
George Batah is a consultant and Syrian activist based in New York. He has recently been named a Schwarzman Scholar, a Global Shaper, and representative to the 2017 UN Social and Economic Council Youth Forum. He actively advocates and fundraises for causes like Education, Humanitarian Relief, and Youth Empowerment in the Middle East. In 2015, He carried on a successful petition to increase the number of refugees admitted by the US and has been invited to the White House. Eventually, the efforts led to the administration's decision to increase the refugee cap and humanitarian aids to Syria. George is the co-founder of “Syrian Youth Empowerment” an initiative to empower and help Syrian high school students in Syria and neighboring countries. This year, SYE, secured admissions and a full scholarship for Syrian students at Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Columbia, MIT, Duke, Georgetown among others.
