Appointment of Youth Ambassadors Regional Coordinators
SSCC has appointed four youth ambassadors as its regional coordinators as follows:
- Dr Swati Simha (India) for South Asia;
- Dewy Sacayan (Philippines) for South East Asia;
- Elijah Vanderpuye Cunnison (Ghana) for Africa and
- Valerio Ferri (Italy) for Euro Mediterranean region
The four regional coordinators will work closely with the nucleus of four Colombian youth ambassadors on behalf of South-South Cooperation Council. . Swati Simha will propose activities in five countries of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal), Dewy Sacayan in the large South East Asian region, especially in the field of climate change in conjunction with Cecile Alvarez, UNESCO Artist for Peace from the Philippines who is one of most active SSCC members. Elijah Vanderpuye Cunnison will be working on issues confronting wide African region, including the role of art and culture in promoting peace, and Valerio Ferry will be making proposals for activities in the volatile euro-Mediterranean region which currently experiences enormous challenges.
Dr Swati Simha
Swati Simha is a playwright and academic. She did her masters in Intercultural-communication from Shanghai, China and her Ph.D in Political Theory from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She is a recipient of the TOTO award for creative writing and has previously worked with Royal Court Theatre, London and Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester writing about climate change and healthcare inequalities. She is also a former representative of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment.
Dewy Sacayan
Dewy Sacayan is a climate activist, sustainability strategist and consultant. After project managing a relief mission in the aftermath of super typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, she started working on disaster management, climate change policy and grassroots campaigning. She has facilitated academic research, published policy briefs, worked as a lawyer on pro bono climate-related litigation and carbon markets, participated at the UNFCCC COP negotiations in Peru and Morocco, sold premium electric vehicles via Tesla and campaigned for the Zero Carbon Act through Generation Zero, where she served as Private Sector Engagement Lead and Co-chair for its governance board. She was awarded the Outstanding Young Professional Award by Zonta International and was named in Asia NZ Foundation’s 25 under 25 and an Outstanding Filipino Young Professional by the Philippine Embassy to New Zealand.
Elijah Vanderpuye
Elijah is a highly skilled and experienced individual from Accra, Ghana, who works as cultural heritage officer with the National Commission on Culture and with the Heritage Management Organization in Greece. Elijah is with a strong background in theatre arts, cultural and heritage research, production management, and education. He recently co-directed a Ghanaian adaptation of The Sound of Music performed by Ghana International School, data collector for Ga Mashie Fishing Heritage research project and a contributor to #GaSpace on X as digital platform.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from the University of Education, Winneba, ambitions of pursuing his Master’s Degree. He has worked in various capacities throughout his career, including as a stage manager, actor, programs coordinator, culture officer, drama instructor, production assistant, and production manager.
Elijah has also worked in both private and public sectors, such as Roverman Productions, Studio HD Video Streaming, Mido Productions Ltd, National Commission on Culture, Heritage Management Organization and the University of Education, Winneba. Throughout his career,
Valerio Ferri
Valerio Ferri is an institutional affairs assistant at SSCC. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in History, Geography, and International Cooperation from Roma Tre Univeristy, a Master’s degree in Geopolitics from Charles University in Prague, and two specialization courses in Strategic Defense of the National System and Diplomatic Studies from the SIOI school in Rome. He worked at the Geopolitical Studies Research Centre (GSRC) and World Risk Governance (WoRisGo).