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Screen Shot 2020 09 17 at 2.26.00 PM - Maryam Ahmed

Maryam Ahmed

Youth Ambassador, Save the Children International

Bio Current as of September 17, 2020

My name is Maryam Ahmed. I am a girl’s right activist. I was born on 15th of May 2000. I am an indigene of from Kano State, Nigeria. I am currently in my final year with the Cyprus Institute of Marketing in Turkey, where i study International and Business Law Online.

I started my career in 2014, as youth reporter for Discovery Channel’s; Discovery Learning Alliance. A project that uses media to promote education in Africa. My role as youth reporter was to conduct interviews with students in Kano and Kaduna and also to co-presented some of the studio talk shows where we discussed issues like use of technology in schools, benefit of girl child education and access to quality education.

Later that year, i was selected by the Bring Back Our Girls group to be the leader of the Chibok Girls Ambassadors. Our role was to put pressure on Government to increase effort for securing the release of Chibok girls. I led the rallies with other girl Ambassadors, conducted press briefings and made sure all our activities were delivered well.

In 2015, I was accepted as Youth Ambassador for the Action 2015 campaign which was a coalition of over 200 organizations. My role was to be the voice of girls in the high-level discussions, and remind decision makers to include the challenges restricting girls into the Post 2015 Agenda. I was also using media to call on world leaders to account for the promises they made in the Millennium Development Goals (which was set in the year I was born).

In 2015, i received the Duke of Edinburg’s Bronze award after completing enough activities in volunteerism.

Later that year, I participated in DFID’s life skills training for future leaders under the voices for change program. This included modules on leadership and self-confidence under a safe space environment.

In 2016, I joined White Ribbon Alliance SRH project to co-facilitate safe space discussion for teenage girls on adolescent reproductive health rights. WRA also supported me to share my safe space learning’s at the 2017 World Health Assembly in Geneva.

I then became an Ambassador for Save the Children. My role with them includes participating in advocacy, campaign and awareness raising activities, attending planning and review meetings and generally providing my view on how social barriers that limit girls can be removed. I also co-facilitate events such as the poetry workshop organized for children in North East.

In 2017, the US Deputy Secretary of State, gave a media briefing where he talked about my work with Save the Children and gave his support for promoting girl child education and ending child marriage in Nigeria. The address is posted on the US Embassy website.

In 2018, UN Women engaged me to support their regional dialogue for religious leaders from West and Central Africa. I was involved in organizing and co-facilitating the event and i also assisted with post event activities like report writing.

I was then selected by Save the Children in collaboration with the Scaling Up Nutrition Coalition as one of 30 Young Leaders for Nutrition. They built our capacity on advocacy in Washington where i also participated in lobby meetings to US parliamentarians.

I have also been trained by the Disability Rights Advocacy Centre where i serve as facilitator for their empowerment training with Young People Living with disability. As peer educator to the adolescents, i enlighten them on the content of the Disability Rights Law, the Violence Against Person Prohibition Law and the Child Rights Law.

Other trainings i have been involved in include the effective advocacy and communications workshop by Population Reference Bureau, Production of child sensitive materials course by Novanet, The advocacy cycle and advocacy toolkit by Save the Children International, A Public Speaking certificate course by University of Washington, Effective Presentation Certificate course by University of Pretoria, and a Youth Advocates Training by White Ribbon Alliance.

For the past 6 years, I have worked with several organizations and the media to promote the wellbeing of children, specifically girls.