Participants
Global Learning Forum 2-6 February 2026
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Type of participant
- Ecuador
Estefanía Susana Camelos Pico
- Country project team
Estefanía Susana Camelos Pico
Type of participant:
Location:
- Ecuador, Riobamba
Organisation:
- Municipality of Riobamba, ATV
Job title:
- Director of Social and Human Development Management
Role in the programme:
Delegate of the city’s mayor and representative of the local government
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
I hope to learn about innovative approaches and methodologies used in different countries for working with adolescents, and to explore strategies that can strengthen local policies on prevention, wellbeing, and adolescent development.
What I can share or contribute
I can share the experience of the Municipality of Riobamba in social programmes aimed at children and adolescents, as well as lessons learned from implementing community and municipal social projects.
I volunteer with animal rescue organisations, rescue dogs, and my family and I currently have 14 dogs.
- Colombia
Estefany Peña Rojas
- Country project team
Estefany Peña Rojas
Type of participant:
Location:
- Colombia, Cali and Palmira
Organisation:
- Universidad EAFIT, VMC II
Job title:
- MEL Coordinator
Role in the programme:
VMC’s MEL coordinator
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
I aim to explore the key learnings and system-level challenges that other cities face in their MEL processes, and to understand which methodologies or practices have helped them navigate complexity. I also hope to identify ideas we can bring back to strengthen our own measurement strategy.
What I can share or contribute
I can share our experience designing learning sessions, simplifying reporting burdens, and developing tools to make evidence collection more youth-friendly and actionable.
I once had to conduct interviews inside an underground gold mine for work – definitely one of the most extreme (and unforgettable) places I’ve ever been.
- Ghana
Gladys Bawiah Ali
- Partner / external expert
Gladys Bawiah Ali
Type of participant:
Location:
- Ghana, Sunyani
Organisation:
- Sunyani West Municipal Assembly, RCA
Job title:
- Municipal Planning Officer
Role in the programme:
Implementing Partner
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
Learn innovative ways to engage adolescents and secure funding for their activities.
What I can share or contribute
I am a development planner and will therefore bring my planning expertise.
- India
Himanshi Kapoor
- Country project team
Himanshi Kapoor
Type of participant:
Location:
- India, Delhi
Organisation:
- WRI India, SVHPS
Job title:
- Senior Program Associate
Role in the programme:
I am a technical support for the Safe, Vibrant, and Healthy Public Spaces (SVHPS) project in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India since its inception and play a key role in partner management, adolescent engagement, participatory planning, and securing government buy-in. I work closely with communities, local partners and government stakeholders to translate ideas into actionable plans and ensure timely and effective project delivery. I also lead Project communications, ensuring outreach and visibility.
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
At the Global Learning Forum, I hope to learn from diverse HCA projects across different geographies and gain deeper insights into how adolescents have been meaningfully engaged to learn, lead, and act within their contexts. I am particularly keen to explore creative and effective adolescent empowerment strategies, understand what has worked on the ground, and reflect on challenges faced. The Forum offers a valuable opportunity to exchange learnings, co-create ideas, and develop shared commitments on making city systems more inclusive, responsive, and supportive of adolescent voices and needs. I look forward to contributing to these discussions and developing collaborative strategies, as well as learning from existing ones.
What I can share or contribute
I can share practical learnings from implementing the SVHPS project in Jaipur, particularly on adolescent-led participatory planning, partner coordination, community and government buy-in. I also bring insights on translating youth ideas into actionable interventions, while strengthening outreach and visibility.
I collect water bottles, and I’ve lost count of how many I have.
- Vietnam
Hoang Cong Bao Long
- Youth representative / peer educator
Hoang Cong Bao Long
Type of participant:
Location:
- Viet Nam, Da Nang
Organisation:
- UNICEF Vietnam, CCHCA
Job title:
- Student
Role in the programme:
Adolescent & Youth Advisory Group (AYAG) representative ensuring the voices of adolescents and young people are directly reflected in project design, implementation, and monitoring.
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
I hope to meet new friends from all over the world and hear their stories, views, and experiences, and to understand and learn from them.
What I can share or contribute
I can share my perspective and offer solutions to support discussions, while also contributing my own stories to the Forum.
I’m quite talkative and can talk to anyone about anything.
- India
Jaya Srinivasan
- HCA Global Team
Jaya Srinivasan
Type of participant:
Location:
- India, Chennai
Organisation:
- Ecorys
Job title:
- Consultant
Role in the programme:
In-Country Manager, India
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
I’m keen to learn about sustainability plans across projects and the platforms through which adolescents are engaging regularly with the city. I’d also like to hear how city stakeholders are sustaining AWB on the agenda among competing priorities.
What I can share or contribute
I can share consolidated experiences from projects in four cities in India, especially stories that don’t get captured in regular reporting.
I can be pretty competitive at 2-player board games – even though I lose most of the time.
- Colombia
Jessica Kisner
- Country project team
Jessica Kisner
Type of participant:
Location:
- Colombia, Bogota
Organisation:
- WRI Colombia, VMC II
Job title:
- Project Manager
Role in the programme:
Project Manager
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
Get to know other projects (their successes, challenges, and learnings), connect with people, discuss sustainability and youth participation, challenge our perspectives, and find new inspiration.
What I can share or contribute
Through our experiences with Vivo Mi Calle across different phases of the project (and from both internal and external roles within WRI), I like to focus on the setbacks and what could have been done better – because it’s in those learnings where we truly grow and strengthen our work. For example, how a setback in Cali (the cyclelane) was a way of opening to a new city.
I used to captain my soccer team and also did pottery for a while. These days, I’ve joined an Afrobeat and Champeta dance class – so most of my free time is spent dancing.
- Colombia
Jessica Zaidens Santana
- Country project team
Jessica Zaidens Santana
Type of participant:
Location:
- Colombia, Cali
Organisation:
- Fundación Sidoc, VMC II
Job title:
- Head of Communications
Role in the programme:
Head of Communications
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
I hope to learn about different communication approaches from the perspective of community participation, in order to further strengthen our local narratives.
I’m also interested in exploring innovative approaches used by other organisations in the development of peacebuilding, wellbeing, and community empowerment projects.
What I can share or contribute
I would like to share learnings on how to integrate communication in social-focused projects to achieve greater ownership and impact in communitary contexts. I can also share insights on narrative co-creation that strengthen community participation and empowerment through communication..
I enjoy exploring cities through their food, always trying new flavors. I’m a big fan of spices!
- Colombia
Jhohan Sebastian Reyes Benitez
- Country project team
Jhohan Sebastian Reyes Benitez
Type of participant:
Location:
- Colombia, Palmira
Organisation:
- Fundación Sidoc, VMC II
Job title:
- Territorial Engagement
Role in the programme:
I support community engagement and youth participation processes in the Foundation’s programmes. My role includes helping coordinate activities related to citizenship education and opportunities for adolescents.
I hope to learn or explore at GLF
I hope to explore new ideas for engaging adolescents in healthier and safer communities, and to learn from the experiences of peers from other countries.
What I can share or contribute
I can share our learnings from the Vivo Mi Calle project and how we have supported youth leadership and healthier public spaces.
I enjoy going to the rivers in my city and watching the sunrise.