Bangladesh
Being a Bangladeshi born global citizen, Zuhair is very loyal towards ‘Mother Nature’. He demonstrates excellent leadership skills and has ample experience of working with different organizations and institutions ranging from Government agency to academic institutions, NGOs, youth associations, etc. He has completed his graduation and post-graduation on Disaster Management from Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies, University of Dhaka. As a recognition of his tireless social and environmental works, Zuhair was awarded ‘Hanyang (South Korea) Youth Changemaker Award’ in 2017. He is a conscious non-vegetarian and doesn’t forget to keep a reusable water bottle with him.
Responsibilities: • Support governance processes for UNEA and subsidiary bodies, including decision tracking and stakeholder coordination. • Prepare briefing notes, policy briefs, and strategic recommendations for intergovernmental processes. • Coordinate stakeholder engagement strategies for UNEA resolutions, ensuring alignment with intergovernmental mandates and procedural requirements. • Design and deliver capacity-building programs for accredited organizations and observer groups to strengthen participation in UNEP processes. • Provide secretariat support for multistakeholder initiatives, including the Group of Friends between Member States and Major Groups for Enhanced Civil Society Participation. Key Achievements: • Served as technical focal point for UNEA-7 draft resolution negotiations, preparing technical explanatory documents and responding to Member State queries. • Facilitated stakeholder engagement and capacity-building initiatives during UNEA and OECPR sessions, enabling effective contributions to draft resolutions.
As a member of the Green Jobs for Youth Pact - Youth Advisory Group to ILO, UNEP and UNICEF, my roles and responsibilities are to: - Advise strategic direction of the initiative, potentially participating in the private/ companies workstream, the educators' workstream, as well as the government workstream. - Encourage deployment of innovative technology to address the impact of climate change, specifically on jobs to more effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate impacts. - Advise the Pact team in the design of the Pact and its implementation plan and to secure connections to other global initiatives (e.g. Our Common Agenda) and other opportunities that could support the purpose of the Pact; - Support the development of clear activities ensuring that the Pact is inclusive, especially for those young people still left behind, and continuously monitor targets; - Provide guidance on which youth partners should be consulted to support the Pact’s objectives. - Provide guidance on how to mobilize young people to take action to support the objectives of the Pact, with - where possible - insight/data on the appetite and interest from youth on this agenda. - Provide guidance and if needed, support to implement the Communication and Advocacy Strategy of the Pact and lead initiatives, such as social media campaigns, as / when required. - Support the consolidation of one call to action as well as a plan of the different ways for young leaders to commit to the Pact - Spearhead and be part of sub-work streams according to their core expertise (e.g., private sector engagement, education, entrepreneurship, policy, advocacy etc.)
I am delighted to inform you that I am the newly elected Global Focal Point of the UNEP Major Group of Children & Youth. By virtue of this role, for the next two years, I will: - Coordinate participation of representatives of children and youth in the UN Environment Assembly and other meetings of UNEP, as well as facilitate the involvement of Major Groups members with specific issue knowledge in UNEP-related work, both in the local, national, and regional contexts; - Promote quality representation of the Children and Youth Major Group at the Regional Consultative Meeting (RCM) and foster balanced representation based on gender, focus, and region; Mobilize knowledgeable representatives of the Major Groups to participate in UNEA and its subsidiary organs; - Provide 'children and youth' general information, training, and capacity building on UNEP processes and generate broad media interest, as well as ongoing educational programs around the world; - Coordinate the preparation of the Major Groups policy papers, etc..
As the youth constituency regional facilitator for Asia-Pacific, my responsibility will be to: - bring regional perspective and ideas - liaise with respective regional offices of UNEP - help to facilitate constituency engagement for Regional Coordination Meetings (RCMs) - facilitate regional-level activities, in addition to governance and other tasks
Responsibilities & Achievements: • Led national campaigns and programs, including the landmark 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, driving engagement and visibility. • Developed and executed outreach strategies, forging partnerships with government agencies, UN bodies, civil society organizations, and youth networks, while supporting fundraising initiatives. • Directed social media campaigns, media monitoring, and impact reporting to amplify campaign reach and influence. • Implemented an ecosystem-based mangrove restoration and climate adaptation project in Bangladesh’s southwestern coastal region, strengthening community resilience and biodiversity conservation. • Oversaw project finances, stakeholder engagement, and compliance reporting, ensuring transparency and measurable impact.