IHRAM Youth Fellowship

Meet our 2024 Youth Fellows

The IHRAM Youth Fellow program identifies an outstanding youth creative activist somewhere in the world, and works with them over the course of a year to highlight their work. They write essays about human rights and justice issues — keeping in mind our governing philosophy of beauty, sincerity, vulnerability and engagement. Additionally, we encourage the Youth Fellow to develop one program to highlight the passion, commitment and talent of youth voices. Any creative ideas for digital platforms are welcomed. Youth Fellows must be 21 or younger.

Maabena Nti

Ghana

Maabena Nti is a student poet who resides in Accra,Ghana. Her work has been recognized by the Poetry Society in the UK and the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. When not writing, she is actively involved in the environmental club of her school or buried in a book.

Meredith Kim

Japan

Meredith Kim (she/her) is a middle school student, writer, and artist who resides in Japan. When not writing or painting, she practices the piano, plays basketball and volleyball, reads, and cooks. Alongside with English, she loves to write in Japanese and Korean, her two home languages.

What the IHRAM Youth Fellows

have produced:

Gaudia Aghanenu

2023 IHRAM Youth Fellow

Created

Home Away from Home

a video celebrating the diversity of her hometown of Birmingham, England — with inhabitants from 187 countries!

2023 IHRAM Youth Fellow Ariana Lee presents:

Unique and United:

A multimedia anthology by youth creators highlighting international solidarity and allyship.

Unique and United

Tyranny Unchained

an international anthology of writing exploring women's rights

Curated, compiled and edited by 2022 IHRAM Youth Fellow Mahbubat Salahudeen

Since the reversal of the Roe vs Wade ruling on abortion rights in the United States, I was unable to stop thinking of the plight of women in America and about producing a 2022 anthology of writings from women explicating their grievances regarding the reversal of abortion rights in America.

In IHRAM’s latest endeavor, you will find that memories, feelings and emotions are laid bare and examined in prose and poetry from the contributors; Amber Pineda, Carly Heider, Niroshi Subasinghe, Kendra Mills, Eleanor Nesim, Tasneem Hossain etc. The work is centered around women's rights and joined by the exploration of memory, and reality.

Mahbubat Salahudeen
Curator and Editor
IHRAM Youth Fellow, 2022
Nigeria

Youth Creativity on Human Rights and Social Justice/Change:

The Power of Storytelling and The Uniqueness of Art

Edited by IHRAM 2022 Youth Fellow Mahbubat Salahudeen

The work includes 30 youth artists from twelve countries, including Bhutan, Mongolia, Pakistan, India, Spain, Ukaine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal and others!

As Mahbubat noted: “As I read these pieces filled with imagery and observed the creativity of the artists, I was struck by the enthusiasm and passion of young creatives, supporters and advocates of Human Rights who, through their creative works have demonstrated much zeal in raising awareness and creating a diverse community devoid of hate and bigotry for humans irrespective of race, sexuality, religion or gender.

With different themes some of which include gender equality, climate change, racism, political unrest all aimed towards addressing a precise topic, as curator and editor of IHRAM 2022 Youth Anthology, I am particularly thrilled by the level of creativity displayed by young human rights supporters as they birthed their ideas and imaginations through poems, art pieces, essays and short stories.”

Youth Speaks: Human Rights in Verse

curated and edited by 2022 IHRAM Youth Fellow Charlotte Yeung

This anthology contains poems from youth as young as 4 and as old as 20. Representing over a dozen countries from Sri Lanka to Guam, these poets give their take on current issues and long-standing issues. As I read these searing works of art, I was struck by the creativity and awareness of these young writers. These 40 poems were selected out of around 150 poems due to their intense or emerging literary talent and their observations about global issues.

These poems are a combination of experiences, lived and inspired by topics ranging from historical colonialism and racism to mental health and modern fights for freedom. The poets in this anthology are the future, the heart of the world. And the poems they write show that they pulse with energy and excitement for the future while keeping their past in mind. It is through art that we express our hopes, our fears, and how we make sense of this world. We create meaning and affect positive change through art.

And this truth is why I write. Art hits us at a deep level that no statistic could. I hope that lighting a spark in youth will encourage them to take this power further. In reading their first forays into this fire, you will know this power too.

Charlotte Yeung 2022 IHRAM Youth Fellow Indiana, USA

See Youth Speaks

IHRAM Youth Voices:

IHRAM Youth Art Exhibit

Curated by IHRAM Youth Fellow 2021 Pia Bhatia

Annabelle Jin (USA, Age 14): Celebrating Amongst Chaos.

Eylül Çelikkiran (Turkey, Age 9): Disabled Human, Disabled Human

Shumvobi Mitra (USA, Age 13): Inferno: Dignity in Flames

Mul Alwyn Toby Chun Ting (Canada, Age 18): See You There

Katarzyna Budek (Poland, Age 15): Tear of Fear

Anna Matharu (United Kingdom, Age 18): Through the Eye

Salina Guo (Canada, Age 17): Together as One in 2021

Katarzyna Budek (Poland, Age 15): Torn Out Heart

Emaad Zia Hashmi (Pakistan, Age 14): Uighur Genocide

Dibakar Moral (India, Age 24): Women Empowerment

Nicolas Salgado (Columbia, Age 18): Madre Descocuelo

Grace Dillon (USA, Age 17): The Fortitude

Anthology of Youth Creativity on Human Rights & Social Justice

Edited by IHRAM 2020 Youth Fellow Uma Menon.

As Uma said: “The 2020 Anthology of Youth Creativity on Human Rights & Social Justice is a collection of poetry, fiction, essays, and art by creative voices ages 21 and under. This anthology, published by the International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM), is our first amplifying youth voices in social justice discourse. Here at the IHRAM, we firmly believe that young people represent the future of our planet and hope for a time when every human being is treated with respect for their rights. Through this anthology, we hope to inspire people of all generations to come together in the fight for social justice.

We are proud to present work by a diverse cohort of young people who reside in eight different countries and around the United States. Through art and writing, these talented youth advocates have engaged with some of the most pressing human rights issues that we face today, all while highlighting the beauty, sincerity, and vulnerability of their quest to remake our world.