Executive Chairperson of Samata Foundation Mr. Pradip Pariyar is an alumnus of American University and Tribhuvan University. He specializes in youth empowerment, peace building and capacity building of media professionals.
As the elected president of the Association of Youth Organizations Nepal(AYON), he worked closely with government of Nepal to initiate a youth-responsive budget. He was a member of the government task force that developed Youth Vision 2025: a 10-year national youth development policy. He has trained thousands of youths globally on leadership, peace building, and conflict-sensitive journalism. He founded the Nepal Youth Forum to focus on policy advocacy, awareness, and youth empowerment. In 2011, Mr. Pariyar was selected as a youth fellow by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He received ‘Asia’s 21 Young Leaders Award’ in 2018 by Asia Society. Mr. Pariyar also serves as the chairperson of the Nepal Policy Center, a youth-led think tank. In 2015, he received the Youth Leadership Award from the Nepali Government’s Ministry of Youth and Sports for his decade-long contribution to youth leadership development across Nepal.
Traveling throughout the length and breadth of Nepal, Mr. Pariyar witnessed diverse cultures and had encounters with his socially offended country people have invigorated his dream fuelled by the unholy dogma of casteism. He dreams of a just Nepal; a cohesive society where an individual’s potential, competence, edification and hard slog define a person rather than his/her status. The World Economic Forum has recently selected Mr. Pariyar as one of Young Global Leaders in its Class of 2020 for the contribution he has made to empower youth and promote social justice.