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Victor Ochen

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Victor Ochen was born in 1981 Abia, in Lira district, Uganda.

Victor Ochen is the Founder and Executive Director for African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET). Ochen is the first Ugandan and the youngest African ever nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Forbes Magazine named him in 2015 one of the 10 most powerful men and new hope for Africa. Ochen is a Fellow of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s prestigious African Young Leaders, a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Roster Mediator and Experts group, a Young Global Leader of World Economic Forum (WEF), a Dangote Fellow, and serves as a Global Advisor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Gender, Forced Displacement and Protection and the UN Goodwill Ambassador for SDG 16 Peace and Justice.

In 2023, Reputation Poll International (RPI) named Ochen one of the 100 Most Reputable Africans. In May 2024, he held a TED talk in New York City on "The intersection of war and climate change."

Ochen is a popular figure among young people in Africa, and has been the voice for people caught up in the misfortunes of conflict, poverty and survivors of injustice.

Early career

Victor Ochen began his career at 13 years, when he formed a Peace Club while living in the IDP Camps in his home district of Lira. This was primarily to mobilize fellow young people to resist abductions and counter the child soldier recruitment conducted by the LRA. He went on to work at the local radio station starting as a cleaner, later on becoming one of the best radio presenters in Northern Uganda. He built greater communication skills, and went on to work with Straight Talk Foundation. There, he was mobilising youth and conduction community sensitization on reproductive health, aimed at reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS among the population who were living in the IDP camps. In 2005, Ochen founded and has since been leading the African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET), an organisation intended to mobilise and promote active participation of youth and communities in peace and justice. They have provided lifesaving reconstructive medical rehabilitation and healing for over 25,000 direct victims of war in northern Uganda. AYINET has trained tens of thousands of youths as leaders for peace and development, and conducted outreaches to several conflict affected communities in Eastern, Central, Southern and West African countries.

  1. "About us". AYINET. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  2. Kavuma, Richard M. (2015-10-08). "Victor Ochen: Nobel prize nomination for African youth initiative 'already a win'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  3. "The Pain Of Mugabe". www.forbesafrica.com. 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  4. Bertrand, Ngwa (2015-03-21). "Forbes Magazine names Cameroonian on list of 10 most powerful men in Africa 2015". Cameroon Concord-In the Heart of Cameroon's News Pulse. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  5. "Victor Ochen Archives". United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  6. "100 MOST REPUTABLE AFRICANS, 2023. - Reputation Poll Intl". 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  7. Ochen, Victor (2024-08-15). The intersection of war and climate change. Retrieved 2024-12-28 – via www.ted.com.
  8. Ochen, Victor. "Victor Ochen | Speaker | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
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