Queer Trans Activist Sameer Jha Honored Soon at United Nations in Geneva
On December 2 at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, the 2022 Young Activists Summit will honor outstanding young people – ranging in ages between 19 and 26 – for their achievements. The fourth Summit (#YAS22) will showcase the six individuals and their remarkable impact in different parts of the world.
And we’re excited that one of the people slated to be recognized is Queer Trans activist Sameer Jha! The 21-year-old has been at the forefront of creating safe classrooms for LGBTQ+ students in San Francisco. After he was bullied throughout elementary and middle school, Sameer founded The Empathy Alliance to make schools safer for LGBTQ+ students like himself. Sameer’s efforts expanded to include the entire school district serving more than 42 schools and 35,000 students.
In addition to a trip to visit President Biden at the White House, Sameer has penned a book called, “Read This, Save Lives.” The book is a resource tool to help teachers create classrooms and schools where LGBTQ+ students can thrive. The book includes more than 100 actionable tips, expert quotes, sobering statistics, cutting-edge research, critical terminology, real-world case studies, and resources from some of the best LGBTQ+ rights organizations in the country. One chapter is actually devoted to a teacher who transformed her own school using many of the same principles included in Sameer’s book!
The other recognized individuals include 24-year-old Pashtana Durrani, who is the founder of LEARN, a non-profit organization that has empowered 7,000 girls in Afghanistan through education. Zulaikha Patel, 19, became a symbol of the fight against Pretoria Girls High School’s policy regarding Black girls’ hair in 2016 and subsequently sparked her to lead a protest with her classmates and also led to her book, “My Coily Crowny Hair” to make sure that no Black child ever feels inferior about their hair, but rather embraces it!
C’est Prévue Emmy Lusila, 21, founded La Maison des Anges orphanage to protect children who used to live on the streets of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sebastian Benfeld, 21, launched a movement called “Escazú Ahora” which successfully led the Chilean government to adopt the Escazú Treaty, the first international agreement to recognize the right to a healthy environment in Latin America. And Keely Cat-Wells, 26, founded C Talent to promote physically challenged talent in the movie and media industries, successfully placing more than 50 million people in Hollywood movies, including Disney, Google Pixel, and more!
The Summit is organized by the United Nations Office in Geneva, the NGO dev.tv, Radio Television Suisse (RTS), and its GeneveVision label as well as the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
For more information about Sameer Jha and the Young Activists Summit, visit www.youngactivistssummit.org.
