The third edition of the widely anticipated World Youth Forum (WYF) event kicked off on Sunday the 14th of December, in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the presence of more than 7,000 participants from different countries. Those included several inspiring speakers, specialised in various fields.

With the conclusion of the prestigious event last night, we thought about highlighting the most influential and inspiring figures, who were all honoured by President Abdelfattah El Sisi.

#1 Joshua Beckford

Despite being autistic, Beckford was the youngest Oxford University student at the age of six. The now 13-year-old dreams to become a doctor to change the world to the better. He earned a certificate of distinction after finishing all his online studies on a platform for gifted children. The young researcher, who dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon, was recently listed among the world’s top 30 remarkable people in the world with autism.

#2 Lama Amr

Lama Amr is the co-founder of Buildpalestine, a social organisation that aims to mobilise cultural and creative projects with a social impact on Palestinian society and to connect them with grassroots projects in Palestine.

#3 Cairo University’s Enactus team

The Enactus team at Cairo University has undertaken a project to produce sanitary pads from banana fibres. They have trained and educated women in poor villages on how to make sanitary pads, providing them with a steady income. More than 90,000 pads have been sold, and it is scheduled to spread in more villages around the country. The Ministry of Health gave them the permits they needed after completing all the required tests. This project doesn’t just positively affect health and personal hygiene, and it also creates job opportunities for women in poor villages.

#4 Chong Tee Lim

Chung is the co-founder, and CMO, of Wateroam which designs portable water filtration systems for use in disaster relief operations and for poor communities that don’t have access to clean water.

#5 Eric Matamoros

Eric Matamoros is a 20-year-old former data scientist. He has been involved in science since his childhood and has shown an interest in the field of oncology. Eric has undertaken a project combining two of his passions; cancer and technology. Three years later, in London, he co-founded Biop AI, an application that can early detect macroscopic tissue cancer.

#6 Dounia Zed Brinis

Brinis is a 26-year-old Algerian woman who writes, distributes, and narrates stories to children, especially girls who are victims of wars and displacement. She visits small villages in Afghanistan and tells stories to girls in innovative ways to help them overcome the crises and conflicts they have been subjected to during the war. She has been roaming around the world for seven years, aiming to educate children.

#7 Zein Youssef

Zein is a 12-year-old child who has been fighting cancer since the age of five. He was diagnosed with stage-4 stem cell cancer, a rare form of cancer that affects the chest, abdomen, bones, and bone marrow. Zein gave an inspirational speech about his difficult journey and how he won the battle against cancer.

The first edition of the WYF was back in 2017 and was attended by more than 3,200 people from 113 countries.