YIF20 Cape Town Organising Committee
Liliya Khasanova | Russia
Executive Director
Liliya Khasanova is the Director of A Common Word Among the Youth, after being a fellow and a member of the Executive Committee since 2017. As an ACWAY fellow, Liliya drafted Interfaith Development Goals (IDGs), organized several youth forums and held trainings for youth on various topics such as interreligious and intercultural dialogue, peacebuilding, and human rights. Liliya is currently doing her post-doctoral research in international law. She also held several academic positions with Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), Stockholm Center for International Law and Justice (Sweden), conducting research on international peace negotiations and human rights.
Uzair Ben Ebrahim (Izzy) | South Africa
Head of Admin and Logistics
Uzair Ben Ebrahim is an educator, linguist, facilitator, social justice advocate, decolonialist, performance poet and writer. He holds a B.A. (2014) in linguistics, arabic language and literature, and Hebrew language and literature; a post-graduate certificate (2016) in education; and a B.A. honours (2017) in Hebrew language and literature with his thesis focusing on the development of modern Hebrew through analysing Aramaic texts in the Old Testament, all from the University of Cape Town. Uzair was an assistant lecturer at the global citizenship programme at the University of Cape Town, a programme designed to develop critical thinking and active citizenry in young graduates. He currently teaches English literature, Arabic language and literature and religion studies at high schools in Cape Town. Uzair also consults both locally and internationally on topics of education, curriculum development, social justice advocacy and interreligious dialogue.
Hira Aftab | United Kingdom
Communications Officer
Hira Aftab is the Founder of Our World Too, an organisation dedicated to re-humanising the narrative surrounding refugees and displaced communities around the world. She is also a Communications Expert in the humanitarian/international development sector and is currently the Strategic Communications Lead for the Diaspora Programme at the British Red Cross. She has experience working in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UK on projects ranging from refugee support to access to justice. Hira is also an active ACWAY Fellow and looks forward to opportunities to engage with the wider network. She holds two Masters degrees, an MA in International Relations from the University of Nottingham and an MSc in Humanitarianism, Conflict and Development from the University of Bath.
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Sibu Szymanowska | Costa Rica/Poland
Social Media Officer
Sibu Szymanowska is a global citizen with a background in economics, international conflict and intercultural dialogue. Having lived in eight countries and worked across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, she focuses on building bridges between cultures through responsible travel and humanitarian approaches. As the co-founder of The Hybrid Tours, she integrates refugee support and decolonial narratives into immersive travel experiences, aiming to create meaningful connections while challenging stereotypes. Sibu is passionate about fostering understanding across faiths and identities, and she believes that intercultural exchanges can be a powerful tool for peacebuilding and solidarity.
Raquel Bennet | Brazil
Marketing Officer
Raquel Bennet is a Brazilian gender and race specialist with extensive experience in community and project management within global social movements. A dedicated youth activist since 2017, she advocates for integrating gender, race, and ethnicity issues into international and interfaith agendas through the G20 platform. Over eight years, she has collaborated with organizations like UN Women, Together for Girls, Chicas Poderosas, World YWCA, Young Feminist Europe, Women in Global Health, and Politics4Her. Bennet focuses on intersectional racial and gender justice, promoting anti-racist and feminist approaches in multilateral and grassroots spaces to drive systemic change and global equity.
Sara Rahim | USA
Programme Team
Sara Rahim is a Manager at the SHRM Foundation, where she works to create inclusive, thriving workplaces. With a decade of experience in project management and network cultivation, Sara has designed and led initiatives across health equity, workforce development, workplace inclusion, and interfaith/intercultural engagement. Previously, Sara served on the Workplace Innovation team at Interfaith America, where she ran programs and fellowships that promoted religious inclusion across business and healthcare. She has also spearheaded workforce development programs engaging over 50 national nonprofits and employment social enterprises, helping them achieve greater reach, job placement, and retention outcomes. Sara has addressed global platforms on the role of interfaith action, including the White House, the United Nations, and G20 Interfaith Forums. She has been recognized as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, and has served as a United Nations Youth Representative for the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Sara has held leadership roles within A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY), the global youth partner of the G20 Interfaith Forum, and has designed capacity-building programs for interfaith leaders in Sudan, Azerbaijan, and Italy. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago.
Vladislav Artiukhov | Russia
Programme Team
Vladislav Artiukhov is a Youth Worker and International Project Coordinator at CGE Erfurt e.V., leading projects on civic engagement and sustainability. An active member of ACWAY, he promotes interfaith and intercultural dialogue. With degrees in Intercultural Communication and International Business, he has coordinated numerous Erasmus+ initiatives, fostering inclusive education and community-building across Europe.
Rogelio Lelis | The Phillipines
Programme Team
Rogelio P. Lelis, Jr. has been an active fellow with A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY) since 2015 and currently serves as the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Technical Advisor for a local NGO in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He supports MHPSS programming for refugees, internally displaced persons, and host communities, focusing on culturally sensitive applications of clinical, social, and peace psychology. His work explores the role of faith and interfaith dialogue in community-based wellbeing.
Jyuri Michino | Japan
Engagement Officer
Jyuri Michino, a New York-born, Japan-based professional, is passionate about interfaith dialogue, inclusive education, and youth empowerment. With experience at the United Nations and A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY), she has designed and facilitated interfaith youth programs in Myanmar and Northern Ireland. Michino’s work focuses on fostering trust and shared action across religious and cultural lines to build peaceful, inclusive societies.
Azizah Lefebvre | Indonesia
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
Azizah Lefebvre has been involved in the interfaith field with ACWAY since its first Forum in 2015. She holds a Master of Solidarity and International Action from the Catholic Institute of Paris to complement her NGO management experience. Azizah's work spans the domains of youth, education, marginalized communities, and youth-led interfaith action. She held the position of Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator from 2016 and is now the Engagement and M&E Coordinator.
Rawaad Mahyub | United Kingdom
Advisor/Volunteer
Rawaad Mahyub was the Director of ACWAY since 2015 until 2024. He has also been working in the field of humanitarian and social development for over 15 years, delivering projects in adult education, livelihoods, social mobility and health. He has developed initiatives to improve global collaboration between international and local actors in the aid sector and advocates for local humanitarian organisations on issues of aid financing to decision making and delivery. He is also passionate about engaging young people to promote change through civic activism. He graduated with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Chemistry from York University and an Executive MBA from the University of Birmingham. He is originally from Yemen, lives in the UK and has four children.
