Ankush Sharma, a graduate student in the Health Careers Program at Harvard University, attended the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) conference at Tulane University March 14-16. Sharma is the first student from his program to attend CGI U, which consists of college students selected from across the country who come together to tackle global problems with innovative solutions. As part of the William J. Clinton Foundation, CGI brings together world leaders, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to convert good intentions into meaningful action and tangible results.
Sharma says that he has begun working toward his “commitment to action” by founding the not-for-profit organization Global HEED, which works with students at Emory and Princeton universities.
The World Economic Forum recently named Daniel L. Shapiro a 2008 Young Global Leader. The director of the Harvard International Negotiation Initiative and a lecturer on law, Shapiro joins leaders across a wide range of fields who are under 40 years of age to be chosen to pursue solutions to global-scale issues including education, government, poverty, and the environment.
“It is our belief that this community of committed individuals can actually change the status quo. They are not only a preview of what effective, collaborative leadership in the 21st century might look like, they are actually putting it into practice today,” said David Aikman, senior director and head of the forum of Young Global Leaders.
Shapiro was acknowledged for his work on the psychology of conflict. He is currently pioneering a new research program on the emotional and identity-based dimensions of regional conflict and terrorism.
— Compiled by Andrew Brooks and Vinay Devadanam
© 2008 The President and Fellows of Harvard College