ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2021
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In 2021, over 25,000 young leaders on 2,000+ campuses across 153 nations applied to join the Class of 2021. 136 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows. The Class of 2021 is bold, innovative, and inclusive.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT TEODOR DIMITROV YANKOV, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2021.
University College London | London, United Kingdom | Advancing SDG 10 & UNAI 7
" As the pinnacle of diversity, the UN has a unique responsibility to represent all identities, all ages, all nationalities - all people. I believe we as young people can best hold those at the big table accountable, and I am thus thrilled to be making steps in the right direction and furthering my own impact through becoming a Millennium Fellow. I do the work I do because I know how it feels to view your identity as an obstacle, and not as a source of power. I believe that the bridge between the SDGs and their fulfillment will be built by young people who harness the power of their identity, and the Millennium Fellowship is a brilliant opportunity to elevate my contribution towards the realisation of this vision. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: The Connected Scholars Program
The Connected Scholars Program (CSP) is one of many emerging initiatives that heed the call for targeted youth action towards SDG fulfillment. It is a new social impact project encapsulating all 17 Sustainable Development Goals within the 7 themes of climate and environment, health, empowerment, development, refugee challenge, economic stability, and peace, justice, and strong institutions. It especially furthers SDGs 4 (Quality Education) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities) through 7 interactive discussion-based panel events bringing together UN officials, activists, and academics to educate and empower young people to be more engaged with their own role in fulfilling the SDGs, by highlighting ways they can harness the power of their identity to bridge the gap between the SDGs and their fulfilment. As such, the programme addresses diversity problems within the UN, and empowers young people to mobilise their unique experiences, communities, and knowledge towards targeted action and sustainable realisation of the SDGs. With speakers including a UN Human Rights Officer, the Former British Ambassador to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the world's youngest UN Goodwill Ambassador, the project has been a definite success. Not only has the project delivered inspiring insights to students and young people weekly, but it has also enriched mine and my team’s event management, outreach and speaking skills. We have also successfully raised over £100 towards supporting the LIMUN foundation, who were our main platform for action, as well as a UNHCR campaign supporting the university education of refugees.
About the Millennium Fellow
Teodor is a second year student at University College London (UCL) reading for a BSc (Hons) in Politics & International Relations. Being Bulgarian and LGBT+, his passion for youth activism and reducing inequalities is ever-growing, nourishing his work with UN and government officials, academics and activists delivering civil dialogues educating youth on the power of identity and diversity towards fulfilling the UN SDGs. He leads LGBT+ activism efforts at the UCLSPP, and is publishing research on systemic refugee marginalisation, in pursuit of a career on the front lines of development. His hobbies include painting, writing and bird-watching.
