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ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2024

United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 52,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2024 on 6,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 280+ campuses worldwide (just 5%) were selected to host the 4,000+ Millennium Fellows.

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UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT ZHAKIRA HANNAH PEREZ PEREZ, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW AND CAMPUS DIRECTOR FOR THE CLASS OF 2024.

Meiji Gakuin University | Yokohama, Japan | Advancing SDG 12, SDG 1, SDG 13 & UNAI 9

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" Being part of a community or a team fuels my motivation to grow as an individual. Through Millennium Fellowship, I am sure that I will be surrounded with people that shares the same goal as I have and that it will enhance my skills in working collaboratively. This opportunity will also mean a lot not only for me, but also to Meiji Gakuin University, as our campus strongly focuses and studies the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals. "

Millennium Fellowship Project: Bottles to Shelter

Our project bridges environmental efforts on campus with humanitarian needs by collecting discarded plastic bottles from Meiji Gakuin University and transforming them into durable plastic sheets for shelters in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp. With over 400 bottles discarded daily on the Yokohama campus alone and only 22% recycled, we’ve raised awareness of plastic waste's environmental impact and its potential for meaningful reuse. Despite challenges with Japan’s strict recycling laws, we collaborated with initiatives like Food Bank and Green Cycle to integrate sustainability into campus activities and events, such as the "Celebrating Diversity on Campus" festival. While not all goals were realized during this term, we’ve laid a strong foundation—detailed plans, resources, and partnerships—for future fellows to scale this project and continue creating impactful change, uniting environmental action with global humanitarian efforts.

About the Millennium Fellow

Zhakira Hannah Perez is a Filipina, born and raised in the capital city of the Philippines, Manila. Zhakira is now in her senior year at Meiji Gakuin University in Japan where she studies International Studies and Economics. As she first handed saw the difference between a developing and developed country, she has been passionate about finding a way to help people living in the developing world. Through her projects, she hopes to be an effective and sufficient member of the community. After she graduates, she wishes to be a bridge of different countries to foster an inclusive society for the next generation.

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