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ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2025

United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 60,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2025 on 7,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 290+ campuses worldwide (less than 5%) were selected to host the 4,500+ Millennium Fellows.

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UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT SOHINI MAITRA, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW AND CAMPUS DIRECTOR FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.

Ashoka University | Haryana, India | Advancing SDG 10, SDG 9 & UNAI 8

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" Empathy and evidence-based action drive my commitment to mental health advocacy. The Millennium Fellowship will amplify my ability to design and implement community-based programs that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3 and SDG 4. I am excited to learn from a global network of change makers, co-creating solutions that dismantle stigma, expand access, and make mental well-being a universal reality. "

Millennium Fellowship Project: RUK JAANA NAHI

So you know how sometimes things just get too much for you to handle all alone? Like, you're spiralling before an exam, it’s 2 AM, and you don't know what to do? Or a friend is withdrawing, and you want to help, but you're scared you’ll say the wrong thing? That’s where Ruk Jaana Nahi comes in. It's a mental health first-aid kit for moments like that. Real tools. Right when you need them. I want to make a small, practical kit, something digital, some physical, that people can actually use in the middle of a panic attack or a breakdown. Things like, how to ground yourself, what not to say to a friend in crisis, how to ask for help without feeling like you're being "too much." The idea is to make it all easy to access with QR codes in hostels, washrooms, wherever you might need a moment of support. I want to build a peer network, where people are trained to be there, not to fix, but to stay. Like, someone who can hold the moment with you until you can breathe again. Someone to remind you that you're not alone in this.

About the Millennium Fellow

Sohini Maitra is a psychology undergraduate at Ashoka University who believes that mental health is not a privileged, but a universal right. Growing up in Kolkata, she witnessed how stigma and lack of access kept people from seeking help, shaping her resolve to make care both inclusive and community-driven. She has co-led peer support groups, organized awareness campaigns, and designed creative interventions to spark dialogue. Beyond this, Sohini works on rural education and development initiatives in Haryana and contributes to behavioural research. Through the Millennium Fellowship, she aims to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals by building community-based mental health programs that combine scientific insight with local empowerment, fostering well-being and equity on a global scale.

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