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.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT SRISHTI MANAWA, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Christ (Deemed To Be University) Yeshwanthpur Campus | Bengaluru, India | Advancing SDG 10, SDG 16 & UNAI 3
" Empathy and determination, shaped by personal experiences of gender inequality, drive my commitment to women's empowerment. Being a part of the Millennium Fellowship will transform these experiences into structured action through Shakti. The mentorship, community connections, and framework I gain from the Fellowship will help me turn my vision of safe spaces for women into tangible workshops, partnerships, and support systems. I am excited to learn from fellow change makers while building something that my younger self and countless other women desperately needed, a place where voices are heard, rights are understood, and cycles of oppression are finally broken. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Project Shakti
Project Shakti is a community-based awareness initiative launched under the Millennium Fellowship to help women recognise the strength they already possess. The project focuses on women’s health, safety, and self-awareness through dialogue and education. It began with family discussions that highlighted how women’s contributions, though immense, often go unnoticed. Building on these reflections, awareness sessions were organised for women working as labourers and domestic helpers, many of whom had migrated from Bihar and Jharkhand. These sessions covered menstrual and reproductive health, sexual consent, and personal safety. To extend outreach, over 300 bilingual leaflets in English and Hindi were distributed with verified information on helplines, legal rights, and support systems. Project Shakti directly engaged over 200 women, creating safe spaces for honest conversation and reinforcing the belief that empowerment is not external; it already exists within every woman.
About the Millennium Fellow
Srishti Manawa is a dedicated and empathetic third-year Economics undergraduate at Christ (Deemed To Be University), Bangalore. She was born in Jammu, India, and is currently studying in Karnataka; truly shaped by her experiences across different regions of India. Srishti has always been passionate about her advocacy for women's rights, gender equality, and justice for survivors of abuse. This drive and commitment translated itself from Srishti's personal experiences witnessing systemic gender inequalities within her own family and community, where she served as a confidante to female family members from a young age. Throughout her university years, she has developed the concept of 'Shakti', an innovative women's empowerment initiative addressing health, education, human rights, and support for abuse survivors; which through her empathetic leadership and the Millennium Fellowship, she plans to bring to life and implement in her community. Srishti aspires to create lasting change by breaking patriarchal cycles and establishing safe spaces where women can access critical resources and find their voice in pursuit of UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality.
