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 MUSKAN ZAHID, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Institute of Business Administration Karachi | Karachi, Pakistan | Advancing SDG 1, SDG 5, SDG 11 & UNAI 6
" Empowering women is not just about income—it’s about dignity, voice, and opportunity. Through the Millennium Fellowship, I look forward to collaborating with change makers worldwide, learning how to scale my impact, and building a future where every woman in my community can thrive on her own terms. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Gamburi-Empowering Women of Ghizer Through Embroidery.
Gamburi-meaning "Flower" in a local language in northern Pakistan, is a women-led circular fashion venture that upcycled textile waste into high-quality, handcrafted fashion products. The project collects discarded fabric from thrift stores and textile waste spots in urban cities like Karachi and Lahore, transports it to Ghizer (Gilgit-Baltistan), and transforms it into fashionable tote bags and accessories.
The production is done by trained local women artisans using traditional embroidery techniques such as Iraghi, Qalami, and Zardozi. Each product carries its story — detailing the artisan behind it, the cultural symbolism of the embroidery, and the environmental impact (such as how much textile waste was diverted).
The goal of the project is to reduce textile waste, preserve cultural embroidery heritage, and create sustainable income opportunities for economically excluded women.
About the Millennium Fellow
Muskan Zahid is a Business Administration student at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, and a proud native of Gupis, Ghizer in northern Pakistan. Growing up where women’s skills were undervalued, she envisioned a different future—one where their skills and art find a place in modern fashion markets. Through her social venture, Muskan aims to create dignified livelihoods, celebrate cultural heritage, and challenge gender norms. She aspires to expand this platform into a hub for diverse women-led enterprises, advancing gender equality and sustainable development across her region.
