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 AKUR GARANG NYOK, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
United States International University Africa | Nairobi, Kenya | Advancing SDG 10, SDG 8 & UNAI 3
" I have always been motivated by passion and compassion, participating in the Millennium Fellowship isn't just about me acquiring the skills from training but engaging, networking and interconnecting with like minded fellows and experienced individuals, this is crucial to me, being a student of International Relations, a highly competitive field that requires social interact at the international level, by being a fellow I will get to meet visionary young leaders that will equally connect with me and give me significant ideas about the vision and future of Africa and the global community at large. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Empowering Orphans
Our project, Empowering Orphans through Digital and Soft Skills, was designed to create meaningful change in the lives of children at the Good Samaritan Children’s Home. We recognized that many orphans lack access to digital education and personal development opportunities that are essential in today’s world. Therefore, our goal was to bridge this gap by equipping them with practical digital skills and essential soft skills that could inspire confidence, creativity, and hope for a brighter future.
Through our digital training sessions, we tutored the children on how to use Microsoft Excel to analyze data and solve real-world data analytics problems. We also introduced them to Canva and PowerPoint, helping them learn how to create powerful and visually appealing presentations. To further expand their technological exposure, we taught them basic coding using HTML, CSS, and Python. This gave them a foundational understanding of how websites are built and encouraged them to think creatively about technology and innovation.
In addition to digital skills, we emphasized the importance of soft skills development. We held interactive sessions on interpersonal relationship skills, conflict resolution, attending skills, and listening skills. These sessions were designed to help the children communicate effectively, work better in teams, and build stronger personal relationships—qualities that are just as vital as technical knowledge in both personal and professional life.
Beyond skill development, our project aimed to make the children feel valued, loved, and included. Many of them have faced social and emotional challenges, and we wanted to show them that they are capable, important, and deserving of opportunity. By empowering them through education, we sought to reduce inequalities and give them a sense of belonging and purpose.
We believe that these digital and interpersonal skills are highly sought after by employers today and can significantly improve their chances of securing decent jobs in the future. More importantly, we wanted to inspire them to dream bigger, nurture creativity, and believe in their own potential. Our hope is that through this project, we have not only transferred knowledge but also ignited a lasting sense of hope, confidence, and empowerment within each of them.
About the Millennium Fellow
Akur Garang Nyok, from South Sudan, is a MasterCard Foundation Scholar studying a bachelor of arts in International Relations with a concentration in Development Studies, She is a mental health advocate, Having grown as a disadvantaged child and endured the struggles of orphanhood, she is driven by her experiences, especially finding it challenging to access education without physical or emotional protection, she draws motivation to help other disadvantaged children, orphans and neglected or abandoned children by advocating for their right education, Shelter, food and most importantly mental health support , she is driven by this passion because she believes that a passion comes from past experiences because you feel the compassion or empathy about what it's like to be in the shoe, She also believes that every child deserves to live a normal life and no one must deny them that and just because they are disadvantaged or orphaned doesn't mean they should be neglected. We must acknowledge that educating these children means educating the nation and as quality education is one of the major UN Sustainable Development Goals, She is motivated to implement a project that will transform the lives of these children in long- term and sustainably.
