meet the Coordinating Coolective
About the CC
The Coordinating Collective serves as the “Board of Directors” of the movement. It is an elected committee with the overall responsibilities for the oversight and governance of the coordination and implementation of the Movement’s strategies, plans and activities. Members are elected directly every 2 years by and are accountable to the registered members of the movement.
Lucky Ninsiima
Bio
Lucky Ninsiima is a Humanitarian and Entrepreneur.
She is a human rights defender, peace advocate and a socio-economic development champion.
During her term as the CC member (2003 – 2025), she served as the movement Treasurer, and the chair of the finance and human resource committee.
As an entrepreneurship trainer, she empowers youth, young farmers and women in her community through skills training and enterprise development towards Zero Hunger under the Community Based Organization, INUA.
She is also a dairy farmer and CEO, Zion Wanyama Farm, where she also serves as the president of Zion Wanyama Agripreneurs Club whose major aim is building an able society.
She served as a Training Lead at the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, where she also served as the Network Country Coordinator for Uganda.
She has also served as an Adjudicator in the Commonwealth Youth Awards (2005 & 2006)
Kayongo Brian
Bio
Kayongo Brian has a wealth of experience spanning over 17 years’ in the development sector and has held various senior portfolios within local and INGO spaces in Zambia and Globally. He co-founded and led Generation Lead Zambia (as Commander in Chief)- a Pan African movement in Zambia bringing together post Independence generation from diverse backgrounds to pursue a collective organising work towards actualising a post independence generational leadership which will emancipate Zambia and forge ahead with a vision of a borderless Africa. Brian currently works for Healthy Learners as Director of Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships. Before this appointment, he spent 4 years as Global Fundraising Manager for the Fight Inequality Alliance Movement where he led donor partnerships and supported movement building in Pan Africa, Asia and Latin America regions. Brian also served as Head of Fundraising and Partnerships for ActionAid International Zambia, Policy and Partnerships lead at MarieStopes International in Zambia, Funding Manager for Oxfam GB in Zambia and Grants Acquisition Advisor for Norwegian Church Aid (Joint Country Programme in Zambia) among other senior portfolios. He has also served in similar regional and international collectives such as African Youth and Adolescent Network on Population and Development (AfriYan) and the UNFPA Global Youth Advisory Panel (GYAP) where he was President and Member respectively.
Dielle Leris
Bio
Dielle Leris is a human rights defender and peace advocate shaped by conflict and personal trauma. Growing up amid violence, she chose healing over revenge and now works to promote reconciliation, community healing, and social justice in conflict-affected areas. Dielle’s grassroots organizing amplifies survivors’ voices and pushes for accountability and systemic change. She seeks to help Africans Rising deepen its impact by ensuring marginalized and vulnerable communities are heard in continental liberation efforts.
Jean Samandari
Bio
Jean Samandari is a seasoned Burundian lawyer and social justice advocate with over 35 years promoting education, governance, human rights, and gender equality. He leads the associations Action Contre la Pauvreté and Coalition for Education for All, and serves on the African Network Campaign on Education for All. Formerly a National Assembly Deputy, his expertise lies in community mobilization and amplifying grassroots voices to influence continental policy and advocacy.
Sandrine Diribe
Bio
Mbeh Sandrine Diribe is a young female Cameroonian who has emerged from being a victim of rape to a tenacious advocate and change maker. She specializes in research, policy advocacy, awareness raising and humanitarian action. She is the Founder of the Lights of Hope Africa, a non-profit and non-governmental organization which works for: Child protection, girls empowerment, youth engagement and peace building. Sandrine has been internationally recognized amongst the 100 most positively inspiring African youths of 2017, and is a winner of the DigCit award for her use of the Internet in combatting sexual violence. She is a member of the National Women’s Convention for Peace in Cameroon (the lone standing group to have received the German – Africa prize from the German Africa Foundation), an organizing committee member of the University Lecture on Peace in Africa (a peace building initiative by young people in Cameroon that enhances the UNSCR 2250 thereby combatting radicalization and violent extremism amongst young people amidst the multiple current conflicts in Cameroon), is a consumer reviewer for Cochrane where she specializes in reviewing research work on the psychological impact of sexual abuse on children and adults and trauma healing techniques, and has interned with the African Child Policy Forum where for a period of six months she built skills on policy advocacy techniques/strategies.
Yahya Sowe
Bio
Yahya Sowe is a Gambian youth and environmental activist, entrepreneur, and community leader. Founder and CEO of Smiling Coast Food Processing Center, Yahya promotes food security and youth employment. He holds key leadership positions within youth committees and alumni networks, mentors climate advocates, and volunteers extensively with the Red Cross. Recognized as one of the AfroArab 30 Champions, he actively builds regional youth networks to empower future leaders through democratic, sustainable development.
Imani Countess
Bio
Dielle Leris is a human rights defender and peace advocate shaped by conflict and personal trauma. Growing up amid violence, she chose healing over revenge and now works to promote reconciliation, community healing, and social justice in conflict-affected areas. Dielle’s grassroots organizing amplifies survivors’ voices and pushes for accountability and systemic change. She seeks to help Africans Rising deepen its impact by ensuring marginalized and vulnerable communities are heard in continental liberation efforts.
Samuel Kabungo
Bio
Samuel Mwami Kabungo is a 27-year-old Zambian medical professional, politician, and activist committed to advancing good governance, youth empowerment, and Pan-African unity. At just 21, he made history as the youngest Zambian candidate in the 2020 Lukashya parliamentary by-elections, inspiring greater youth participation in politics. Kabungo currently coordinates the Fix It Movement in Copperbelt Province and has held leadership roles in the PLO Lumumba Foundation and United Prosperous and Peaceful Zambia (UPPZ), where he has championed peace, equity, and youth leadership. Recognized as the first runner-up for the 2024 African Rising Activist of the Year award, he actively mentors young leaders through the Movement for Good Governance, advocating for a borderless and united Africa built on strong governance.
Fatma Messaoud
Bio
Fatma Messaoud is an Algerian researcher and diplomatic mediator focused on peacebuilding, democratic governance, and human rights. As a member of the African Union’s FemWise-Africa network, she champions women’s leadership in conflict prevention and mediation, and contributes to governance initiatives emphasizing justice and dignity. Fatma envisions an Africa where youth, women, and displaced communities are central to transformative change, dedicated to promoting a united, inclusive, and self-determined continent.
Tanya Lallmon
Bio
Nandini Tanya Lallmon is a research scholar who is developing methodologies to bridge the gap between policy and practice in the African Small Island Developing states. Appointed as African Youth Charter Hustler for Mauritius by the African Union Office of the Youth Envoy, she fosters the active empowerment of minority youth by adopting a decolonial perspective on human rights. Her engagement in the Coordinating Collective implies representation of marginalised youth in international mechanisms. This will help her further the disability rights movement in Africa and contribute to bridging the gap in terms of access, capacity, skills, resources, and participation of underrepresented young female disabled activists from African Small Island Developing States.
