MOHAMED SIDIBAY
Mohamed’s story is one of resilience. He has been orphaned, uneducated and homeless. He was born in Sierra Leone, and at age 5, he witnessed his entire family being murdered and was forced to become a child soldier. At the age of 10 he became homeless in his home country of Sierra Leone and could neither read nor write. In 2007, at 14, he began his formal education in the U.S. At 27 years old, Mohamed is an internationally recognized voice for children in armed conflict. He has been featured on Forbes, Le Monde, BBC, France 24, Project Syndicate amongst others. He is a member of The High-Level Reflection Group on Strategic Transformation that advises the Director-General of UNESCO. He is an Education Champion for the Global Partnership for Education. He was a keynote speaker and co-host of the Global Partnership for Education conference that raised over U.S. $2 billion in pledges to fund education in developing countries. He has shared a stage with the likes of President Macron of France, President Sall of Senegal, World Bank President, President of Norway and a host of other world leaders and ministers. He serves as a Youth Commissioner on the Education Commission on Financing Global Education. A second-year law student at Fordham University School of Law, Mohamed is an incoming Summer Associate at the International law firm Covington and Burling. A 2015 graduate of The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, Mohamed has given countless lectures on the power of education and children caught in armed conflict. He speaks four languages and have traveled to over 70 countries.