Dania Hassan sets an inspiration for youth in the global community as a young leader and activist working to raise the quality of education throughout Pakistan. Her ongoing work has granted her the Emerging Young Leaders Award by the U.S Department of State – awarded to ten outstanding young leaders of ages 18-24 from across the globe.
After attending summer abroad at John Hopkins University through the U.S. Summer Sisters Exchange Program in 2016, she established the ‘Fun to Learn’ organization.
In collaboration with the Pakistan – US Alumni Network, Hassan organized a series of workshops in which teams of volunteers conducted extracurricular programs in underprivileged schools as a means to eliminate inequality in academia. The aim of this project was to ‘Lead and Succeed’ and encourage the youth of the privileged class to design and execute community service programs for their low-income peers.
The participants of the workshop were divided into groups in which they were asked to carry out at least one community service project in one of the underprivileged are
as of Karachi.
Dania conducted hands-on training sessions on fundraising, designing, and executing youth engagement projects. The participants of the workshop received certificate after the successful completion of their project.
The key component of the project was that each participant of the leadership and volunteerism workshops was asked to donate at least one book, to establish libraries in public and low-cost private schools, orphanages etc.
Hassan’s work has also brought attention to awareness of rising pertinent topics such as hygiene and health, environmental awareness and going green, school safety, and emergency preparedness and self-defense.
Not only has Dania been actively involved with ‘Fun to Learn’ and ‘Lead and Succeed’ projects, but she also participated in the New Alumni Conference for Young Professionals in Islamabad. As PUAN welcomed over 130 Pakistani alumni of US government sponsored exchange programs, she encouraged them to utilize their energies to serve their communities and transform the lives of people around them.
She has also won various speech competitions, including a first prize at the All Pakistan Bilingual Declamation Contest in 2017. She has a long-term plan to join the United Nations after attending university.
As the youngest high achieve of PUAN’s “30 under 30” series, Dania is indeed a role model and inspiration for the global community. Her achievement has urged others to not just ‘be something’ but to ‘do something’. Her work to tackle education inequality and lead students to success is a notable inspiration for the youth to take charge of their future.
Using Dania’s experience as inspiration, you can also gather your exchange alumni team and submit a proposal for one of the three ASG themes. You can receive up to $10,000 for your community service project idea!
ASG themes for 2019 are:
* Promoting Entrepreneurship
* Improving Public Health – public awareness, institutional capacity, and community health
* Supporting Media – journalism skills, institutional capacity, and media literacy
Submit proposals by 2 P.M. February 15, 2019! Learn more at https://pakusalumninetwork.org/grants/
