Saman Ahsan (2003 - 2004)

Pakistan

The biggest benefit I got out of the Scholarship was the love, friendship and support of some of the most amazingly wonderful people on earth including Jim, Nancy, Harry, Helen and all my fellow Scholars, and above all their faith in me that made me begin to believe that I can be a leader.

In September 2008, Saman started work at the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in the team developing and managing Global Initiatives. This takes her back to the field of development which is her main interest, after three years of work and study at the World Economic Forum, where, from 2005-2008, she was Manager of the Council of 100 Leaders: West-Islamic World Dialogue. An important initiative that she coordinated in this position was the publication and launch of an Annual Report on the State of Dialogue, prepared in collaboration with Georgetown University and the Gallup Organization.

Saman was recruited by the Forum for its prestigious mid-career Global Leadership Fellows Programme, which provided exposure to a variety of leadership opportunities from policy making to business management. In June 2008, she obtained her Masters in Global Leadership, awarded by the Forum in association with INSEAD and Columbia University.

Saman’s extensive experience in the NGO sector includes Coordinator of the Women, Youth and Environment Section of the Family Planning Association of Pakistan, and National Coordinator of UNICEF's Girl Child Project Pakistan. She has participated in and given presentations at the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Girl Child Symposium Rawalpindi; the UN Special Session for Children, New York, the SAARC Youth Workshop Kathmandu; and Conference on Safe Motherhood Colombo. She holds an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and a BA in Anthropology from McGill University.

As a Sauvé Scholar, Saman learned video production from fellow Scholar and in-house expert, Paul Shore. She then made a film on the Girl Child Project, Pakistan. Saman visited project locations in Pakistan, filmed activities, interviewed girls, trainers, family and community members, and produced a 13-minute documentary on the impact of the project on the girls’ lives. It was a labour of love and from the initial idea to the very last task, Saman enjoyed every second of it.

Country of origin

Pakistan