UN Champion of Change for women empowerment Lemona Chanda has become the first Bangladeshi to be named McCain Global Leader by the McCain Institute.
This prestigious fellowship supports character-driven leaders from around the world who embody US senator John McCain’s legacy of serving a cause greater than oneself, said a press release issued on Thursday.
Twenty-six people from around the world have been chosen to “advance democracy, human rights and freedom”, it said, adding that the fellowship will provide a professional leadership journey through training, resources and access to regional and international networks.
Lemona is a barrister and award-winning gender equality and development activist who was chosen as the UN Champion for Change in 2016.
Lemona is the founder of OurCause, an NGO working on the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve Agenda 2030.
Additionally, she has been recognized as the EMpower Ethnic Minority Future Leader in the UK for two consecutive years for her work in diversity and inclusion focusing on ethnic minority women and was selected as a Pulse Featured Changemaker.
This year, Lemona was the recipient of 2022 Women’s Community Impact Awards for her contribution to addressing the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis.
Lemona is also involved with the WHO, the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy in the UK, and works at the Financial Conduct Authority as the regulator of wholesale and investment banks in the UK.