Sokny Onn

CEO, Epic Arts, Kambodža

Sokny Onn is a passionate advocate for disability inclusion, serving as Country Director of Epic Arts, a UK-registered NGO in Cambodia, and as an advisor to the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In her Epic Arts role, she leads a program that empowers individuals with disabilities through arts, including inclusive education, community outreach, and social enterprise, with the aim to create an inclusive, valued, and discrimination-free environment for people with disabilities. Her experiences as a woman with disabilities drive her determination and passion as a leader in promoting social inclusion and serving the disabled community in Cambodia and beyond.

Sokny also serves as the 1st Vice-Chair of Creative Industries of Cambodia Association for Development and Advocacy and is an executive committee member of the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia. Her exceptional leadership skills and commitment to making a positive impact were reflected in her selection as an Obama Leader, Asia Pacific 2023. She also participated in the UNESCO training on ‘The Creative Economy’ at the City University of London in 2021 and the U.S. State Department International Visitor Leadership Program in 2017.

Sokny has an BA in General Management from Build Bright University and an MBA from the National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Hassan Ndugwa

Prospect Initiative, Executive director, Uganda

Ndugwa Hassan is a Ugandan Peace activist. He holds a Masters degree in Human Rights and Local governance. He co-founded the Prospect Initiative formerly, Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum after surviving the July 2010 Al-Shabaab bombings in Kampala. Hassan is the Executive Director of the Prospect Initiative and focuses on strengthening individuals' and communities’ capacities in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and preventing violent extremism.

Hassan is a 2015 Mandela Washington Fellow, an Extremely Together Leader under the Kofi Annan Foundation, a USIP Generation Change Global Fellow, and a Participatory Action Research Fellow.

Hassan has co-authored a series of working papers on topics related to youth participation in peacebuilding and the prevention of violent extremism as well as contributing to publications to support and protect victims of terrorism.

Hassan has contributed to research papers on violent extremism, including among others the 2019 BRICS research on Violent Extremism in Eastern Uganda and the Women Without Borders’ research on the violence prevention potential of East African Fathers “Can Fathers Challenge Extremism” released in 2019.