We are accelerating sustainable development through innovative solutions
by helping young people become valued thought partners to key institutions
in research, innovation, and policy processes that advance the priorities of our global generation.
We’re South-North Scholars,
the youth-led knowledge network for global development.
Our programs reach
132
countries on all inhabited continents
Working with experts at
25+
IGOs, UN agencies, universities, and global firms
We have engaged
3,500+
young leaders since 2022
Engaging on all
17
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Founded at Duke University — the only university in the American South with a sister institution in the Global South, Duke Kunshan University — we’re a diverse team of young professionals and students across 4 continents. We work with experts at the United Nations, leading NGOs, and multinational firms around the world to develop innovative research, dialogue, and skills-building programs that put the unconventional ideas and skills development of young people first.
Here are just a few examples of our work:
Solving for Humanity: the world’s largest innovation challenge for human development, organized with experts at the UNDP Human Development Report Office. 3,000 young people in 128 countries developed and voted on data-driven proposals for solutions to urgent problems in climate, technology, and governance institutions. Winning teams presented ideas directly to senior UN experts. Our work was recognized in the United Nations Human Development Report 2023/24.
Shaping research and strategy at the United Nations:
Our co-director was invited to deliver closing remarks for young people worldwide at the UN High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF 2024).
Through the UN Youth 2030 Joint Working Group, we help shape the UN Secretary-General’s global youth engagement strategy that guides the UN system’s work with young people in 193 countries.
South-North Scholars young leaders also join UNDP consultations to inform policy research on digitalization and artificial intelligence for human development.
Global South Paradigms: our international academic conference co-organized with the International Public Policy Association Global South research network. We convened 100+ early career scholars from research institutions in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Keynote speeches and abstracts ranged from the diplomacy of ancient Tamil literature to comparative analyses of energy policy in the United Kingdom and Colombia.
Nexus: The Global South Journal: the world’s first student-led, peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal on Global South issues. Nexus is published annually both online and in print across 2 continents, thanks to generous support from the Duke Kunshan University Humanities Research Center (HRC) and reviewers at Duke, Harvard, and other leading institutions. The Nexus Editorial Board co-organizes the Global South Paradigms conference.
Research translation for policymakers and civil society leaders: we’ve hosted workshops with leading faculty at Duke University to co-develop summaries of innovative research on economic governance, climate and sustainability, global value chains, and human development.
Join us in championing innovative knowledge and inspiring our generation to reimagine what’s possible for humanity’s development—and for their own future impact.
Meet Our Team
Our leadership team is deeply privileged to collaborate and innovate with our fellow young leaders in 130+ countries.
Are you a development professional seeking to support or advise South-North Scholars efforts, or a youth-led organization wishing to collaborate? Please get in touch below.
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Charlie Zong
Founding Executive Director and South-North Scholars Co-Director
United States of America
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Nino Nadirashvili
Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief of Nexus, and South-North Scholars Co-Director
Georgia
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Terry Uranbold
Lead, Global Pathways 2024 and Advisor, Global Program Strategy
Mongolia
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Courtney Yribarren
Lead, South-North Scholars at Duke and Lead, Room for Peace
United States of America
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Nicolás Velasco
Co-Founder, South-North Scholars at Duke Kunshan University
Colombia
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Faith Ho
Co-Lead, Room for Peace
Malaysia
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Amanda Niza Gonzalez Mejia
Editorial Board, Nexus
Venezuela & United States of America
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Cody Schmidt
Editorial Board, Nexus
United States of America
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Michelle Schultze
Editorial Board, Nexus
United States of America
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Aisha Shen
Co-Lead for Publicity and External Relations, Global Pathways 2024
Kazakhstan
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Liam Roj Curaming
Organizing Team, Global Pathways 2024
The Philippines
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Iveel Tengis
Organizing Team, Global Pathways 2024
Mongolia
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Maxwell Simbuwa
Editorial Board, Nexus (Issue I)
Zambia
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Tianyi Ma
Organizing Team, Global Pathways 2024
China
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Joshua Suh
Global Strategy and Editorial Board, Nexus (Issue I)
United States of America
Our Impact
3,500+
132
young leaders reached worldwide
countries represented (across all inhabited continents)
100+
scholars, professionals, and policymakers who’ve served as advisors and speakers
17
UN Sustainable Development Goals discussed in our events
120
multicultural teams of young leaders in Solving for Humanity
8
undergraduate research disciplines
published in our Nexus journal
15
youth-led network partners around the world
12
30+
global events this year
industries and academic fields
reflected in events and resources