Young People at the Centre: Participation and Social Change

Kumi Naidoo was CIVICUS' Secretary General from 1998 to May 2008. He has a long history of involvement in the non-governmental sector and was previously Executive Director of the South African NGO Coalition (SANGOCO), Executive Director of the National Literacy Cooperation of South Africa, as well as a Director of the Independent Electoral Commission and the South African Committee for Higher Education Trust. He was active in the anti-apartheid struggle in his native country, South Africa, and has also worked as a researcher, journalist, university lecturer and youth counsellor. Kumi is a Rhodes Scholar with a D.Phil in Politics from Magdalen College, Oxford. He was appointed by the UN Secretary General to the Panel of Eminent Persons on UN Civil Society Relations. Kumi also serves as an advisory board member on the UNDEF, UNIFEM and the Clinton Global Initiative. He is an active member of the Expert Panel for Partnership Planning. Kumi has been acting as the Honorary President for CIVICUS since 31 July.