Executive Director's Corner

Yasmine Sherif speaking with a kid from Lebanon
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ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif

Yasmine Sherif is the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW). A lawyer specialized in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law (LL.M), she has over 30 years of experience with the United Nations and international NGOs. 

Ms. Sherif has served in some of the most crisis-affected areas of the world, including Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Balkans, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan as well as in New York and Geneva. She has led high-level missions to numerous conflict and crisis-affected countries. Her expertise spans across the education, humanitarian, development, human rights, gender and peacekeeping spectrum.

She is the author of the book, The Case for Humanity: An Extraordinary Session, and a Champion for ‘No Lost Generation.’ In 2017, she received the annual award Sweden’s UN Friend of the Year, in 2020 she was awarded the Global Educator Award in the United States, and in 2022 she received on behalf of Education Cannot Wait, the prestigious Mother Teresa Award.

Ms. Sherif also received an award from the United Nations Association-USA Brooklyn Chapter in 2023, and was recently honored as a Listee in Marquis Who's Who for her dedication to the field of international affairs and law, and leadership of ECW. 

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All Statements and Updates

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08 September 2023
Op-Eds

Unleashing Our Ability to Build a Better World: The Transformational Power of Education to Deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals

This article originally appeared in the UN Chronicle . Education is a liberating force for every child and a building block for a better world. It is the foundation for every young person’s future, as well as the foundation upon which peaceful and prosperous societies are built. As the world...
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World Humanitarian Day
19 August 2023
Statements

The Power of Humanity

World Humanitarian Day Statement by ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Twenty years ago today, a terrorist attack on the United Nations compound in Baghdad took the lives of 22 humanitarian and development workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. With solemn hearts...
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ECW Executive Director and youth take the stage at HLFC
12 August 2023
Statements

POWER TO THE YOUTH: With Quality Education, Youth are Empowered with the Green Skills to Save Our Planet

International Youth Day Statement by ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif To save our people and our planet from the life-threatening risks of the climate crisis, we must invest in the education of today’s youth. They will be the climate activists, climate scientists, climate innovators, game-changers and leaders of the 21...
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ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif with refugee children in Borota, Chad
09 August 2023
Director's Corner

Vision Without Action is a Daydream

One of my favorite proverbs is Japanese, which states: “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” Never has this proverb felt more important than in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 - especially the foundational goal, SDG4: ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for...
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Children at playground holding hands
30 July 2023
Statements

We Must End Human Trafficking Now

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Statement on the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons As the world comes together to “reach every victim of trafficking and leave no one behind” on World Day Against Trafficking of Persons , it is essential that we step up funding to education initiatives across...
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Learning a trade
15 July 2023
Statements

Education Harnesses the Power of Youth

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Statement on World Youth Skills Day
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ECW Executive Director with children in Chad
13 July 2023
Director's Corner

Impatience as a Virtue

We all know and agree that patience is a virtue. It is indeed. With one exception. In the face of a child’s suffering, impatience is the highest virtue. Or as we say in the spirit of Education Cannot Wait: “We must be unapologetically impatient” in our collective goal to reach...
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Yasmine Sherif
24 June 2023
Statements

Breaking Barriers, Building Equality: Honouring Women in Diplomacy

Read original on Modern Diplomacy ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Statement on International Day for Women in Diplomacy 24 June 2023, New York – Today we honour the brave, fearless and dedicated women who have broken through confining norms and stereotypes in order to build peace, equality and human rights...
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Teacher and student look at book together.
20 June 2023
Statements

Education: The Promise of Hope for the World’s Refugees

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Statement on World Refugee Day 20 June 2023, New York – There were 108.4 million forcibly displaced people worldwide by the end of 2022. This includes 62.5 million internally displaced people, 35.3 million refugees, 5.4 million asylum seekers and an additional 5.2 million in need...
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Young girl from Haiti with her back to the camera.
19 June 2023
Statements

Sexual Violence – In All Forms and Contexts – Must Stop

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict 19 June 2023, New York – Sexual violence is unacceptable in any shape or form, in all contexts, including those of conflict. As we come together on the International Day for the...
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Yasmine Sherif speaks to a Sudanese refugee girl in Chad.
13 June 2023
Director's Corner

No Peace Until Peace For All

As we head into June, we will commemorate a number of important international days that call for much-needed support to protect refugees, end child labour, stop sexual violence in conflict and ensure human rights for the innocent children victims of aggression. Together, this work will propel our efforts to achieve...
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Young boy digging in a hole.
12 June 2023
Statements

Access to Quality Learning Environments Will End Child Labour

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Statement on World Day Against Child Labour 12 June 2023, New York – Worldwide, 160 million children are engaged in child labour. Without access to safe, quality educational opportunities, their dreams of a better future have been cut short. As we commemorate the World Day...
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Latest Photos

Access Photos of ECW Director Yasmine Sherif
ECW Director Yasmine Sherif at UN's Transforming Education Summit
ECW Director Yasmine Sherif at UN's Transforming Education Summit
ECW Director Yasmine Sherif at UN's Transforming Education Summit
The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, ECW Director Yasmine Sherif and ECW staff at UN's Transforming Education Summit
ECW Director Yasmine Sherif at UN's Transforming Education Summit
ECW Director Yasmine Sherif at UN's Transforming Education Summit
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Director Yasmine Sherif speaks with students during a school visit on her all-women mission to Afghanistan.
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Leading an all-women mission to Afghanistan, Director Yasmine Sherif arrives at a local school, hand-in-hand with female teachers and staff.
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Director Yasmine Sherif and actress and education champion Rachel Brosnahan take the stage at Global Citizen Live 2021 in NYC.
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Director Yasmine Sherif meets children with disabilities during ECW’s Lebanon Mission.
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Director Yasmine Sherif and Nasser Faqih, ECW Chief of Partnerships, visit a refugee camp with partners during a mission to Lebanon.
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Director Yasmine Sherif speaks with on-the-ground partners during ECW’s mission to Lebanon.

Latest Videos

Al Arabiya with Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait

قناة العربية: الشارع الدبلوماسي مع طلال الحاج يستضيف ياسمين شريف حول وضع التعليم في افغانستان

Diplomatic Avenue : Al Arabiya Exclusive with Yasmine Sherif, Director of UN Global Fund ECW

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif Celebrates the Fifth Anniversary of Education Cannot Wait

[FR] ECW Director Yasmine Sherif mission in DRC - part 1

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Resolutions are just tiny steps. To make them a reality requires Action. Until it becomes action on the ground, those words mean very little. Not until you help that child to access a safe, quality education have you actually achieved the result.

Yasmine Sherif, ECW Executive Director