Washington, USA
2022 World Bank & International Monetary Fund
Annual Meetings
The Annual and Spring Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations, and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.
YDC Delegates interact with experts from around the world while attending IMF-WBG Summit sessions and participating in meetings with stakeholders. The IMF-WBG Annual Meetings are an exclusive opportunity for Canadian youth to observe and learn from high-level discussions on international trade, finance, and comparative public policy.
Dael Vasquez-Hernandez, Head Delegate
Dael Vasquez is a social policy specialist from Ontario. He is currently researching the potential of digital currencies to function as instruments of welfare reform with the goal of improving the economic security of marginalized communities. His research is generously financed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
As a part of the Young Diplomats, Dael was a former delegate to the OECD. Apart from his contributions to YDC, Dael is heavily committed to helping youth become politically engaged: as a Board Advisor to the Toronto Foundation for Youth Involvement in Politics, he supports this organization’s goals by helping youth act upon the policy issues they are passionate about. Dael also worked with Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) to develop the Institute for Future Legislators’ training program for 2022, helping to instruct aspiring public servants on how to govern ethically and purposively. He has also deputized Toronto City Hall meetings as a 2-term Youth Councillor with the Toronto City Youth Council. Dael holds a BA, two professional certificates in public administration and law and public policy analysis, and is completing his MA in political science.
Shayaan Ali Kaleem , Communications Coordinator
Shayaan Kaleem is a third-year student at the University of Toronto majoring in Health and Disease. He hopes to use his education to pursue a career in medicine while also exploring the social determinants of health, including race and socioeconomic status.
Shayaan is an advocate for those facing poverty and homelessness. He has worked with organizations such as Uplift Ontario to help create legislation aiming to enfranchise the homeless with the services they need to thrive, such as greater mental health support. In addition, he also volunteers his time at a food bank to directly speak to the homeless about their thoughts on policy and how organizations and governments could better support those of lower socioeconomic status. Through these endeavours, Shayaan serves as a liaison between those facing poverty and organizations, as well as governments, who are trying to help them.
Similarly, Shayaan has also been heavily involved in research. He has explored topics ranging from esophageal cancer treatments to epidemiological studies. Recently, he worked with Dr. Wendy Guan of Harvard University on a research project aiming to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on countries all over the world. Through this research, Shayaan was able to highlight the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 had on low-income countries.
Nyiri DuCharme, Delegate
Nyiri is a driven and strategic policy leader with a deep passion for issues affecting youth in Canada and around the world. She currently serves as a Policy Advisor for the Government of Canada, and is specialized in the fields of public safety, foreign affairs, and immigration. Nyiri was also the National Youth Co-Chair of the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign in 2018, where she represented young public servants at a Deputy Minister-level decision-making table and increased youth engagement in the annual campaign. She has long been interested in the world of diplomacy, having completed internships with the Embassy of Canada to Denmark and with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute in Turin, Italy.
Nyiri holds a Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in Political Science and European Studies. She also spent one year at the University of Edinburgh on a student exchange, studying social policy and international economics. In addition to her work, Nyiri serves on volunteer boards and contributes to youth mentorship initiatives.
Faith Edem, Delegate
Faith Edem is an Economic Advisor in Environment and Climate Change Canada where she develops Bilateral Climate Finance Programming in the International Affairs Branch. Faith works to support country-driven NDC implementation and climate governance in West Africa and Latin America.
Faith holds a Masters in Public Administration (Specialization in Economic Policy) from Queen’s University and a BA Honours in Criminology and Political Science from the University of Toronto. Faith has an array of expertise in climate finance, energy policy, net-zero emission, building sector, environmental justice and sustainability.
As a young leader, Faith has been recognized as a 2022 Aspen Institute Future Leader, 2021 Corporate Knight 30 under 30 Sustainability Leader and a GreenBiz Circularity 2021 Emerging Leader. Faith is a policy researcher, published climate resilience author in Our Climate, Our Stories and an awarded diversity and inclusion actor at the federal level.
Faith is a member of the Environment Journal Advisory Board and a project lead with the Canadian Coalition on Environment and Climate Justice. Faith is driven by an intergenerational approach to climate action to achieve our global SDGs.
Alexandre Lloyd, Delegate
Born in Montreal, Alexandre Lloyd is a bilingual graduate student passionate about the intersection between international economic policy and efforts to combat climate change. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po in international economic policy, with concentrations in diplomacy and global risks. Previously, he completed a Bachelor of Science in economics and international development studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Throughout his academic career, he has applied his passion for international relations in both Model-United Nations and competitive debating. He is also an elite level sailor, having competed in various events since his early teens.
Alexandre has previously worked as a special assistant to a Montreal-based Member of Parliament, where he worked in both constituency and parliamentary affairs primarily on issues relating to foreign affairs. Currently, he is interning at the OECD in the Social Policy Division of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) directorate.
Thomas Hewitt, Delegate
Thomas Hewitt is currently completing a Juris Doctor at Western University in London, Ontario. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), who placed in the top 1% on CPA Canada’s Common Final Examination. He holds both a Master of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Accounting from Brock University. Thomas also completed a Business Summer Exchange Program at Stockholm University in Sweden.
Thomas was a Senior Associate at Deloitte LLP, where he participated in several placements as part of the Financial Advisory group’s rotational program. This included rotations in Economic & Policy Advisory, Infrastructure & Capital Projects, M&A Advisory and Forensic Investigations. He completed projects for various private and public entities both within Canada and abroad. As a co-op student, Thomas worked at MNP LLP performing public company audits.
Thomas has been actively involved in a number of initiatives including the Brock Leaders Citizenship Society, Brock University Graduate Students’ Association, BGS Global Leadership Summit and the Goodman Accounting Students’ Association. He has also volunteered with Junior Achievement of Central Ontario, where he acted as an advisor to the TMX Group’s Company Program chapter dedicated to supporting young entrepreneurs.