Young Global Leader
Malini pictured between Mayor Boris Johnson & Jo Cox
Malini has been selected as a member of several international leadership networks, including the Asia 21 Young Leader programme of the Asia Society and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (Davos).
Her affiliation with the World Economic Forum precedes her appointment as a YGL (2010) and she served as the Vice-Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Sustainable Consumption & Production.
As a YGL Malini initiated the Indo-Pak Cooperation on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction effort, with Pakistani YGL, Professor Saleem Ali, following the devastating 2010 floods in Pakistan – the first such weather event to be attributed by the World Meterological Organisation to climate change.
Malini and Saleem mobilised Indian and Pakistani YGLs, including prominent figures such as journalist Barkha Dutt, technology pioneer Prof Umar Saif, industrialist Sid, TP Chopra, politician Scindia and others to create solidarity partnerships at times of crisis on shared risks of climate change.
Following a successful conference in Lahore in July 2011, further commitments were made at a special session at Davos chaired by Malini & Saleem, featuring then Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan, Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar and Indian politicians Scindia, Rajesh Pilot and other YGLs from business, civil society and academia.
Malini continues to be involved with transboundary efforts in the region to build scientific, business, civil society, and people-to-people cooperation across the Indo-Pak and wider South Asian divide.
An advisor to the award-winning Middle Eastern environmental peacekeeping NGO, EcoPeace Middle East, she had initiated a YGL ‘Seeing is Believing’ tour to EcoPeace ME in Jordan to take practical inspiration for other regions in conflict (hot or cold) from their successful transboundary water management work in the Jordan River Basin, straddling Israel, Palestine and Jordan.
Malini’s work and commitment to reduce tension in the Indo-Pak/ South Asian region and constructively address mutual climate, water, food security and disaster risk continues.
A follow-up YGL Indo-Pak Climate Risk event will take place during LCAW 2022.