Eirliani Abdul Rahman - Global Diplomacy Lab

Members

Dr. Eirliani Abdul Rahman holds a doctorate in public health from Harvard University where she was a Prajna Leadership and Julio FrenkDrPH Fellow. She is a co-founder of YAKIN (Youth, Adult Survivors & Kin In Need), an NGO working in the field of child rights and child protection issues. She was a member of Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council.

In September 2015, the #FullStop to #childsexualabuse campaign that Eirliani led on behalf of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi reached 16 million people over six weeks. She won the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Award the same year.

She is an award-winning author. She was lead editor of “The Demographic Dividend and the Power of Youth. Voices from the Global Diplomacy Lab”, a peer-reviewed compendium of essays on the demographic dividend (Anthem Press 2021). Eirliani also contributed a case study to the medical textbook Essentials of Global Health, co-edited by Babulal Sethia, Past President and Global Health Lead of the Royal Society of Medicine (Elsevier 2018). The book won first prize under the Public Health category in the 2019 British Medical Association book awards. She is co-author of “Survivors: Breaking the Silence on Child Sexual Abuse” (Marshall Cavendish 2017). Now in its third print run, the book won joint 2nd Prize at the inaugural Golden Doors Award in September 2020. She edited Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s book “Will for Children” (Prabhat Prakashan 2016).

Eirliani worked in Singapore’s Foreign Service from 2005 to 2015, serving in Berlin as First Secretary (Political) and then in Delhi as Political Counsellor. From June 2015 to November 2017 she was a member of the Advisory Council of the Global Diplomacy Lab. She is a Fellow of the London-based Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and a member of Chatham House.

A graduate of the London School of Economics and Warwick University, Eirliani was a British Council Pathfinder scholar. She speaks English, Malay and German fluently, and has rudimentary understanding of Arabic, French, Hindi, Mandarin and Russian.

Labs

Special function

EAC
Strategic Visionaries

Topics

Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, Gender Equality

Sectors

International Organisations, Private

Origin

Asia

Residence

North America

Further Engagements

Elected Advisory Council

Every year, two GDL members of the Advisory Council are elected online by members. All four elected members of the Advisory Council (EAC) work on a pro bono basis.

Eirliani is an active member of the Strategy Group of the GDL. She participated in the GDL Labs 1-5(c) & 10, 11.

She was Editor of the GDL Book published in 2021 “The Demographic Dividend and the Power of Youth. Voices from the Global Diplomacy Lab”.

More about Eirliani Abdul Rahman

Blog

Article

Foreign Policy – Better Fair Than Feminist?

Feminist foreign policy is an attempt of changing diplomacy, but in the perspective of GDL member Eirliani Abdul Rahman and co-author Jesse Bump the concept is too unclear and not inclusive enough. They propose a “fairer” approach.

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How to Stop Human Traffickers From Exploiting the War in Ukraine

With the invasion of Ukraine traffickers’ access to potential victims has increased exponentially, with three million Ukrainians – including more than one million children – having fled the country. GDL member Eirliani Abdul Rahman writes about the risk and how to help.

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A Disaster for Afghanistan’s Girls and Women

How can the international community improve the situation for girls and women under Taliban rule, asks Eirliani Abdul Rahman.

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“A Need for Collaboration Rather Than Competition”

GDL member Eirliani Abdul Rahman writes together with Suzanne Goodney Lea about why the challenges the world is facing are a chance to establish the “Diplomacy 4.0” model.

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Gender Alliance: The Feminist Manifesto

In the framework of the Gender Alliance, several GDL members initiate the articulation of the Feminist Manifesto. Take a look at the result of the cross-network collaboration!

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1 Million Species May Become Extinct and What You and I Can Do About It

Read about the danger our human footprint is posing for 1 million species and what we can do to reduce the burden on the nature which we are continuing to cause every day.

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Human Trafficking: The Dark Side of Migration

GDL member Eirliani Abdul Rahman writes about her impressions of the Lab on human trafficking in Nairobi in June 2018, organised by the Global Leadership Academy (GLAC) and the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF), and why the spirit of Gandhi could be felt throughout the entire event.

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United World Colleges – Making Education a Force for Peace and Sustainability

Eirliani Abdul Rahman recently joined the Community Engagement Committee (CEC) of the United World Colleges (UWC) International Board as a volunteer. Founded in 1962, the UWC is an educational movement.The objective is to help 16-19 year old students to develop resilience.

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“I Am Just Going Outside and May Be Some Time”

Eirliani Abdul Rahman is a diplomat turned activist. To raise awareness for survivors of sexual child abuse, she is setting out for an expedition to Antarctica in December. Eirliani is documenting her inner and outer struggles as she is preparing for this trip, pulling a sled with 200 pounds in food and gear, in temperatures dipping to minus 48° Celsius.