The passionate under-secretary who inspires youths and creates change. Mahendra Prasad Paudyal is the undersecretary for the Ministry of Youth and Sport in Singhadurbar, Kathmandu. His colleagues know him as someone who places integrity and accountability at the centre of his work with youths. When working as district education officer, Mahendra introduced software which recorded both the income and expenditure of public schools automatically to stop education funding being misspent. Mahendra also creates opportunities for youth to mobilise around national issues, for example – after the 2015 earthquakes, he gathered over 10,000 youths who contributed to relief projects such as building temporary classrooms. He understands the importance of accountability and passing on these values to the next generation.
