UNO Center for Afghanistan and Regional Studies

YSALI Alumni Stories. We are honored to be part of the lives of young leaders in South Asia through our work implementing the Young South Asian Leaders Initiative which is sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Many more impactful stories to come!

YSALI Alumni Impact: Youth-Led Action for Change in South Asia This article highlights seven alumni who attended the Young South Asian Leaders Initiative (YSALI) workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka in August 2025.

Our alumni continue to lead with purpose, serve their communities, and turn ideas into impact every day. Their dedication reflects the true spirit of YSALI in action.

YSALI Alumni Impact: Empowering 350+ Students Career Counseling News article about a YSALI alumni's project to help his community in Multan, Pakistan.

Statement from the Center for Afghanistan and Regional Studies
On the Passing of Professor Abdul Salam Azimi (1936–2026)

The Center for Afghanistan and Regional Studies (CARS) mourns the passing of Professor Abdul Salam Azimi, a distinguished Afghan jurist, academic leader, and humanitarian, who died this week at the age of 90.

Professor Azimi maintained a long and meaningful relationship with the Center for Afghanistan and Regional Studies. Following the establishment of the University of Nebraska at Omaha–Kabul University sister-university relationship in 1975, he visited Omaha in 1978 while serving as Vice Chancellor of Kabul University. During this visit, Professor Azimi played a foundational role in strengthening what became the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s first sister-university partnership. This initiative reflected his early and enduring commitment to academic diplomacy, international collaboration, and the strengthening of Afghanistan’s higher education institutions through global partnerships.

In later years, Professor Azimi served as the head and senior advisor for multiple Afghanistan-focused projects affiliated with the Center for Afghanistan and Regional Studies. Through these efforts, he contributed his deep expertise in law, governance, and education, helping to advance research, dialogue, and practical initiatives aimed at Afghanistan’s institutional development.

Professor Azimi was widely respected for his service as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan (2006–2014) and for his involvement in post-2001 constitutional and judicial reform. His career bridged academia, public service, and legal institution-building, and he was consistently recognized as a principled advocate for the rule of law, judicial integrity, and constitutional governance.

Beyond formal institutions, Professor Azimi was deeply committed to supporting Afghan refugee communities, particularly through projects focused on schools and educational access for displaced Afghan children and youth. He viewed education not only as a humanitarian necessity but as a long-term investment in social stability, dignity, and national recovery.

The Center for Afghanistan and Regional Studies honors Professor Azimi’s enduring legacy as a builder of institutions, a bridge between Afghanistan, UNO, and the international academic community, and a lifelong servant of the Afghan people. His contributions will continue to resonate through the partnerships he helped establish, the projects he led, and the lives he touched.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family, colleagues, and all those who had the privilege of working with him.

Proud to see the Young South Asian Leaders Initiative (YSALI), hosted in partnership by UNO’s Center for Afghanistan & Regional Studies and the East-West Center, convene its second regional workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Nov 3–5, 2025).

Nearly 90 emerging leaders from across South Asia, representing Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, came together for three days of expert panels, breakout sessions, peer leadership circles, site visits, and micro-discovery workshops.
University of Nebraska Omaha.

The workshop emphasized on civic participation, entrepreneurship.

Participants also exchanged ideas, strengthened regional networks, and committed to developing action plans for their home communities, with future support through small grants.
University of Nebraska Omaha

This initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of State is more than a dialogue: it’s about building lasting impact and collaboration across nations.

Young South Asian Leaders Initiative (YSALI) Regional Workshop YSALI regional workshops gather emerging leaders from across South Asia alongside local experts for an inspiring three-day program of training, dialogue, collaboration, and networking.

UNO’s annual day of giving — Wear Black, Give Back is happening now!

This year, UNO International Programs is rallying support for these three areas:

✈️ Study Abroad — help Mavericks go global.
🌎 International Students — create new and sustain existing opportunities.
📚 Center for Afghanistan Studies — sustain education and peacebuilding.

Support International Programs | Wear Black, Give Back: UNO Giving Day 2025 I’m ready to support International Programs on October 8, 2025 during Wear Black, Give Back: UNO Giving Day 2025. Learn more about International Programs and all the other areas participating in Wear Black, Give Back: UNO Giving Day 2025.

Glad to have completed our first regional workshop with young leaders from South Asia. A truly inspiring project.

Young South Asian Leaders Initiative First Workshop in Sri Lanka News article about the first workshop for the Young South Asian Leaders Initiative (YSALI) held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in August of 2025.

Alumni Stories:

The Green Voices of Change: Women Leading Sustainability in Pakistan Catch up with one of the alumni from UNO’s Next Generation of Female Environmentalists project, Mahrukh Zahir, whose journey bridges the worlds of environmental sustainability, education, and performance art.

We are excited to announce Afghan Refugee School Impact Course. A professional Development Course for schoolteachers who work with refugees and immigrants not only from Afghanistan but from other countries.

UNO, East-West Center Launch Young South Asian Leaders Initiative During UN General Assembly Meetings.

UNO, East-West Center Launch Young South Asian Leaders Initiative During UN General Assembly Meetings UNO’s International Programs received a $2.65 million, 36-month grant to implement the initiative along with the East-West Center in Hawaii (EWC).

The Center for Afghanistan Studies in partnership with Nebraska Department of Education started a wonderful project to train a number of Nebraska teachers on Afghan culture. It will help Nebraska teachers to understand their Afghan students and be equipped with cultural understanding, context and know about the trauma the Afghan students have gone through. Nebraska teachers will be better equipped with the knowledge and skills of how they can help their Afghan students become better students and productive members of their new American society. If other states with larger Afghan student population are interested, please contact us for more information and how we can help. [email protected]