Papua New Guinean peacebuilding and disaster risk reduction practitioner Tony Tambi Jr has been selected as the only Papua New Guinean in the 2026–2027 Obama Foundation Leaders Asia-Pacific cohort.
Tambi Jr joins an international cohort of 35 emerging leaders from 19 nations and territories across the Asia-Pacific region. The cohort brings together leaders working across a range of issues, including the climate crisis, Indigenous rights and technology, and represents people working across civil society, government and the private sector.
For Papua New Guinea, the selection highlights the growing international recognition of work being undertaken at community level to address some of the country’s complex challenges, particularly tribal conflict, displacement, disaster risks and community resilience.
Tambi Jr is currently a Senior Project Associate in Peacebuilding and Disaster Risk Reduction with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Papua New Guinea, where he leads peacebuilding and disaster risk reduction initiatives aimed at strengthening community resilience.
According to his official Obama Foundation profile, Tambi Jr previously documented tribal conflict needs affecting approximately 30,000 households during his work with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), while his work with IOM has reached 15 conflict-affected communities. He has also supported more than 100 local leaders with early-warning systems and disaster preparedness skills to help communities mitigate the impacts of natural disasters.
His work has focused particularly on strengthening communities affected by tribal conflict and displacement by bringing together communities, local leaders and authorities through dialogue and participatory approaches.
The Obama Foundation describes Tambi Jr’s motivation as being shaped by early experiences with displacement and his belief that stability begins when marginalized communities are empowered to lead their own recovery. His approach seeks to connect immediate humanitarian assistance with longer-term resilience through community dialogue between rival clans and national authorities.
From the Highlands to an Asia-Pacific leadership platform
Tambi Jr’s selection follows several years of professional engagement in humanitarian response, peacebuilding, community development, disaster risk reduction and economic empowerment across Papua New Guinea.
Before joining IOM, he worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Highlands, where he was involved in documenting needs arising from tribal conflicts, displacement and other humanitarian challenges.
His current work with IOM has brought together peacebuilding and disaster risk reduction, with an emphasis on supporting communities to identify their own risks, priorities and solutions.
The Obama Foundation’s 2026–2027 Leaders Asia-Pacific program provides a regional platform for leaders from different sectors and countries to learn from one another, build relationships and strengthen their leadership practice. The Foundation said the new cohort would become part of its wider Obama Foundation community.
Tambi Jr will join a wider network of Asia-Pacific Obama Leaders. The Foundation states that the regional alumni community includes 375 Asia-Pacific Obama Leaders.
A second major international leadership opportunity
The Obama Foundation selection is not Tambi Jr’s first international leadership fellowship.
He was previously selected for the 2024–2025 Young Pacific Leaders Professional Fellows Program (YPL PFP), implemented by Cultural Vistas in partnership with the U.S. Department of State.
Cultural Vistas announced Tambi Jr as one of the selected Pacific fellows in October 2024. His listed professional interests included microeconomic initiatives, community engagement, entrepreneurship and sustainable development.
The YPL Professional Fellows Program is designed to strengthen leadership and professional skills and build partnerships between emerging leaders from Pacific countries and the United States. Fellows undertake professional exchanges and develop networks that can support follow-on activities in their home communities and organisations.
Although Tambi Jr was selected for the U.S.-based fellowship opportunity, his work commitments prevented him from undertaking the planned travel. He remains a YPL and Cultural Vistas alumnus.
He was also selected as the first ever young leader for the Global Peace Chain 2025 Peace Summit in Sydney, Australia in June last year as well representing PNG as a Peace Advocate.
Bringing international experience back to PNG
Tambi Jr’s latest selection comes at a time when peacebuilding, disaster preparedness and community resilience remain important issues for communities across Papua New Guinea.
Through his current work in Enga Province, he has been involved in initiatives that place communities at the centre of identifying conflict risks, disaster hazards, development priorities and locally appropriate solutions.
His participation in the Obama Foundation Leaders Asia-Pacific program will provide an opportunity to connect these experiences from Papua New Guinea with the experiences of other leaders across the region.
For a country facing complex challenges associated with tribal conflict, natural disasters, displacement and limited access to services in remote communities, the selection also provides an international platform for a Papua New Guinean practitioner whose work is grounded in community-level peacebuilding and resilience.
Tambi Jr’s journey from working with communities in the Papua New Guinea Highlands to becoming the country’s sole representative in the 2026–2027 Obama Foundation Leaders Asia-Pacific cohort reflects a professional path centred on one principle: empowering communities to participate in building their own safer, more peaceful and resilient future.
The 2026–2027 Leaders Asia-Pacific program has formally welcomed its 35-member cohort, beginning a regional leadership journey that brings together practitioners working across diverse challenges and sectors.