Kathmandu Mayor Named in TIME100 Next 2023 List

Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah has been recognized as one of the emerging leaders shaping the world in TIME Magazine’s prestigious TIME100 Next list for 2023. This year’s list features dynamic individuals from various fields, including health, climate, business, sports, and the arts, who are actively crafting innovative solutions to address pressing global challenges.

TIME Magazine introduced the TIME100 Next list in 2019 as part of its evolving storytelling approach alongside the traditional Person of the Year and TIME100 lists.

In his TIME Magazine profile, Shah, a 33-year-old with a master’s degree in structural engineering, is highlighted for his independent mayoral campaign that leveraged social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram to galvanize voter discontent with the existing political landscape. This campaign, known as the “Balen effect,” led to the victory of 385 independent candidates over established politicians. In local elections held on May 13 last year, Shah secured 61,767 votes, outpacing his closest rival by 23,426 votes.

The magazine’s profile also acknowledges Shah’s campaign promises, which included improved waste disposal and sanitation, access to safe drinking water, clean roads, and the preservation of cultural heritage alongside urban development in a city still recovering from a devastating earthquake in 2015.

However, TIME Magazine notes that Shah’s efforts to fulfill these promises have faced scrutiny, particularly concerning their impact on the city’s impoverished residents and the demolition of buildings considered illegal. Shah has also signed agreements to utilize landfill sites and has announced plans for the separate disposal of nondegradable waste.

The TIME100 Next 2023 list features other notable individuals, including astronaut Victor Glover, who will be part of the Artemis II mission, becoming the first person of color to journey to the moon’s far side. Additional honorees include Roberta Metsola, the youngest-ever president of the European Parliament; environmental justice advocate EPA Administrator Michael Regan; Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf, the first South Asian leader of Scotland and the first Muslim leader in a Western democracy; First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko; and Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur, among others.

The magazine plans to host an event in New York City in October to celebrate the individuals listed in the TIME100 Next for 2023.