LAHORE: Pakistani environment lawyer and activist Ahmad Rafay Alam has been named a 2014 Yale World Fellow. It was announced by Yale University President Peter Salovey.

Mr Alam is among 16 Yale Fellows selected in 2014 from a pool of about 4,000 applicants, says a press release issued here on Tuesday.

The Yale World Fellows Programme is the university’s signature global leadership development initiative. Each year, the varsity invites a group of exemplary mid-career professionals from a wide range of fields and countries for an intensive four-month period of academic enrichment and leadership training.

As a lawyer-activist, Mr Alam has argued a number of pro-bono public interest cases. He also teaches environmental law. He currently serves as Punjab Environment Protection Council member and is on the Board of Directors of the Lahore Waste Management Company.

Apart from Mr Alam, the 2014 group includes an Italian robotics engineer, an award-winning Indian actress and director, a Syrian peace activist and 12 other multitalented, global leaders. This year's cohort brings the total number of World Fellows since the programme's inception in 2002 to 257, representing 83 countries.

Yale President Peter Salovey said: “It is a privilege to welcome these impressive leaders to campus.”