Elly Savatia: Mobilizing young changemakers through the SDGs in Kenya and Nigeria
By spreading knowledge of the SDGs Goals to young people, Elly and his team are equipping his generation with the mindset and skills to implement each goal for the good of all
Meagan Warren - Eliminating book deserts in schools and homes across Ohio
Meagan Warren found her power when she harnessed her love of reading to form a literary nonprofit organization that provides children’s books to young people across Ohio.
Allan van der Meulen - Harnessing blockchain technology as a tool for changemaking and youth development in South Africa
Young people don’t need permission to change the world. They do need supportive adult allies who can offer encouragement and guidance on their changemaking journeys. For Allan, his changemaking journey was catalyzed by a dedicated adult ally, Ashoka Fellow Marlon Parker, and his social venture,...
Peyton Klein - Creating a two-way stream of inclusion and cultural understanding
When new immigrant and refugee students started coming to her school, Peyton Klein saw the possibility for mutual learning and support.
#LeadYoung - Ximena Abogabir: "If you are deeply convinced that your child is a changemaker, he or she will become one"
As part two of this two-part LeadYoung series, Ashoka asks Ashoka Fellow Ximena Abogabir, mother to Ashoka Fellow Gonzalo Muñoz , about her childhood, her role as a mother and her philosophy for parenting Gonzalo and her two other changemaker children. Ximena Abogabir Ashoka Fellow since Feb 1995...
Bodkin Elementary School Embraces a Culture of Meaning
At Bodkin Elementary School in Maryland’s Chesapeake region, 10 and 11 year olds share what it means for them to be powerful today and #LeadYoung. Here, young people are learning how to navigate a world that is rapidly changing by following their passions and creating their own solutions to issues...
Sophia Andrews: Unleashing potential through a boundless love of dance
Sophia’s story demonstrates how she shared her love of ballet across cultural and geographic boundaries to increase and equalize access to the arts.
A common passion for changemaking unites two Brazilian teens from different backgrounds
Leonardo Silva Brito, from the remote state of Rondonia in the Amazonian region of Brazil, grew-up with a deep love of reading. His parents, both teachers, had made bedtime storytime so enticing that by the age of six, he was reading to his mom. He read all the books he could get his hands on. And...
#LeadYoung - How Kevin Ochi is Part of a Movement that is Transforming the Lives of 15,000 Young People in Argentina
Kevin spent his adolescence in an institution. Upon graduation, he realized that his experience could be useful to others. Together with his peers at Guía Egreso, a group of youth which arose from Doncel NGO, Kevin is transforming the lives of 15,000 young people from Argentina who, just like him,...
#LeadYoung - Jeroo Billimoria: a global movement that started with a simple gesture in her teens
A social entrepreneur known for building huge, global coalitions, Jeroo first started in Mumbai, working with street children. She gave them her private phone number in case of emergencies. Soon every night it was ringing. From that caring and then recognition of system need came Childline. Any...
#LeadYoung - Felipe Vergara: redefining access to education through a multi-million dollar financing innovation
For many young people around the world, paying for college tuition locks them into decades of debt. It forces them to forego purpose-oriented jobs like teaching because those salaries will not cover their loan payments. For those who can’t find employment or lose their jobs, their fixed loan...
#LeadYoung - Simon Stumpf on early changemaking: "In the world today, we will all be called upon to lead at some point"
Simon Stumpf, Director of Ashoka’s Fellow selection program in the U.S., shares how he seized his own opportunity to lead as pre-teen when family circumstances demanded and how he didn’t stop there. As a parent today facing a world of great change and challenges, he shares his thoughts on what it...
