Once a young person has had a dream, built a team, and changed his or her world, he or she has the power to express love and respect in action–the heart of what brings health, longevity, and happiness. He or she will be a changemaker for life. . . a real contributor in a world where value increasingly comes from changemaking and not, as it has for millennia, from efficiency in repetition.

– Bill Drayton, Founder and CEO, Ashoka

 

The rate of change is accelerating exponentially. The new game is change. But young people are not being equipped with the tools to thrive in disruptive change. They continue on an assembly line designed to get them to adopt vocations which are now phasing out- a vestige of the past. Today’s society needs for everyone to be a changemaker.  It needs every young person, parent, and educator to grasp that a new learning framework is needed for navigating the changemaker world successfully.  They need a new set of competencies: empathy, co-creative teamwork, a new leadership style where everyone is empowered to lead, and changemaking for the good of all. To master these competencies takes practice from a young age. 
 
The collection of stories below shine a light on great changemakers who have led young and practiced early changemaking.  The stories demonstrate the factors --guidance from parents, teachers, peers and others-- that helped them begin their changemaking journey as a teen and how the #LeadYoung experience set them up for success in the new paradigm of an everyone a changemaker world. Learn more about how to get involved in LeadYoung.

 

Stories from North America

From March for Our Lives to the Global Climate Strike, young changemakers are leading some of today's biggest social movements in the United States. These young changemakers exemplify the idea that young people do not need permission to change their world.
40 stories

Stories from Latin America

Young people across Latin America are rising up for the environment, human rights, economic prosperity, and social equality. From Mexico to Brazil, Argentina to Colombia, changemakers are everywhere.
16 stories

Stories from India

From promoting financial literacy to developing apps for mental health, young people across India are paving the way for a more inclusive, healthier, and happier future.
50 stories

Stories from Europe

From the UK to Romania, Italy to Norway, young people are driving social change across Europe. Read, watch, and learn from the stories of changemakers to learn about their unique journeys, challenges, and lessons learned along the way.
12 stories

Stories from Ashoka Entrepreneurs

Ashoka is a team of people working together to advance a world in which everyone is a changemaker. Our relentless, committed, and global team is also a community of changemakers, each with our own ever-evolving changemaking journey. 

14 stories

Resources for Storytelling

Check out these toolkits and activity guides for viewing, creating, and sharing stories of young changemakers. These stories are to inspire you and your community to adopt and spread the contagious power of changemaking.
4 stories