Meet the young people leading us forward

How eight young changemakers are solving social problems during our global crisis, from Brazil to Bangladesh.

Media narratives often portray the younger generation as self-absorbed and indifferent — and COVID-19 coverage is no exception. We’ve seen reports focus on young people who refused to take the crisis and stay-at-home orders seriously. But this isn’t the full story.

The reality: young people aren’t the problem — they’re at the center of solutions. Not only are millions of young people embracing social responsibility by staying at home right now, we’re seeing many hard at work solving challenges in their communities.

From addressing mental health, to economic inequality, to online education, young changemakers are taking action during our current crisis while shaping our planet’s future. Here’s how.

Supporting mental health

Siblings Hannah and Charlie launched a mental health app — the NotOK app — to take the guesswork out of asking for help. The app immediately texts trusted contacts, like a sibling or a friend, when a user activates the “NotOK” alert.

Now, in a time of social isolation, NotOK is an outlet for social solidarity. Today Charlie and Hannah are updating their tool so that young people can indicate when they’re feeling anxiety build up. Trusted contacts can respond before a crisis occurs — and if there’s no response in 2–3 minutes, a local WARM crisis line will check if they’re okay.

With graduations and special events cancelled due to the pandemic, Hannah and Charlie are also launching a “virtual prom” called “WE ARE WELL” on Instagram live for the Class of 2020. The goal: lift spirits through music, dancing and fun — while also giving $20,000 in grants to help students with school fees, tuition, books, and costs for counseling services.

Adapting the library

At age 10, Rere opened a community library inside her home — which she calls a “multiliteracy center” — to create a positive culture of self-expression through creative writing in Magelang, Indonesia. Although she’s been forced to close the doors due to COVID-19, Rere is opening new doors for students to read, learn, and connect from home.

A few weeks ago, she sent students in her community home with hundreds of books. She and her team launched an online book club through Zoom to read and discuss the books together — filling in the gaps from limited online schooling while deepening students’ love for literature.

Telling stories about solutions

In Osha, India, Naisargik is working to counteract environmental degradation with storytelling and scientific research. Through stories, he illustrates the lived experiences of farmers dealing with the effects of climate change — like pollution — while experimenting with agricultural innovation.

Now, in response to the lack of positive news stories, Naisargik launched a Changemaker Magazine with seven friends to showcase the stories of young people across India responding to the coronavirus crisis. Post-pandemic, the team plans to continue the effort, telling the stories of resilience and rebuilding.

Mapping and mobilizing relief efforts

Felipe works to revitalize public spaces in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to beautify his community and reclaim his city. As a community leader, Felipe jumped into action to combat food insecurity caused by the recent spike in unemployment.

On day one, Felipe and his peers mapped 37 households with 5+ members in need. The number nearly doubled overnight. They coordinated continuous food donation and emergency relief drives with local and international nonprofits. Now the team supports over 200 families with regular food baskets and hope to expand efforts through more partnerships.

Digital workshops for resilience

Sisters Shreya and Sahana started Foundation for Girls to encourage economic mobility and independence for young girls, especially those in less stable living situations. From financial wellness to personal health, they equip participants with the confidence, network, and toolkit to drive their future. Last fall, they launched their first virtual program to ensure girls in crisis or single mothers could participate without worrying about childcare or transportation.

Equipped with laptops from a corporate sponsor, today all workshops, like professional certification test prep, tutoring sessions, and leadership trainings are held virtually. The team is also distributing care packages during well-visits with girls in their network (while practicing social distancing). The sisters say their peer community and professional support systems are important now more than ever to build collective resilience in a time of uncertainty.

Looking local

In the Nordics, Anton and his peers wanted to provide young people a platform to solve local challenges during COVID-19. So they started a Facebook group to connect people in different risk groups in self-isolation with people willing to offer help for daily tasks — from grocery shopping to dog walking.

Since then, the team launched Coronahjälpen (“corona help” in English) as a digital convening space to broadcast different initiatives to help those affected by COVID-19. From tutoring to providing meals for hospital staff, the team aspires to activate other young people to step up and find simple solutions for daily challenges.

Distributing essential hygiene products

In Bangalore, Sanjana and her venture, RutuChakra, are converting stigma into dignity by offering women across India knowledge and resources to practice safe menstrual hygiene.

Continuing their work in the age of COVID-19 has been a challenge, especially since many manufacturers are shut down and it’s extremely difficult to coordinate deliveries. While in lockdown, the team leveraged their connections with menstrual product manufacturers and organizations with curfew passes in order to continue funding and delivering products.

Leading Earth Day virtually

Katie, a movement-builder in the U.S., is shaping the youth voice and action around the climate crisis, gun violence in schools, and voting rights. Looking ahead, stay at home orders prevent hundreds of thousands of young people from participating in multi-national protests around the climate crisis.

Instead, on April 22–24, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, millions are going online for three days of digital strikes mobilization teach-ins, musical performances, voter registration drives, and more to stop the climate emergency (check it out here). Together, hundreds of youth-led organizations and young activists are defining what it looks like to lead a global movement for the physical environment in our digital environment.

Everyone a Changemaker

All of these stories remind us that we all have an important role to play right now — regardless of age or where we live.

For adults, this includes creating space for young people to lead. And for young people, it could mean discovering how you and your friends can support your community — whether it’s speaking up about injustice, helping neighbors get food and supplies, or organizing a group of friends to tutor younger students online.

There’s always an opportunity to step up — in times of crisis and every day.

Ashoka LeadYoung is a global initiative to change the narrative on what it means to be a young person in today’s world through storytelling. Our collection of stories shine a light on changemakers who have led at a young age. Subscribe to our newsletter for more inspiring stories and activities to spark action.