Social Impact of the Year 2000

Tamara Dewi Gondo is the CEO of Liberty Society, a social enterprise that manufactures and sells eco-friendly business-to-business merchandise to fund the upskilling of marginalised women in Indonesia. With its tailoring and entrepreneurship training, the organisation has empowered 200 refugee women living in Indonesia by developing their skills and their fashion education.Liberty Society has also worked with more than 100 companies, including global brands Samsung, Ikea, and H&M, as part of the organisation. In 2021, Liberty Society received the United Nations Women Indonesia’s Women Empowerment Principles Award and was in the top four in the World’s Youth Ecopreneur Award.

"Young people are not the leaders of tomorrow - they are the leaders of TODAY." This is what I aim to embody as an argent youth, health advocate and a medical student.Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the entire world saw the devastating effects of a lack of health preparedness in the community. I realized that to circumvent future health issues, health education needs to be integrated into our life at a young age - creating a more health-engaged next generation. Thus, I set out on a mission to create change. Now, at the age of 22 years old, I am the CEO and Founder of Body Buddies, an official, globally recognised social enterprise that sells soft toys in the shapes of organs to promote health to youth. Body Buddies is an initiative with a strong educational and philanthropic mission. They donate 50% of profits to Transplant Australia, their partner charity. More than the toys itself, I wanted to ensure that education was at the heart of every endeavor and product created by Body Buddies. Thus, the toys all come with a complimentary educational booklet. These booklets are curated by our unique and renowned team of over 30 medical professionals across Victoria. Less than 2 years out from initiation, Body Buddies has received critical acclaim. Body Buddies won 7 News Young Achiever Vic Award and the New Retail Business 2022. Moreover, it has sold over 6000 products from both in person events/stands and via its eCommerce platform and raised over $15,000 for Transplant Australia. Moreover, Body Buddies has received praise from the medical community. It is now available in person in several pharmacies, medical centres across Victoria as well as in large state hospitals: Austin Hospital and Sunshine Hospital. Body Buddies use their resources to conduct successful social justice campaigns including the “Break the Stigma” social media campaign.Over the years, I was also awarded the City of Melbourne Young Melburnian of the Year 2020, 40 Under 40 Most Influential Australian Asians 2020, Multicultural Award of Excellence by the Victorian Government 2020. Body Buddies also won the 7 News Young Achievers Award and Australian Small Business Champion New Retail Business Award 2022. I was also crowned as a ‘Covid Hero’ in 2020 and my photo was displayed on the State Library of Victoria during the Melbourne Christmas Festival.But more than the awards, I am truly grateful for the impact I could have so far as a young leader. Another incredibly proud moment for me was when I was appointed as a Board Member on the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. I am the youngest Australian selected for a governmental board in history. I am also the only ethnic representation and first Indian to sit on this education board. VCAA’s headquarters not only exists in Melbourne, but their curriculum dictates education across the entire state of Victoria. Every Victorian school and all their students are encompassed by this governmental body. So, my achievement has had a direct impact on all Victorian Youth. My position was nationally recognised when I was displayed on the front-page article of “The Age” newspaper! More than this, I enjoy meeting new people and represnting my country on an international scale. I have spolen on panels at national conferences (National Youth Futures Summit 2022/2021), attended the Youth Assembly 2020 in New York, attending the GenGeo International Conference by National Geographic 2020. Not only did I aim to support all Victorian students and ensure equal access to adequate education during the pandemic, i also directly reached out to the south Asian community. I conducted several interviews with SBS Punjabi (https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/first-student-rep-in-curriculum-body-to-push-for-global-issues-in-education), SBS Hindi (https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/victorian-curriculum-and-assessment-authority-will-support-final-year-students) and A1 TV Channels and Radios in order to raise awareness about the impacts of covid19 on the education system. And last but not least - I am a passionate academic currently completing a Doctor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. I hope to continue helping people in my life through every aspect of my career.

At 17, Akarsh Shroff founded YuvaSpark, a child-welfare and education-focused nonprofit. Today, they have introduced digital education to 1000 teachers in over 600 Early Childhood Education Centres (Anganwadis) in villages all across rural India. During the COVID19 crisis, they provided food & rations, and oxygen masks & sanitisers to 11,000+ migrant daily-wage workers' families with children. With a team of over 700 volunteers, they have coordinated 30,000 volunteering hours and impacted 300,000 people across 10 states. Akarsh's work has been acknowledged in the United Nations V-Award, Diana Award and by the Government of India.

Anastasiia Lapatina is a reporter for The Kyiv Independent. They have written about the horrific events during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, filing stories about bombings, hospitals in towns occupied by Russian soldiers, and cyberattacks. The 21-year-old undergrad has leveraged their social media following of over 600,000 users to advocate for change and has written op-eds for The Guardian and The New York Times, including a piece about the refugee crisis on the Poland-Ukraine.

Coming from a small village in my country, I have never had the privilege to have access to what the majority of the students from all bigger cities have. I can't forget those days like when I was in grade 10 I lost my grandfather, then back again I lost my grandmother as well when I was about to give my final grade 11 exams. Since my father had to leave outside to fulfil our necessities, all the responsibilities are on my shoulders, and I am leading my family over here which affects my academics a lot. Later on, when I was in grade 12 before the main board examinations I got dengue that affects my whole mental health and I have been in bed rest for at least two months. This affects my final senior year grades. Hence, I could not get into a good college in the end to study. At that time, COVID-19 had spread all over India. I have decided this is the time when I need to change things and make my life better and secure my future. I have started searching Google. Then, I learned the English language for free and found many non-profit organisations across the globe. Gradually, I have started building the skills and knowledge that I have been always looking for to explore things. It took me almost 3-4 months to transform myself 360 degrees and start a new life. It was March month 2022 till that day I was able to build a bigger network. Since that time I have fully matured and know to understand the situation of society. I have started to realise that people like me who are living in smaller towns don't have access to the quality of education, this is not the problem facing me, instead, there are thousands of students who are facing this problem.I have decided to take an initiative over here and have created my organisation called Opportunities Platform. I have started collaborating with other organisations across the globe and finding opportunities that can be helpful for everyone to learn and build a new skill for free. That's how my journey started so far and still, it's going on. It's been almost 9 months since the Opportunities Platform started, and I have been able to reach these certain numbers.* Have reached 62+ Countries and shared our opportunities with the students.*Has been supported by more than 40 non-profit organisations across the globe at present.* I have helped 2500+ students by finding out their interest-based opportunities and making their life easier to learn.*Created a telegram community where more than 500 students all over the world have joined and are taking advantage of our opportunities. *I also have created a personalised app group like study abroad to help students with college admissions.There are many things to talk about since I don't have that word limit to share over here. But, if you wanted to know more about my impact and success. I consider my biggest success to be bringing a smile to someone's sad face and receiving their positive blessings. That is one of the biggest achievements in my life rather than any awards.My organization:https://www.instagram.com/opportunities_platform/

Derin has always wanted to “be the change”, but after realising that she had to be over 18 to contribute to an NGO, she took matters into her own hands and set up her own. As the founder of Turkey’s biggest NGO for high schoolers ‘Liseli Gonulluler’; Derin has brought together 3500+ students who, regardless of their age, can participate in social responsibility projects, contribute to the 17 sustainable development goals, create change, and build on this platform where they can all create a positive impact on a common agenda.

Whether speaking at global conferences or designing innovative programmes, Eden is unyielding in her commitment to serve others. In response to Africa’s worst refugee crisis, Eden founded ‘Invicta’, an award-winning, tech-enabled, social impact platform that helps refugees and internally displaced people find opportunities for remote work, skills development, mental health counselling, digital education, and entrepreneurship. So far, ‘Invicta’ has enrolled 29,000 refugees and internally displaced youth in more than 80 countries. Through this and other impact ventures, Eden works relentlessly to educate, enable, and empower young people. She is also an award-winning journalist, digital innovator, and activist. She is passionate about economic justice, refugee empowerment, gender equality, digital rights, and financial inclusion.

I am the Director of Community Building at Yours Mindfully, a youth-led non-profit on a mission to make mental health resources accessible to 1 million young people by 2030. I worked closely with psychology advisors to conceptualize and design Listening Circles - weekly safe space meetups where young people can explore their emotions and support each other on their mental health journeys. I lead the community building team that has been organizing listening circles virtually over the last year. 50+ young people (aged 15-24) have attended these circles with 98% of the participants finding the listening circles safe, 85% attesting to have had a meaningful conversation and 75% coming back to subsequent sessions. Now I am working with my team to design Listening Circle fellowships that empower young people to build on-ground listening circles within their own communities. Through this initiative I am positive that we will be able to 10X our impact over the next few years. In addition, I worked with the Yours Mindfully team to organize Synapse, the first-of-its-kind mental health ideathon challenge. This challenge witnessed a participation of 200+ young people globally who in teams of 3-4 members ideated solutions for existing mental health challenges across 5 days. We partnered with organizations like Force of Nature I was in charge of outreach and publicity for the event.

Grace founded ‘The Mini Moon Project’ in 2019 when she discovered a friend of hers had to resort to taking sanitary pads from their church because the orphanage where she lived couldn’t provide enough to go around. ‘The Mini Moon Project’ works through advocacy and action – by advocating and fundraising for the cause, Grace then takes action to purchase menstrual kits to distribute to orphanages and educate young girls about their own bodies and menstruation. As of 2022, she has supported over a thousand girls with menstrual kits in six countries: South Korea, South Africa, Kenya, Thailand, Laos, and India, and distributed 3,000 packs of educational materials.

When citylife froze amid Covid-19 lockdowns in April 2021, Hao Taing spent what was supposed to be a family visit to organize charity drives to help the hungry and jobless across Phnom Penh. His first initiative, Local4Local, reportedly raised more than $65,000 to employ out-of-work food vendors and deliver meals in the nine most severe months of the Covid-19 outbreak. After the lockdown, he reshaped the program into the Cyclo Food Pantry, employing the iconic bike drivers who are struggling amid tourism shocks. Now back studying in the U.S., Taing still directs the Cyclo Pantry and mentors youth through UNICEF's Generation Future program.

Heela Yoon is the Founder of Afghan Youth Ambassadors for Peace Organization (AYAPO), a grassroots NGO working in the Eastern provinces of Afghanistan focusing on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, as well as local peacebuilding. Through AYAPO, Heela has trained nearly 100 young girls in Nangarhar, Laghman, and Kabul on gender equality, leadership, and how to act as first responders to humanitarian crises. With her NGO, she has engaged with religious and tribal leaders through community peacebuilding dialogues in the Eastern zone to advocate for Afghan girls’ education.

In recent years, the isolation and pressures of the pandemic have exacerbated gender-based violence and economic vulnerability for women and girls. As a young woman who has witnessed the devastating impact of gender-based violence, Imane founded ‘Concealed Narratives’ – a local youth-led initiative using storytelling and digital advocacy to raise awareness around gender-based violence, promote mental, sexual, and reproductive health and rights, empower women and girls, and amplify marginalised voices in Morocco. Since its launch a year ago, ‘Concealed Narratives’ has reached 7,500 women and girls through various social media campaigns and events that serve as safe spaces for women and girls.