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How many people were impacted? And who were they? Through his work with The Legacy Project, he has supported over 1,000 students each year from low socio-economic backgrounds — many of whom are first-generation university applicants or come from communities historically underrepresented in higher education and professional careers. These students are ambitious, capable, and full of potential — they simply need access to the guidance, opportunities, and networks that others often take for granted.  How were they supported? He founded The Legacy Project during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, initially offering virtual advice clinics, application support, and mentoring to students facing uncertainty. Since then, the programme has grown into a comprehensive, year-round initiative offering:  One-to-one mentoring  Personal statement and university application guidance  Academic and skills-based workshops  University and corporate insight visits  Partnerships with schools for in-depth, long-term support  Crucially, all services are provided completely free of charge, ensuring that financial barriers never stand in the way of opportunity.  How much money did he raise? In the early stages, he raised over £10,000 through crowdfunding, all of which was directly reinvested into student-facing initiatives. As the project grew, he went on to secure grant funding that has allowed the organisation to expand its reach, scale its enrichment programmes, and build new partnerships with schools and employers — while keeping every service free for students and schools.  What does this mean for the people he works with? The outcomes speak for themselves: hundreds of students have gone on to secure places at Russell Group universities, competitive apprenticeships, and meaningful employment. But the true impact runs deeper.  Many of the young people supported by The Legacy Project come from difficult or unstable backgrounds, where aspirations are often limited by circumstance. The project doesn't just offer opportunities — it builds belief. It helps students develop the confidence, mindset, and resilience to see their potential and go after it.  For many, it’s a transformative experience. And the cycle doesn’t stop there — a growing number of alumni return to volunteer with the organisation, mentoring the next generation and creating a powerful ripple effect of aspiration and support.  Case study In its early years, he launched a year-long enrichment programme in partnership with local schools. The programme offered ongoing mentoring, skills development workshops, and access to universities and professional environments.  The pilot cohort saw exceptional results:  100% of participants said they would recommend the programme  All reported that it significantly influenced their post-college decisions and outcomes  Many progressed to top universities, apprenticeships, or early careers — and some returned as mentors  The success of this pilot has shaped the programme's ongoing structure and affirmed the power of consistent, long-term intervention for young people from underrepresented backgrounds.  Recognition As someone from a similar background to the students he supports, he brings authenticity, empathy, and lived experience to the work. In recognition of his impact, he has been awarded both the Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award and The Diana Award (2023) — honours that reflect not only the reach of his work, but the meaningful, lasting difference it has made in the lives of young people across the UK.

Impact Scope: Sylvester Weekes has positively impacted over 10,000 individuals in Sierra Leone through his work with Operation 232. The individuals reached primarily include youth, women, and marginalized communities in urban areas like Freetown, where access to information and resources regarding climate change and plastic pollution is severely limited.  Support Mechanism: Sylvester has uplifted these communities through a range of initiatives. He has launched awareness campaigns on the dangers of plastic pollution and improper waste disposal, created local recycling projects, and established the Environmental Club in schools, fostering student engagement in sustainability. Through Operation 232, he has introduced eco-friendly innovations, such as the production of reusable shopping bags from recycled plastics, providing both environmental and economic benefits.  Funding and Resources: Under Sylvester's leadership, Operation 232 has successfully mobilized $150,000 through partnerships with NGOs, local businesses, and grants aimed at environmental sustainability. Significant collaborations have been formed with local schools and community leaders, which have enhanced the scope and depth of the initiatives.  Significance: Sylvester's work has led to a notable improvement in the quality of life for community members. By educating the public on proper waste management and the importance of recycling, he empowers individuals with knowledge and skills that foster environmental responsibility. The initiatives have created greater awareness and resources, leading to systemic change within waste management practices in Freetown.  Case Study: One notable success story involves a local high school, where Sylvester launched the Environmental Club. Through workshops and activities, students learned about climate change, plastic pollution, and sustainable practices. One student, Fatima, took this knowledge back to her community, organizing a local cleanup effort. This initiative brought together over 200 community members, resulting in a cleaner environment and heightened awareness regarding waste management. This transformation not only changed Fatima's perspective but also inspired others in her community to engage in sustainable practices, showcasing the ripple effect of Sylvester’s leadership.   Overall, Sylvester Weekes stands out as a leader committed to creating meaningful change, and his recognition on the Future Minds Under 25 list would highlight the impact of his initiatives on the next generation.

Anjani Sharma is not just a leader—she is a movement. As the Founder and Executive Director of Minds Without Borders, Anjani has mobilized over 2,000 youth across 10+ countries, from the slums of Mumbai and Nairobi to underserved classrooms in the United States, equipping them with the tools to advocate for their mental health, access equitable education, and lead sustainable change within their own communities.  Through a blend of grassroots action and high-level policy advocacy, Anjani has built a global youth-led ecosystem focused on dismantling the stigma around mental health and closing the access gap for marginalized populations. Her nonprofit has raised over $27,000 to fund multilingual educational toolkits, trauma-informed peer support systems, and capacity-building programs for young leaders in under-resourced areas.  In the slums of Dharavi, India, Anjani launched a chapter of Minds Without Borders that brought trauma-informed curriculum and safe space programming to over 300 children—many of whom had never had access to mental health education before. By partnering with local schools and community leaders, she ensured cultural relevance and long-term sustainability. Youth in these areas didn’t just receive help—they became trained peer educators, sparking a domino effect of advocacy and empowerment.  Anjani’s work is not confined to the grassroots. She has lobbied for mental health and healthcare equity bills in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., helping author and advocate for legislative initiatives aimed at increasing access to mental health resources in schools and communities. She’s met with members of Congress and state lawmakers, bringing real stories from her international work to the policy table. Her advocacy directly contributed to statewide dialogue around youth crisis services and culturally competent care in Florida.  As a University of Florida Student Senator, representing over 50,000 students, Anjani successfully campaigned for increased funding for mental health programs on campus and helped launch initiatives focused on minority and immigrant student wellness. She’s also trained dozens of young advocates through workshops, digital fellowships, and storytelling campaigns—scaling her impact by empowering others to lead.  Case Study: In Nigeria, Anjani collaborated with local educators in Abuja to deliver mental health literacy programs to over 150 students. One participant, a 16-year-old boy dealing with the loss of his mother and navigating PTSD, later became a peer educator through Anjani’s mentorship. He now runs monthly mental health meetups in his school and recently presented at a regional youth forum—demonstrating how Anjani’s model turns beneficiaries into changemakers.  Her work represents a future where youth-led, culturally rooted, and policy-informed solutions are the norm—not the exception. Anjani Sharma belongs on the Future Minds Under 25 list because she is not waiting for permission to change the world. She already is.

My work has mostly been in impacting literacy development and 21st-century skills training. It spans both school-level initiatives and broader community-driven projects, shaping the future of education for marginalized students.  Through the Drop All and Read (DAR) program, I spearheaded a school-wide literacy initiative that engaged over 300 students and staff, embedding reading culture across subjects. Additionally, my recent project 5IReady Academy Phase 1 workshops directly benefited 30 students from underserved communities, equipping them with digital literacy skills for starters. The DAR program improved reading comprehension by integrating literacy strategies across the curriculum. It also fostered student engagement in public speaking, book clubs, and leadership roles in reading campaigns. 5IReady’s Phase 1 workshops were supported by Global Changemakers, an international network that provided mentorship, resources, and collaborative partnerships to scale the initiative, and now, possible funding. The workshops introduced students to future-focused skills, preparing them for a technology-driven world.  While still in the early phases, I leveraged strategic partnerships rather than direct funding. I did however secure funding from the Department of Education and more non-monetary support from Global Changemakers that included expertise, digital resources, and networking opportunities, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and future financial backing.  Students in the DAR program now have improved literacy skills, increasing their ability to succeed academically across all subjects.Participants in 5IReady gained exposure to essential 21st-century skills, giving them a competitive edge in higher education and future career. Teachers and mentors involved in both programs received training on integrating literacy and digital skills into their teaching, amplifying the long-term impact of these initiatives.  One student, initially disengaged due to poor literacy skills, showed remarkable progress through the DAR program. By the end of the initiative, they confidently participated in public speaking and debate competitions, demonstrating the program’s success in transforming both academic and personal growth.  Similarly, a participant in 5IReady Phase 1 entered the program with no coding experience but, by the end, developed a functional mobile application prototype, proving that access to the right resources can unlock hidden potential.  Through these initiatives, [Your Name] is shaping the future of education and bridging literacy gaps, fostering technological skills, and empowering young minds for success in a rapidly evolving world.

I belong on the Future Minds Under 25 list because of the impact I’ve made through Create Happy Media, where I’ve had the privilege of directly supporting over 120 young journalists. Since founding Create Happy in 2022, we’ve published over 350 articles, offering a platform where youth voices can be amplified. This platform has empowered young people to tell their stories and has provided them with real-world experience in writing, editing, and media production.  Through Create Happy, I’ve been able to nurture a community of passionate, driven young people who are working to reshape how youth are represented in media. We’ve built a network where these journalists feel supported, not just as contributors, but as creative thinkers and leaders. One of the courses we run each year is our Compassionate Journalism Course, where participants get the chance to join the Young Writers Collective. The Collective has been a key project in empowering young people to tell their own stories. Through this program, I’ve mentored over 50 aspiring writers, giving them the opportunity to develop their skills in a supportive, hands-on environment.  The Young Writers Collective focuses on youth-led storytelling. It’s a space where young people can explore their creativity, write about topics that matter to them, and share their experiences. The collective is about building confidence, developing leadership skills, and enabling a sense of belonging in the media world. Each writer is given personal guidance on how to craft their stories, edit their work, and connect with their audience. The program encourages collaboration, where writers bounce ideas off each other, share feedback, and grow together.  The outcomes of these initiatives speak for themselves: young people are gaining skills, building their portfolios, and becoming leaders in the media landscape. Through Create Happy, they are discovering the power of their own voices, and they’re using those voices to shape the future of media and advocacy.

Murshidul Alam Bhuiyan is the founder and director of Team Bertho, a world-recognised youth organization that bonds the whole world beyond borders through individually crafted human life stories. Founded in 2016, Team Bertho works on documenting the life experiences gathered from of all race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, and sexuality; striving to ensure global peace through inclusivity and connectivity. Team Bertho circulates stories, morals, and experiences in hopes that the audience benefits by learning the ever-flowing yet true nature of life and reality, along with applying the learnings to their own lives. With the power of curiosity, empathy, and compassion—Team Bertho created an inclusive universal dais where people can come together with their own valuable contributions to the world and its people. To date, Team Bertho has impacted 650,000 people across 81 countries.  Through the works of Team Bertho, Murshidul aims to build a community of empathetic human beings who live, learn and share in order to make meaningful psycho-social and emotional contributions to themselves, and the society.  At the heart of Team Bertho's efforts lies the concept of cross-pollination in education. They meticulously document insightful observations and current societal advancements, conventions, and reformations. By compiling and sharing the experiences of individuals from diverse backgrounds, they provide readers with immense inspiration. In addition to their projects, Team Bertho actively engages in philanthropic work to make an immediate impact. They organize activities and fundraising campaigns to support underserved communities, provide essential supplies during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and bring joy to those in need.  Through the establishment of such a wide-reaching and successful foundation, Murshidul reveals his excellent leadership qualities, which has earned him many accolades. The noteworthy ones being—The Diana Award, Asia's Top 10 Young Talents, Bloom’s 30 Under 30, Global Youth Awards for Educational Innovation, Top 50 Coolest South Asians Of 2022, The Points of Light Inspiration Honor Roll, 50 Leading Lights Asia Pacific, Fellowship at The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, and UNICEF Meena Media Award.  Team Bertho’s largest project called ‘Human Heroes' exhibits experiences from regular people around the globe, as well as allows them to share their learnings from life. The audio version of the life lesson exhibition “Life Tales” is broadcasted in Team Bertho’s audio station Berthodoler Caravan. Through these projects, Murshidul hopes to lend underprivileged people a platform to raise their voices.  Murshidul is conscious about the cause of the trans community, which is why he undertook another noteworthy project called “Project Unfurl.” Here, Team Bertho documented the untold stories and lessons from members of the third gender community of Bangladesh (Eunuchs, inter-sex and transgender people are called “Hijra” in the Indian subcontinent and are regarded as the “Third Gender” through legislation as well).  Consciousness of mental health is another issue Murshidul is set on establishing, especially amidst youths. This is reflected in Team Bertho’s live web-conferencing series, “Ichi-go Ichi-e”, which was rendered possible by the participation of speakers all over the world.   In order to further his community goal, Murshidul and Team Bertho physically conduct workshops using an eclectic mix of theatre, storytelling, creative writing, poetry, and many other forms of entertainment and art. Their efforts are aimed towards personal development, enhanced communication skills and public speaking, but mostly towards exploring one’s full potential.  Team Bertho’s ventures circumfers the Sustainable development goals of “Good Health & Wellbeing” for their work in raising various point of discussion regarding mental health and wellbeing issues, “Quality Education” for their approach of cross-pollination of education and wisdom, and “Sustainable Cities & Communities” as their work creates significant empathetic connections amongst people around the world crafting a sustainable global community. However Team Bertho’s structure and methodology cover the goals “Gender Equality” and “Reduced Inequalities” as there is no barrier in Team Bertho’s policy of recruitment as well as their initiative of representation. Their projects promote peace and justice as well as initiating strong institutions through conscientious people - which can be referred toward the goal of “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”.  Murshidul’s convictions are a mix of philanthropy, appreciation for arts, and the vision of a greater future. He hopes to undertake many more projects to advocate for mental health, reduce discrimination and inequalities, and create an education system that aids in cultivating wise and resourceful humans.  Murshidul's imaginative mind hopes to create an empathic community and plans to grow his network in the future to establish a global platform where people can interact through common experiences.