Meet world’s top 20 youth leaders

The 2008 YouthActionNet Global Fellows are a group of outstanding young social entrepreneurs who are distinguished by their innovative approaches to addressing urgent social and environmental needs. This year’s recipients include a 20-year-old in Pakistan who is working to put an end to the practice of honour killing in her community and a 29-year-old in Brazil who creates jobs through transforming non-recyclable waste into works of art.

Launched in 2001 by the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and Nokia, YouthActionNet seeks to develop a new generation of socially conscious global citizens who create positive change in their communities, their countries, and the world.

“From harnessing the power of technology to combat drug counterfeiting to using bicycles as a potent rural development tool, this year’s YouthActionNet Fellows are true social entrepreneurs – developing creative solutions to foster lasting social change,” said IYF President and CEO William S. Reese.

Martin Sandelin, Vice-President – CSR and Community Involvement at Nokia, said, “We offer our hearty congratulations to each of this year’s Fellows who are working tirelessly to improve their local and global communities. Each took action to address a critical social challenge. Each successfully mobilized the public will and support needed to make a real difference in the lives of others.”

A sample of other 2008 YouthActionNet Fellows include:

Luis Octavio Ortigoza Ayala, 26, Mexico: Through Artificial Vision, Ayala develops technologies aimed at enabling visually impaired individuals to perceive images and access greater opportunities. In 2007, he received the Premio UVM por el Desarrollo Social Award through the national YouthActionNet program in Mexico, created with support from the Sylvan/ Laureate Foundation.

Sarah Koch, 26, United States: Koch co-founded Development In Gardening to empower HIV-affected and other at-risk individuals in developping nations to meet their basic nutritional needs by teaching them to create self-sustaining community gardens.

Bright Simons, 27, Ghana: Simons co-founded mPedigree to combat alarming rates of pharmaceutical fraud in Africa. Through the initiative, consumers verify the authenticity of the drugs they purchase through sending a simple text message.

Ankai Xu, 24, China: Through the Phoenix Program, Xu engages university students in efforts to increase the educational opportunities of girls growing up in rural China.

Read all their bios at Meet the Fellows.

The 2008 Global YouthActionNet Fellows will travel to Washington, D.C., USA in November to participate in a weeklong leadership retreat, to be recognized for their efforts at the Annual YouthActionNet Global Awards Ceremony, and network with leading international organizations.

Since the Fellowship program was launched in January 2002, 140 young social entrepreneurs have been selected, with applications received from nearly 4,000 young people in over 60 countries. Fellows are chosen annually following a peer review process in which previous Fellows select the next round of winners.

Find out more about YouthActionNet: http://www.youthactionnet.org.