One Young World Ambassadors are leading projects in every country of the world, creating substantial social impact across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Every month our Coordinating Ambassadors select someone from their region who has created significant social impact locally, regionally or even worldwide.
This Month's Featured Projects in Numbers
24 k+
people impacted across the spotlight projects
642 k
trees planted
$ 150 k+
added to Jayapura economy by 234 new businesses
She/Her
Doménica Cobo Flandoli - Ecuador
Doménica is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of JuntasXEllas, a non-profit organisation working to promote women’s socio-economic and political empowerment. The focus of its current activities is to increase access to mental health services and treatment, as well as to tackle the stigma surrounding mental illnesses in Ecuador.
Doménica attended the One Young World Summit in Belfast, 2023. There she connected with fellow Ambassadors and learned about project development and best practices for maximum impact. Just before attending the Summit, she won the Impulso Joven - Because Youth Matter competition by UNESCO, Socialab, and Nestlé. As a result, JuntasXEllas is currently creating the 4WinB for MSMEs project, to provide mental health services at an affordable cost to MSMEs with four impact pathways in mental health: women, employees, company level and society.
The JuntasXEllas online platform offers free mental health services to women and girls across all regions of the country. As of 2024, JuntasXEllas has provided 700 women and girls with mental health services. In 2024, it aims to multiply its impact.
Marc Senninger, Martina Vollmer & Lisa Heite - Germany
Martina, Lisa and Marc organised the One Young World x Microsoft Germany Community Event in Munich. After attending the Summit in Belfast, 2023, the team wanted to reconnect with the One Young World Community and provide a platform to keep ongoing conversations. The main theme of the event was how to address global challenges, including sustainability and mental wellbeing, by using technology and AI.
The hybrid event allowed participants to participate in group discussions and workshops in-person and online. The workshop topics included democratising access to AI and an ethical framework for its use, achieving carbon neutrality with the help of technology, and supporting mental wellbeing in the organisation. Solutions to address these challenges included establishing a Digital ID and an AI tax to promote corporate investment in accessible tech; an AI-enabled data storage agent; and creating a culture KPI to support for employees’ mental wellbeing.
The event was attended by more than 50 people from different companies. The keynote speech was delivered by Kate Robertson, One Young World’s CEO and Co-Founder. Meanwhile, Microsoft Germany Board Member Edith Wittman spoke about the importance of early career engagement and shared the company’s stance on AI and sustainability.
He/Him
Sagar Kalra - India
Sagar is the Project Lead at EcoEverAfter, an initiative under the Global Shapers Mumbai Hub, that aims to establish a nurtured bond between people and nature. It aims to address the environmental impact of Desi weddings, the carbon emissions and the amount of waste generated during the celebrations. Its approach also includes re-skilling and capacity-building for individuals for green jobs to meet the growing needs of the sustainability space in India.
The project has been incubated by the Climate Reality Project, and aims to reach 7,300 pledges from individuals to make their weddings more sustainable. It also wants to build an online platform and database with resources for lowering carbon footprints and enterprises that are dedicated to waste management for weddings. The project has also kicked off its free eight-week long career support pilot with a cohort of 15 individuals with the aim to double it in size for the next one.
Additionally, Sagar is working as a Consultant for the World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership. He is creating a roadmap with the Government of Maharashtra to curb plastic pollution, and bring together organisations and companies at different points of the supply chain to improve the circulatory system of the state.
She/Her
Imani Sinclair - Antigua and Barbuda
Imani, as the Operations and Logistics Manager at the Nolan Hue Foundation, plays a pivotal role in orchestrating the organisation's impactful social programs in Antigua and Barbuda. The Foundation hosts several impactful social programmes annually, these programmes are designed to empower and support young people in their personal and professional development.
One of the Foundation’s flagship programmes is the Youth Empowerment Retreat, bringing together young people for an immersive experience focused on leadership, self-discovery, and skill-building. Through workshops, seminars, and team-building activities, the retreat aims to cultivate confidence, resilience, and a sense of purpose among attendees. Its other key programme, the Young Athletes Professional Development Workshop, helps young athletes on developing skills outside of sports to empower them on and off the field. The Foundation also addresses mental health challenges through various initiatives.
As of April 2024, the Nolan Hue Foundation has impacted hundreds of young people in the country and the wider Caribbean region. Its Youth Empowerment Retreat has reached 120 participants. Additionally, through its offline and online workshops, it has impacted more than 2,500 people across the Caribbean over the past five years. Her work has been pivotal in making a tangible difference in their lives and communities.
He/Him
Odinakachi Umunna - Nigeria
Odinakachi is the Founder of Sabi EcoFusion and Sabi Lifestyle. The SABI Lifestyle Campaign was launched to close the knowledge gap in energy efficiency in Nigeria and create a community of individuals committed to sustainable living and promote actions to help the environment.
The first stage of the campaign included a 30-day challenge where participants received daily advice on energy saving at home. The calls to action were interactive, including suggestions on actions to take, how to achieve them and the reasoning behind them to induce habits in participants. Actions suggested including installing energy efficiency devices to efficient cooking methods to cooling, lighting, etc. The tips were targeted to a range of experience levels such that everyone who participated could learn something new.
This phase was done in January, with 2,000 people signing up to join. After the campaign was done, 100% of participants that participated in the close-out survey said that they implemented the changes and that they are committed to continuing these practices. At the moment, the Sabi EcoFusion is leveraging their social media channels to sustain the impact of the campaign.
She/Her
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts - First Nations, Australia
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts is an award-winning activist and human rights lawyer, who was appointed as the first ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner. She is a Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul person with lived experience of the child protection system. Her responsibilities in the role include advocating for and safeguarding the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and children.
Vanessa’s primary goal is to protect and advocate for children who are at risk of forcible removal or have been placed in statutory out-of-home care, also known as Family Policing. In collaboration with local communities, the Commission that she leads, advocates for harm minimisation, improved response and enhancing support systems.
Vanessa and her team are also involved in overseeing the justice system and how it’s applied to Aboriginal children and young people, especially those subject to care and protection orders. She is pushing for systemic changes to address the root causes and underlying issues of the State’s involvement in child removal, the country has a high rate of these types of removals of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.
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Daniel Gutiérrez Patiño - Colombia
Daniel is the Founder and CEO of Saving the Amazon, a non-profit organisation empowering Indigenous communities in Colombia and planting trees to combat deforestation in the country’s Amazon region. Daniel and his team acknowledge that Indigenous communities are the guardians of the Amazon, and the organisation partners with them to preserve and enhance the rainforest.
The Indigenous communities that Saving the Amazon work with retain complete ownership of planted trees and have input on which trees are planted. Saving the Amazon uses geospatial technology to determine individual tree location for greater accountability, and creates a more meaningful experience for donors by sharing the story of the Indigenous people who plant the trees.
Saving the Amazon has planted over 642,000 trees, which are predicted to sequester 696,000 tonnes of CO2 over the next thirty years. The benefits for Indigenous communities go beyond the environmental impact of restoration; 740 Indigenous community members are employed to support tree planting efforts and a significant percentage of the money raised by the project goes directly towards community-focused projects. It has also offered them in-kind support, providing electrical and domestic products at a discounted price to Indigenous community members.
She/Her
Christina Dumitriu Jackson - UK
Christina is a Discovery Sciences Laboratory Scientist at AstraZeneca. Passionate about using her role in a corporate organisation for social impact, she has joined and leads various Employee-Resource Groups (ERG) and multiple Diversity and Inclusion initiatives at AstraZeneca. Christina is the Co-Lead of the AZinspire ERG, which she heads with a fellow One Young World Ambassador. The community created by AZinspire includes over 1,000 young people.
For her work as an apprentice at the company and championing equitable access to STEM careers for young people, she was recognised as the UK Health and Social Care Apprentice of Year. Christina has delivered speeches reflecting on her journey as a Black woman in STEM to students and corporates alike.
Outside of AstraZeneca, she has collaborated with the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Science Apprentice Forum, the Science Industry Partnership and STEM UK. Her interactions spotlighting careers in STEM have reached more than 10,000 students in the United Kingdom. Recently, Christina was the youngest panellist on the “Future is female – how can we encourage women into leadership positions.” discussion at the IWD Conference and Expo 2024.
He/Him
Lynton Aaron Filia - Solomon Islands
Lynton Aaron is the Founder of The Beyond The Lens blog, a project aiming to be a catalyst for positive change in the lives of young people and providing a safe space for the expression of young voices. The blog is a platform for advocacy on youth issues in the Solomon Islands. Lynton was inspired to create the blog after attending the One Young World Summit in Dublin, 2014.
Beyond The Lens is committed to amplifying youth voices and fostering a sense of community. Its digital media initiatives shed light on youth issues and advocate for their rights, encouraging people to take collective action and sparking conversations through engaging content to drive meaningful solutions. The unique challenges faced by young people in the Solomon Islands include limited access to education, high unemployment rates, and social inequalities.
The Facebook community for The Beyond The Lens blog is made up of 628 people and growing, as Lynon continues to build content. He considers this achievement to be a testament to the power of art and storytelling.
She/Her
Karime Guillen Libien - Mexico
Karime is the Founder and CEO of Rearvora, a company working to promote a circular economy by addressing linear consumption by using biotechnology to transform tourism’s organic waste into personal care products, used by companies in the tourism sector.
Rearvora is promoting the true green and blue beauty products to make changes to our daily actions to leave a mark without leaving a footprint. Additionally, 360º Sustainable Academy Initiative provides eco-biotechnology consulting services to promote the circular economy and other sustainability efforts in the private sector.
The project has transformed more than 100 kilogrammes of organic household and industrial waste into over 2,000 personal care products. These have reached more than 6,000 people in Mexico, USA, Germany and Switzerland. The project is also providing workshops to children, especially girls, to encourage them to go into the STEM fields. Additionally, her work has been recognized at an international level for different awards. Karime follows her passion resonating with conscious echos, currently acting as the President of Entrepreneurship of the Council of Chambers and Business Associations of the State of Mexico.
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Kaito Nanko - Japan
Kaito is the Founder and Representative of Infora, an initiative providing a collaborative platform for patients with incurable diseases, especially those suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and their caregivers. Infora helps them connect with other people in similar situations, find a variety of social resources and life knowledge to look after themselves. To achieve so, it has collaborated with representatives of intractable diseases patient support groups aside from patients and caregivers.
Additionally, the project organises events to promote innovative ways of living and lifestyle options for patients with incurable diseases and their caregivers, to give them hope and support them in their care. It aims to address the information gap regarding the diseases and best practices for self-care, as well as the impacts on their mental health. Infora envisions a society where people can live with brightness in their hearts, in spite of hard circumstances.
Kaito won the One Young World Japan Student Pitch 2023 with Infora and was a finalist in one of Japan’s largest social business competitions. Currently, the initiative is developing its platform further and disseminating information through various media channels.
She/Her
Mishalan Davids - South Africa
Mishalan is a Sports Facilitator and Head Football Coach for Girls Football at Oasis Reach Your Dreams. Oasis is a non-profit organisation that provides alternative activities to children and young people in townships in South Africa. Mishalan has been involved with the organisation since she was ten years old as a participant.
The initiative uses street football and netball to prevent children and young people from turning to criminal activities, and providing innovative alternatives for positive development. Oasis has impacted 100 adults and 80 children through its different programmes on a monthly basis. 90 children are part of its football club, receiving life skills and sports training on a weekly basis.
Beyond the sports related activities and programmes, Oasis also connects with the families of participants and conducts house visits. Additionally, its reintegration programme for homeless people is supporting 101 people in need to work on their holistic wellbeing while providing them with a roof over their head so that they can become active members of society at the end of the programme.
She/Her
Paideia Gratia Sumihe - Indonesia
Paideia Gratia is a Business Coach & Programme Officer at Prestasi Junior Indonesia (PJI), a branch of the Junior Achievement Worldwide non-governmental organisation, focused on preparing young people for employment, providing financial literacy education and promoting entrepreneurship as a means to improve well-being. As part of her work at PJI, she has supported the implementation of comprehensive capacity-building initiatives around Jayapura as well as empowering young Indigenous Papuan entrepreneurs to develop and grow their businesses.
The Youth Entrepreneurship Education (YEE) programme is an intensive entrepreneurship initiative to support micro entrepreneurs owned and managed by young Papuans, mostly women. The Digi Warrior initiative, implemented via WhatsApp helps young entrepreneurs improve their marketing and business visibility with the use of digital technology, thereby increasing their digital literacy.
Paideia’s involvement at PJI, through the YEE programme, has supported the creation of 234 new businesses over 36 months and generated an additional $150,000 to the local economy. The Digi Warrior programme has supported 50 young Papuan entrepreneurs through the improvement of their business operations by optimising digital platforms. Additionally, the Chaching Curriculum programme has taught financial literacy to 2,562 students, 98 teachers and 60 elementary schools in the region.