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. We are delighted to feature a selection of these exceptional young leaders below. If you would like to be considered, please reach out directly to your Coordinating Ambassador. Unsure who is your Coordinating Ambassador? See the breakdown of countries here
Lucas Bravo Reyes, Colombia - Educambio
Lucas founded Educambio to ensure that marginalised communities had access to educational materials while promoting sustainable consumption and a circular economy. He installed and manages 11 libraries in rural, Colombian communities which had no access to quality education prior to Educambio’s intervention. In addition to these projects, they have provided 52 scholarships to underprivileged children to receive a comprehensive, bilingual education. The organisation is increasing social mobility and providing a future to those who otherwise would not have access to the same opportunities. The school drop-out rate between 5th and 6th grade is up to 20% in the critical regions Educambio targets. Across the 25,000 children and young people they have supported, this rate has dropped to 3%.
Lucas has ensured their work is environmentally sustainable, which is the other primary benefit to Educambio’s work. Educational materials they make are upcycled, such as recycled notebooks they employ workers with disabilities to produce. The process of upcycling educational resources saves an estimated 50 tonnes of paper per year. For every tonne of paper, this saves around 16 trees and 150,000 litres of water.
Emerson Salguero, Guatemala - Involúcrate
Emerson is the Founder and Director of Involúcrate, an NGO that aims to create networks to spread electoral information, and encourage youth engagement with politics. The overarching aim is to tackle the significant political apathy widespread in Guatemala’s younger generations.
Involúcrate runs educational workshops in schools and universities to inform students about citizen participation and provides information to create a more informed and conscious youth vote. They run political forums with presidential candidates during the electoral campaign so that young people have a more direct contact with politicians, and allow young people to debate their ideas and proposals. Involúcrate recently launched a programme of internships at the congress of Guatemala, so that young people can directly experience the world of politics and understand the function of legislative power. 700 young people have attended their workshops, 900 have taken part in the political forums and 13 have participated in the new internship programme. Emerson’s short-term ambition is to increase voter turnout of the Guatemalan electorate aged 18-24 at the next national elections in 2023 from 15% to between 25 and 30%.
Andrea Neyra, Peru - Coca-Cola
Since 2018, Andrea has been part of a team which is leading a pilot project on recycling for Coca-Cola in Ica, Peru. Andrea, together with a five-person team, has installed PET bottle collection bins at shops throughout the city. These collection points serve the community in three ways; they create recycling opportunities and awareness amongst consumers, allow for the reduction of CO2 emissions through the reuse of materials and provide formal employment for waste collectors.
The collection bins make recycling of PET bottles easily accessible for consumers. To further increase the attractiveness of recycling, prize draws are run for those who return their bottles in these bins. In doing so the pilot makes recycling more fun and attractive. The PET materials are picked up by waste collectors once a week. Through an app, collectors connect to those involved with the incentive. 50 collectors have secured employment in this manner. This adds to the primary positive environmental outcome, that the collection of these bottles serves the purpose of recycling. Another key feature in this project are alliances between Coca-Cola, government and civil society. Local authorities are supporting as a partner. The team aims to scale up from this pilot to a nationwide programme and in doing so, hopes to contribute to awareness amongst consumers and a world without waste.
Eman Borg, Malta - LGBTI+ Gozo
Eman founded LGBTI+ Gozo in 2015 after young Gozitan LGBTI+ community members expressed their desire for events organised for this community. LGBTI+ Gozo creates a space where members of sexual minorities can feel safe, and has continuously been raising awareness of the issues faced by this community in Gozo, as expressed by their motto, “Diversity: Share it, Embrace it, Celebrate it.”
Through its advocacy work, LGBTI+ Gozo has produced the first ever Gozo survey research project on queer individuals. Under Eman's leadership, LGBTI+ Gozo created the first ever LGBTI+ action plan specifically for the island of Gozo. Through these efforts, often in successful collaborations with other NGOs, the acceptance and celebration of diverse sexual identities is being fought for.
The events organized by LGBTI+ Gozo have hosted over 3000 attendees. Ranging from workshops and conferences to support groups, these events strife for equality and acceptance. More intimate events, such as “LGBTI+ Youth drop-ins” and “Parents of LGBTI+ meetups”, have been attended by roughly 500 people.
Caio Guimarães, Brazil - beone
Caio is the CEO of beone technologies. Through high-tech solutions, beone increases health of and wellbeing in innovative and cost effective ways. As an extremely successful realisation of this, beone developed a fast and effective solution for diabetic foot. In their clinical trials this technology managed to close wounds caused by this condition that had not shown improvement for over two years in only 13 weeks. 7 patients in these trials had already been scheduled for foot amputation surgery; due to beone’s technology none of these surgeries took place.
Besides showing incredible success rates, this technology developed by Caio and the team at beone technologies also reduces the time and costs of diabetic foot treatment dramatically. The costs and duration of treatment using the beone’s wavelength technology is less than a fifth of alternate treatments.
Currently, over 100 million people worldwide are affected by diabetic foot and many of them are facing a future which involves amputation. The technology offered by beone provides a cheap, effective and fast solution for these people, reducing necessary amputations by roughly 70%, drastically improving the lives of patients worldwide.
Andrea Orsag, The Netherlands - MissionC
To curb climate change and create a sustainable future, businesses need to change. MissionC is an advisory firm based in Amsterdam that aids companies in making these necessary changes. Through a focus on circular business models and technology for good, combined with devotion to sustainability the firm aims to work towards a future for a healthy planet.
Andrea co-founded MissionC in March 2018. They offer a practical approach to the circular economy and environmentally-friendly business practices. This approach enables companies to start benefiting from circular business models, while it also directly reduces the emissions they once produced. Andrea shows how doing business and doing social good are not mutually exclusive.
Since 2018, MissionC has engaged in a wide variety of sustainable advisory activities. For instance, Andrea and her team advised events on how to go zero-waste, organized workshops busting sustainability myths, and provided advisory frameworks on engaging employees with sustainability. In the past year, MissionC has reached over 1,500 people through events alone. Speaking to audiences composed of business people, government officials and students. MissionC is actively trying to expand the firm beyond the Netherlands, spreading their message about circular economy and sustainability throughout Europe.
Hasina Razafindratandra, Canada - Code H
After being inspired by the Ottawa 2016 Summit Hasina founded Code H only a few months later. The ‘H’ in Code H stands for Human - Hasina centres people in every element of the work the organisation does. Code H works on leadership, creativity and innovation in businesses. All of these efforts follow a human-centered approach fostering diversity, creativity and impact.
Through coaching sessions, workshops, consulting and content creation Code H assists businesses in implementing more effective and impactful approaches to their work. Moreover, Code H helps individuals identify their talents, build their confidence and empower them to improve the world around them.
Currently, Code H primarily operates in Canada. However, in the coming years Hasina aims to increase the reach and impact of the organisation by focusing on emerging countries, especially Madagascar where Hasina is from. They are using innovation, entrepreneurship and education to accelerate development in these states.
Anggaris Anggia (Ghea) Cininta, Indonesia - Deloitte Indonesia Podcast: #OYWDiaries
Immediately after attending the 2019 London Summit, Ghea had become inspired to share the stories of positive change she heard there with those unable to attend. With the #OYWDiaries series of the Deloitte Indonesia Podcast, Ghea aims to share messages of ambition, positivity, and real social change with the young. She aims to inspire and ignite more changemakers for the future.
Ghea is the director, producer and host of the #OYWDiaries series, which released its first two episodes in February. In the podcast, activists, entrepreneurs, and impact creators from the One Young World Community are invited to share their stories and their takeaways from the summit. By sharing these inspiring stories Ghea aims to motivate listeners to start engaging in positive disruptions in their lives. The podcast does not only provide an extra platform for OYW Ambassadors to share their stories, but it aims to be an inspiring source for budding changemakers yet to join the Community.
Angel Nikolov, North Macedonia - STARS
Angel Nikolov joined the European Business Aviation Association’s STARS program as a part of the Partnerships Committee, after attending the 2019 London One Young World Summit. The STARS (Standards & Training for Aviation Responsibility and Sustainability) project was conceived during a workshop run by EBAA at the 2018 Summit in The Hague. It was officially launched in October 2019 and is made up of a team of 20 OYW ambassadors.
STARS aims to ensure that the business aviation industry is collectively addressing environmental and social challenges with the same, high-level impact. STARS is setting a standard across business aviation to which the entire industry can be held. Through this standard, business aviation increases the positive impact it has on the communities it works with while reducing its environmental impact as much as possible.
Currently, STARS is promoting a series of webinars with the aim to educate companies within business aviation about the sector’s ambitions and to inspire experts from the field to join the environmental and social working groups set up by the organisation. Through these efforts, STARS aims to create, uphold and audit a positive standard for the industry. Learn more about business aviation and the initiative on their website and connect with Angel on LinkedIn if you want to get involved in any way.
Jamira Burley, USA - Global Business Coalition for Education
Jamira is the Head of Youth Engagement and Skills at the Global Business Coalition for Education. In this position, Jamira focuses on ensuring that 1.6 billion people worldwide possess the skills necessary to excel in the fourth industrial revolution.
The Global Business Coalition for Education was founded in 2012. The organisation’s mission is to ensure that every child has the best start in life, a safe place to learn, and skills for the future. The coalition sees that in order to realize this mission the collective effort of businesses, NGOs and stakeholders is necessary, which is why the coalition steps in to strengthen connections and help identify opportunities with the biggest social impact.
Jamira’s project within this coalition aims to prepare the young for the future. Skills taught in schools should be future-proof. To achieve this goal Jamira, for example, organised a skills summit in India where youth, community leaders, education experts, government and business leaders collaborated to provide solutions to the skills gap. Through efforts like this, Jamira and the organisation continue to work on the realisation of their mission.
Wubetu Shimelash, Ethiopia - Simien Eco Trek
In 2017, Wubetu co-founded Simien Eco Trek, an organisation that addresses a variety of social issues in Ethiopia by empowering local communities. Simien Eco Trek provides tours for international tourists in Ethiopia. In doing so, job opportunities have been created for over 500 people in local communities.
Wubetu also runs a number of other projects through Simien Eco Trek. Through a menstruation cycle project, mothers have found employment in the production of reusable, sustainable sanitary pads for over 2000 girls. This project has not solely provided mothers with employment and girls with necessary and environmentally-friendly sanitary products. It also aims to reduce the stigmatization of menstruation on a nationwide level.
Additionally, Simien Eco Trek has partnered up with Watts of Love in the “Light and Hope for Ethiopia” project. This project has provided over 1,200 solar lights for roughly 8,400 people in the Simien Mountains. Finally, Wubetu is engaged in building classrooms and a library for the Argin School in Northern Ethiopia.
These projects together serve one goal: empowering local communities by supporting education and addressing poverty.
Incha Aliyeva, Azerbaijan - Beeco Initiative
Incha founded the Beeco Initiative in April 2019. This project aims to bring environmental issues and sustainability to people’s attention in Azerbaijan. By providing messages environmentally-friendly choices, the initiative hopes to impact people’s consumption choices, as individuals have the power positively change their lives and the world around them.
Beeco uses social media as an awareness tool for the promotion of sustainability. In this way, people are reached in a cost-effective and inviting manner. Recently, Incha took the project out to two different regions in Azerbaijan, to discuss environmental issues with school children and inspire this young generation to become advocates and activists for the environment.
Tolulope Aina, Nigeria - Tolulope Foods and Farms
Tolulope Foods and Farms, established in 2015, has the purpose of increasing the participation in agriculture of women and youth from rural communities in Nigeria. Additionally, the organisation sets out to tackle food insecurity in the region through active participation of rural women and youth in the production of quality and nutritious staple food with her flagship product MYGARI.
Tolulope and the team at Tolulope Foods and Farms offer practical and theoretical training sessions to young and female Nigerians to educate them about crop production, good agricultural practice, processing cassava, and market access. After completing these courses, participants have the knowledge to increase the productivity and profitability of processes. This benefits them personally, but also has indirect benefits to their consumers and therefore the wider community, who have more consistent access to healthier produce. Over 900 women and young people in Nigeria have received training from Tolulope Foods and Farms, and many more have benefited indirectly from their development.
Salem Afeworki, USA - City of Costa Mesa
Salem is the Energy and Sustainability Services Manager at the City of Costa Mesa. In this role, Salem’s mission is to make the City of Costa Mesa more sustainable, inclusive and resilient. To achieve this, their focus is on the advancement of renewable energies, electric vehicles, the conservation and recovery of natural resources in this city.
As a result of the implementation of these policies, the 115,000 inhabitants of the city will witness as significant improvement in their quality of life. Not only more open spaces and parks will be created for the citizens, through a focus on renewable energy and electric vehicles the air quality in the city will improve which in turn creates a healthier environment for all.
