Young people are the future leaders. As the world becomes ever more interconnected, they will have to act on global issues, being affected as much by events in faraway places as by what happens down the road. To meet the challenges of tomorrow, young people must be prepared to contribute to positive social change and strengthen civil society in this global environment.

What Is Global Changemakers?

This project enhances the capacity of future leaders to meet global challenges. It links young community activists and future influencers from diverse backgrounds around the world in a sustainable global network. The participants are emerging talents, aged 16-25, who are committed to positive social change in their communities.

How Is This Achieved?

Though a three-part strategy, this project seeks to:

Connect – Foster and support a global network of 10,000 youth activists

• A core group of 500 young social and environmental activists supported in creating community action programmes (CAPs)
• This group involves several thousand more young Changemakers in their programmes

Enable – Develop the skills of the participants through training and mentoring programmes and provide opportunities and resources

• The British Council identifies organisations best able to deliver mentoring and training, including by distance, in NGO activism
• The online platform enables the British Council to reach, train and support the larger global network of Changemakers

Amplify – Support and give voice to participants in developing and running CAPs that bring new members into the network

• Create an integrated platform of global events enabling young activists to engage with world leaders at international summits and forums such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), UN, World Bank, etc.
• By 2011 participants will have attended 20 high-profile events

Success Thus Far

Since the start of Global Changemakers in 2007, programme events have taken place in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Changemakers from more than 60 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America have joined the network and many continue to be involved through use of the website and Facebook.

The participation of Changemakers at the 2007 and 2008 WEF in Davos received broad media coverage, including BBC, CNN and CNBC and high praise from key figures from around the world, including:

• Queen Rania of Jordan
• David Miliband, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
• Cheng Siwei, Vice Chairman of the Chinese National People’s Congress
• Nik Gowing, Anchor for BBC World News
• Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum

What’s Next

In the coming months and years Global Changemakers will run events across all five continents and will add project modules such as WebTV and a youth-run think tank. The goal is to allow the voices of these young leaders to be heard ever more prominently.

Throughout this period the project will continue to work with and expand the community of partners, sponsors and high-level supporters.  It will also seek to increase media exposure of the project and its activities, as well as promote continued web-based activity.

Ongoing Impact Beyond Programme Events

• Invitation by Gordon Brown to attend Keeping Our Promises on Education donors conference in Brussels, where they met George Soros, investor, philanthropist and political activist.
• One participant was asked to act as a facilitator at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in 2007.
• One has been given a weekly show on Argentinean national radio.
• Two have created an organisation called PACT (Partners in Activating Change) that funds global youth activism, with a launch budget of $10,000.
• The Davos delegates have also been contacted and interviewed by consultant and business executive Don Tapscott, bestselling author of Wikinomics, for his current project.

For more information on the project, please see: www.global-changemakers.net