Community activists challenge world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos

They are Charlie Young (16), UK, Sarah Nkhoma (19), Malawi, Ohm Gore (19), USA, Meeran Karim (18), Pakistan, James Chatepa (16), Malawi and Elsabe van Vuuren (17), Namibia.

As part of the British Council’s pioneering initiative, Global Changemakers, they will represent the voice of their generation in a major panel debate on Thursday 29 January where they will share the floor with Kofi Annan, the president of the Global Humanitarian Forum, Geneva, and the British Council chief executive, Martin Davidson. On the panel Shaping the Post-Crisis World: Views from the Next Generation they will discuss the challenges that their communities face on issues such as climate change, education, intercultural conflict and poverty. The session, which will take place in the Congress Centre (Aspen One), will be moderated by Al-Jazeera anchor Riz Khan.

The youngest delegates at the World Economic Forum, they represent the British Council’s growing international Global Changemakers network of young activists who are working to find local solutions to tackling a range of global issues.

Last week, sixty Global Changemakers from more than thirty countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Burma, met in Guildford, UK, for a week of intensive workshops to shape their call to action to world leaders at the WEF. Following a democratic selection process, the Changemakers elected six of their peers who will now take their message to the highest level at Davos.

The Global Changemakers are young people aged between 16-19 years old who are active in their communities working on projects ranging from community work and environmental campaigns to education initiatives and political engagement.

Upon their return to their home countries, they will continue to be supported by the British Council in the community action programmes they work on with their peers. Using this strategy, Global Changemakers multiplies its potential for change, not only involving the direct participants but many more through the participants’ networks.

The Global Changemakers project is in the third year and has grown to become a global project, with youth events having taken place in the Middle East and Africa, where young delegates represented the Changemakers network at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meetings in Sharm el Sheik and Cape Town.

Many public figures have supported the project, among them UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown who is patron of the initiative will be personally meeting the Changemakers in Davos this year.

The Chief Executive of the British Council, Martin Davidson, said: ‘Young people around the world are making amazing personal contributions in politics, in climate change, in social activities. They are the future and we need to listen to them. The British Council and the World Economic Forum, want to give them a voice and opportunity to challenge the worlds’ leaders on a range of issues. The youth of the world are not passive recipients of education or passive consumers; they want to take responsibility into their own hands. The issues discussed at Davos are global issues that concern them as much as the world leaders.’

The Global Changemakers will share their experiences in Davos via video posts, photos and blogs. To find out more about their progress at the World Economic Forum and their wider community work, please visit: www.global-changemakers.net.

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For further information about the project or to speak to any of the Global Changemakers, please contact Antony Watson, Press Officer, on +44 (0) 207 389 4872 e-mail antony.watson@britishcouncil.org

Notes to Editor:

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We work in more than 100 countries worldwide to build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people. We work in the arts, education, science, sport and governance and last year we reached over 128 million people. Our total turnover in 2007/8 was £565m, of which our grant-in-aid from the British government was £197m. For more information, please go to www.britishcouncil.org