Ten activists you should know
As I love browsing through these type of lists, I thought why not put one together myself! 💁 If it inspires and motivates you as much as me to see what awesome things young people around the world are up to, I encourage you to follow Global Citizen, Women Deliver and Vital Voices.
Two other quick points before getting started. First, I hope this list illustrates that you don't need to publish books or lobby huge bodies to be considered an activist. We all can be activists in our own workplaces or communities - by using our voices and platforms to speak up for issues we care about, mobilize and share tools with others. Second, let's never take activists' time, advice or resources for granted. Most of the peeps on this list are full time students or have various day jobs. Whenever you can, compensate activists' contributions like any other expert you'd invite for a speaking opportunity or consultation.
With that, let me share with you some of the stories of activists that I got to know over the past years as they informed, supported and inspired efforts related to #TargetGenderEquality - an initiative of the UN Global Compact that supports companies in setting and meeting ambitious targets for gender equality. Let's get started..
1. Sofia Scarlat - tackling sexual harassment and founding Romania's first and only youth organization for gender equality
As Founder of Girl Up Romania, Sofia is leading a team of over 100 volunteers across the country to connect dozens of survivors of gender-based violence, trafficking, and revenge pornography with legal and psychological assistance. She now also acts as the Co-Director of the Sexual Violence Prevention Committee at Stanford University. But let's hear about Sofia's learnings in her own words as she speaks with UN Global Compact Board Member Musimbi Kanyoro about their activism journeys:
2. Alyssa Carson - inspiring girls that no job profile is out of reach, including those in outer space
As a space law enthusiast, I came across one of Alyssa's posts and haven't stopped following her ever since. Her ambition is no less than becoming one of the first people to walk Mars. At the age of 18, Alyssa earned her pilot's license, and is constantly studying and training to build up skills to become an astronaut. Along her journey, she never stops sharing her learnings to inspire young girls to follow in her footsteps, advocating for mentorship opportunities and support for women in STEM industries. Hear from Alyssa directly in this dialogue with Salam Al-Nukta (starts at 44:28):
3. Jerry Azilinon - unpacking with boys and young men in Senegal how to become allies for gender equality
Born in Benin and living in Senegal, Jerry is a gender equality advocate in both his personal and professional life: In his free time he coaches a female football team, and in his day jobs he works with marginalized communities educating young boys and men and countering gender equality stereotypes. He's been actively supporting #HeForShe, UNICEF and UN Women - read more about Jerry's work and perspectives on how he plays his part for Generation Equality.
4. Julieta Martínez Oyarzún - mobilizing thousands of girls in Latin America to take climate action
Around a year ago, I got to learn about Julieta's work when reading about her perspectives on why gender equality, climate justice and education go hand in hand. At the age of 15, Julieta founded Tremendas - a platform that educates girls and young women on how to collaborate and tackle the climate crisis. Since then, her work has grown from Chile to over 20 countries while she also co-founded the Network "Latinas for Climate". Hear from Julieta directly in her most recent podcast with National Geographic.
5. Salam Al-Nukta - brining women's entrepreneurship and innovation into the spotlight
I got to know Salam through the Generation Equality Youth Task Force, who engaged Salam for her experience and passion for women’s empowerment. With a lot of reason Salam calls herself a "social impact serial entrepreneur": In 2016, she founded ChangeMakers, a startup in Syria which aims to close the gender gap in STEM. Most recently she launched Warsha, a consultancy startup that strives for youth development through entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation. Under its first project, Salam investigated the education and employment needs of young people in Jordan. Together with other activists, she continuously supports the narrative behind #TargetGenderEquality:
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6. Paloma Costa Oliveira - amplifying the voices of young human rights defenders from Brazil in the fight against climate change
With a legal background, Paloma advocates for human rights and climate action to go hand in hand. In various capacities she advises on socio-environmental law and mobilizes thousands of young Brazilians to take climate action through the organization Engajamundo. Since two years ago, Paloma is sharing her insight with the Secretary General of the United Nations on his Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. But let's hear from Paloma directly:
7. Jonathan Dromgoole - increasing representation for the Latinx & LGBTQ+ community through policy and public service
Invited by our own internal Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce, Jonathan discussed best practices in gender-inclusive language and pronouns with team members at the UN Global Compact. Through various channels, Jonathan advocates for and supports representatives of the Latinx & LGBTQ+ community to advance to leadership positions. In addition, he constantly engages in activism campaigns and fora - locally and globally - and shares his advice on how to implement people-centered policies. Jonathan summed up his perspectives in his latest book Out to Lead: Shaping Queer Leadership.
8. Devishi Jha - bridging youth advisory with corporate sustainability efforts
Born in India, now living in the US, Devishi is not only a full time student, climate activist and mobilizer, but - at the age of 19 - CEO and Co-Founder of Voyagers. Through this youth-led platform Devishi and her team advise some of the world's leading companies on sustainability and purpose from a Gen Z perspective. At the same time, she mentors aspiring entrepreneurs and works to tackle the bias against women in STEM.
9. Sadya Touré - destigmatizing gender-based violence in Mali
Sadya founded Mali Musso working on empowerment of young women from rural areas through scholarships and business training. Through countless fora like the African Women Leaders Network or by co-founding the platform 4IsTalks, Sadya has been encouraging young girls to think critically and fight biases in their communities. You can learn more about Sadya's work in her book "Being an Ambitious Woman in Mali" . Hear Sadya's perspectives on elevating ambition for collective action in conversation with Karen Tso at the UN Global Compact's Leaders Summit (starting at 32:28).
10. Rijve Arefin - driving community efforts to unpack topics such as sanitation and menstrual hygiene in Bangladesh and beyond
I had the pleasure of getting to know Rijve while he supported the #TargetGenderEquality team as a consultant. Years before that, he founded Awareness 360 together with Shomy Chowdhury. Together, they've empowered thousands of young people in 25+ countries to start or engage in community services projects. Those range from organizing menstrual hygiene trainings in schools, to distributing sanitary products among sex workers in brothels. At the same time, Rijve supports the Commonwealth Youth Forum in Rwanda to ensure young people have a place at the decision making table. Check out Rijve's perspectives in this inspiring conversation on women technopreneurs organized by Global Compact Network Sri Lanka:
With the million innovative young voices out there, it was pretty tough to stick to only ten features on this list - let's see when I can put together the next one :)
Member at UN SG's Youth Advisory Group on Climate
2yThank YOU SO MUCH Elisabeth Anna Resch! It is such an honor to be part of this amazing list! I feel very energized to keep fighting and having you by our side in this long process of game changing and reforestating minds :) With all the love from Brazil :***
Gestion de projets | MC | Voix Off | #Heforshe | Ecrivain
2yThank you very much Elisabeth, It was a pleasure to be part of this #TargetGenderEquality Initiative and to have been able to share our different experiences. As immense as the challenges we are called upon to face are, I am certain that we have a generation with the potential to rise to this task. Whether in terms of talents, skills, rigor, desire, know-how and life skills. What is sometimes lacking are the tools and opportunities to put all this into practice. As much as it is the responsibility of young people to create their own spaces for this, governments and various state or international structures must not abdicate themselves of responsibility in the face of this task, which in part remains theirs. Thank you to the UN Global Compact for giving us a space to showcase our different journeys and initiatives.
Business, Strategy and (Social) Innovation | Venture-Building Consultant | 2x TEDx Speaker | UN Women Leader | Certified Agile/ Hybrid Project Manager | Small Business Innovation Research in EdTech Awardee (by Dutch MFA)
2yIt is indeed such a great article to end my week with! Thank you for seeing something worth featuring and sharing it! I really like the first 2 points you mentioned at the beginning. I'm definitely inspired by the rest of the list and looking forward to the next one!