Finding the Fountain of Youth

This past Saturday, November 13, 2010, social entrepreneurs and innovators gathered in Washington, DC, to participate in TEDxYSE (Youth Social Entrepreneurs): Unleashing Young Social Entrepreneurs. This special event [watch video] highlighted youth from around the world who are developing creative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. Speakers challenged one another and the audience on a variety of subjects, ideas and solutions—with topics ranging from microfinance and foster care to journalism and discrimination.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Organized by Ashoka's Youth Venture, the event was part of a global competition among youth-led innovators who are addressing social issues affecting their communities. "The [competition] winners demonstrate the impact one person can make in the world," said Gretchen Zucker, executive director of Ashoka's Youth Venture. Contest organizers received more than 500 entries from 52 countries with eight finalists receiving $500 and consulting on their programs from Staples.

Actor James Cromwell, Academy Award nominee and supporter of social change, kicked off the day with inspiring words about the importance of social responsibility and making a personal commitment to improving society. He called for a “dramatic change” that will help create a paradigm shift and change of heart among the people. What followed was an inspirational series of talks, performances, and video presentations about youth empowerment. The contest finalists gave the “talk of their lives” TED-style on stage among an audience of almost 400 people. Rebecca Kantar won the grand prize for her dedication and efforts to social change reflected in her organization, Minga.

Competition finalists included:

• Mohammed Barry, 19, of the Republic of the Gambia, exemplifies leadership and perseverance. Mohammed lost his father and contracted HIV at the age of seven. He faced enormous discrimination in his community, but turned it into a positive force through the creation of Aid for Smiles—a coalition of global social activists who work toward empowering and mainstreaming marginalized and socially disadvantaged young people. Mohammed was recently nominated for the World Children Peace Prize.

• Shiv Dravid, 24, is the founder and creator of The Viewspaper, a youth journalism website for young people in India. Shiv was inspired to take action when he realized that his own daily experiences were quite different from the observations and discussions amongst media elites. The Viewspaper is seen by more than 150,000 readers a month and publishes daily articles written by youth staff.

• Rocco Falconer, 22, is the founder of Planting Promises, a community-based organization in Sierra Leone that develops the prospects of the world's poorest country by giving local people the opportunity to create sustainable businesses and pursue their education.

• Rebecca Kantar, 18, is a founding member of Minga, a youth-run civic organization dedicated to ending the global child sex trade through educating teens worldwide. Rebecca serves as Minga's director of film media and is a highly accomplished public speaker. She has been named as one of TIME Magazine's Tomorrow25 and is now a freshman at Harvard University.

• Ben Lyon, 24, was inspired to create FrontLineSMS:Credit that is pioneering technology that is connecting microfinance institutions to their borrowers via cell phones in Sierra Leone. Ben has been selected as an "Unreasonable Fellow" by the Unreasonable Institute, which attracts up to 25 high-impact, young social entrepreneurs from across the globe for a ten-week conference.

• Lamia Oezal, 21, founded DeuKische Generation, an organization that focuses on improving the integration of Turkish youth in Germany, after witnessing misperceptions and experiencing discrimination of her Turkish heritage in Germany.

• Seaon Shin, a 19-year-old Korean-American living in Dubai, founded the Global Youth Empowering Movement (GYEM), which links youth together globally allowing for collaboration on service projects.

• Heather Wilder, 17, a Las Vegas teen who is an advocate for the rights of children in foster care through her organization, Fostering Kids at Work. As a foster kid who suffered abuse before being adopted into a loving home at age 12, Heather writes a series of booklets that address issues faced by foster children.

Lessons from the Day

For these social entrepreneurs their youth was the critical ingredient to their successes. The path for each was different, but the ultimate goal of helping others and making a positive impact was the same. We caught up with a few of the finalists to learn what they see as challenges and opportunities for their generation.

Challenges:

Seaon Shin of GYEM noted that one of the biggest obstacles Millennials and younger generations will have to face in the coming years is how they perceive themselves. According to Shin, “too often youth believe that parties, money, and material success” [are what fulfill a person.] We must break through that type of thinking and change the culture.” Instead, Shin and her movement are striving to showcase positive things young people are accomplishing and how that is helping improve out world.

Opportunities:

Falconer of Planting Promises reflected on how technology has helped his program from the very beginning. He noted that the technology “revolution is happening now” and “connectivity” is impacting the productivity levels of individuals around the world. Ultimately, this is a factor that this generation can and should harness. Falconer recounts how very early on in the organization’s development, he used Idealist.org and other online platforms to help him identify the organization’s Director for the Sierra Leon team while he was based in the UK. Embracing the entrepreneurial spirit, Falconer believes that technology can help to “light that fire” for someone and “show people what is possible” to get them engaged.

Falconer, Shin and others definitely lit a spark among listeners that day through their stories. We've heard from these young entrepreneurs and now we want to know what you think the future holds in terms of opportunities and challenges? What inspires you? How can different generations learn from one another and work together to contribute to this growing movement of social entrepreneurship?  

 

Photo of Rebecca Kantar courtesy of Ashoka Youth Venture