Empowering youth-led change
We are empowering the next generation of young leaders to create jobs, improve lives and transform their communities.
Our
Impact2023
3 MILLIONREACHED
Our campaigns reach and inspire young people, helping them to connect with their passion and take action.
5,412EDUCATED
Our world-leading learning experiences enable young leaders to learn together, develop new skills, and get ideas off the ground.
1,325STARTUP PROJECTS
Our innovation challenges find and fund the most promising youth-led solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.
Social Shifters
Global Innovation
Challenge
Our Global Innovation Challenge brings the world’s leading companies alongside this next generation of young changemakers (18-30 years) to find and accelerate new solutions to defined challenges linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
We’re looking for creative ideas and business solutions to the challenges that matter most to you and your community. We welcome ideas at any stage and from anywhere in the world.
Accelerating projects
that contribute to the SDGs.
Unlocking the potential
of young leaders
Our internationally successful programs unlock the talents of young people and accelerate their world-changing project ideas.
95%
of young people benefit from the experience
92%
of young people develop new skills and techniques
94%
of young people progress their projects faster
“Resilience is when you’re a social entrepreneur because you will fail 1,000 times. But having the ability to come up even better after a fall is what makes social entrepreneurs stand out. Never ever give up on a dream that you see can impact the lives of 1,000 or more people.”
COMFORT PEACE, AYIKORU (25), LEAD AT KANGA-CARE
Social Shifters are leading
change in their communities.
In every corner of the world young people are rising up to take action on the social and environmental issues that matter to them most.
“GROWING UP IN A COMMUNITY WITH NO ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY WAS A CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. THESE EXPERIENCES, COMBINED WITH MY PASSION FOR BUILDING TECH PROJECTS, LED ME TO BECOME A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR. THE KEY TRIGGER FOR ME WAS MY DESIRE TO ENSURE THAT NO OTHER CHILD HAD TO GO THROUGH WHAT I DID.”
Stanley Anignogu | 23 | Nigeria
LightEd is a social enterprise that repurposes electronic and plastic waste to build sustainable energy solutions - bringing power and light into refugee communities.
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“I WANT BIOMEC TO BECOME THE WORLD’S REFERENCE POINT FOR PRACTICAL,HIGH QUALITY AND ECOLOGICAL PROSTHETICS, ENABLING PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCELIFE WITHOUT LIMITATIONS.”
Marta Vânia Uetela , 27, Mozambique
Marta is a Co Founder of social enterprise ‘BIOMEC’ that collects abandoned fishing nets and plastic waste from the ocean and transforms these harmful plastics into affordable 3-D printed prosthetic limbs for people with disabilities.
“I DECIDED TO START CONEDUCACIÓN BECAUSE EDUCATION CHANGED MY LIFE. AS A FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT BORN IN A LOW-INCOME NEIGHBOURHOOD IN MEDELLÍN, IT WAS EDUCATION THAT OPENED THE DOORS TO A FUTURE I WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE NOT DREAMT OF.”
Yuliana Palacio, 24, Colombia
The ConEducación Foundation is a non-profit entity that aims to close gaps in academic performance and promote access to high-quality education for less advantaged students in Colombia. Anchored in the values of social responsibility , equity , community , support and empathy.
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“I BELIEVE BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ENABLES PEOPLE TO GET ACCESS TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH EITHER JOBS OR BUSINESSES IS THE SUREST WAY OF IGNITING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN COMMUNITIES LIKE MINE.”
Charles Oyamo | 29 | Kenya
ReThread Africa is a project developed in Kenya that enables smallholder farmers to turn their agricultural waste into a new revenue stream that could subsidise smallholder agriculture and be the missing link to elevate farmers from the poverty bracket.
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“MY WORK IS IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE I KNOW IT CAN IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES. IF I CAN INSPIRE CHILDREN AND ADULTS TO DISCOVER THE WONDERS OF NATURE, TO GO OUT MORE, TO LEARN TO COOK AND EAT HEALTHY OR TO DISCOVER A HOBBY THAT WILL GIVE THEM COMFORT ON A STRESSFUL DAY – THEN I WILL TRY TO DO THAT. IF I CAN GET JUST ONE CHILD TO MAKE A HAPPY MEMORY, IT’S ALL WORTH THE EFFORT.”
Elena Höge, 30, Germany
Yaldi Games enrich their players' lives by offering engaging gameplay that enhances their skills and wellbeing. Their debut title is called Out and About, a foraging life simulator that connects you to nature with real plants and recipes!
7 IN 10 BABIES DIE ARE PREMATURE BABIES DUE TO THE INSUFFICIENT FACILITIES ON GROUND [...] MOST MOTHERS THEN OPT FOR KANGAROO SKIN TO SKIN CARE BUT MOST OF THE MOTHERS USE UNSTERILE AND LIGHT CLOTHING TO DO THIS EVEN PREDISPOSING THESE BABIES TO MORE INFECTIONS LEADING TO DEATH. IT IS WITH THIS BACKGROUND THAT I AND MY COLLEAGUES DECIDED TO COME UP WITH A SIMPLER AND MORE AFFORDABLE SOLUTION.
Comfort Peace Ayikoru | 26 | Uganda
KangaCare is a low-cost, locally made, alternative to neonatal incubators used to support the life of premature babies. A knitted double-layered carrier that embraces the Kangaroo-inspired ‘skin-to-skin’ mother care technique and is fitted with vital reading sensors, and microprocessors for infant vital sign monitoring.
Creating impactful
volunteering experiences
Our high-impact micro-volunteering experiences harness the potential of skilled volunteers and ensure that corporate employees can learn alongside young leaders and make a difference.
99% of employees satisfied with the volunteering experience
76% of employees develop new insights into world issues
70% of employee volunteers motivated to contribute more
Our Incredible
Partners
Social Shifters couldn’t exist without the support of our incredible partnership network. Massive thanks to all of the organizations that help us to accelerate the work of young changemakers.
