Education, environment, human rights and peace; those are just some of the topics to be debated, discussed and mulled over at this year’s international gathering of young campaigners in Bangkok.
From outing the horrors of North Korean concentration camps to deliberating how to diminish ISIS and the threat of terrorism, youths from almost every nation in the world will come together in Thailand at the One Young World conference to talk through solutions for the world’s most pressing problems.
So who are the young people driving the force for change?
HuffPost UK profiles 20 of the inspirational figures who’ll be at One Young World and who are fighting to make a change.
20 People Who Are Fighting To Change Their World
Carlos Vargas, 22, Venezuela(01 of20)
Carlos is a pro-democracy student leader from Venezuela. The country has been rocked by protests against the autocratic rule of Nicolas Madero.
Carlos has emerged as one of the most prominent voices of the student movement with 120,000 followers on Twitter and is widely recognised as one of the leaders of the grass-roots activist movement.
He is led peaceful demonstrations demanding a democratic transition, conducted training courses on non-violent protest and human rights, and volunteer work in low-income areas of Caracas.
Carlos has emerged as one of the most prominent voices of the student movement with 120,000 followers on Twitter and is widely recognised as one of the leaders of the grass-roots activist movement.
He is led peaceful demonstrations demanding a democratic transition, conducted training courses on non-violent protest and human rights, and volunteer work in low-income areas of Caracas.
Vanessa Berhe, 19, Eritrea/Sweden(02 of20)
Vanessa is a human rights activist based in Sweden who campaigns for the release of Eritrean political prisoners.
She has spoken in front of Pope Francis at the Vatican during an address to raise awareness of the human trafficking of Eritrean refugees.
She is the founder of the One Day Seyoum advocacy group. Her uncle, Seyoum Tsehaye, was a journalist who was imprisoned alongside 14 anti-regime figures in 2001. Since 2013, Vanessa has been campaigning for their release.
She is also the co-founder of the Free Eritrea Campaign which aims to raise awareness of political prisoners, end the institutionalised slavery of Eritrea’s forced conscription, and tackle the migration that sees thousands of Eritreans drowning in the Mediterranean every year.
She has spoken in front of Pope Francis at the Vatican during an address to raise awareness of the human trafficking of Eritrean refugees.
She is the founder of the One Day Seyoum advocacy group. Her uncle, Seyoum Tsehaye, was a journalist who was imprisoned alongside 14 anti-regime figures in 2001. Since 2013, Vanessa has been campaigning for their release.
She is also the co-founder of the Free Eritrea Campaign which aims to raise awareness of political prisoners, end the institutionalised slavery of Eritrea’s forced conscription, and tackle the migration that sees thousands of Eritreans drowning in the Mediterranean every year.
Mohamed Farid, 24, Qatar(03 of20)
Mohamed is the CEO of The Youth Company, founded in 2010, it offers a space where entrepreneurs, artists, students, opinion leaders and young professionals can work to improve growth and development opportunities for young people in Qatar and the MENA region.
The Youth Company aims to empower the youth of the Middle East using educational, community engaging, volunteering, career-oriented and consulting programs.
During the last five years, The Youth Company has created a network of over 170,000 young people, 150 organisations and businesses and 23 schools and universities in the MENA region. By working in partnerships with local governmental institutions, regional foundations, international policy-making bodies and NGOs within the region, Mohamed has created a platform to serve youth empowerment.
Since 2012, Mohamed has worked for the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museums. It aims to preserve, store, investigate and exhibit sports and sporting paraphernalia of the Arab world.
It also deals with the inclusion of Qatar in the international sporting community and the increasing appearance of Qatar on the international sporting stage.
The Youth Company aims to empower the youth of the Middle East using educational, community engaging, volunteering, career-oriented and consulting programs.
During the last five years, The Youth Company has created a network of over 170,000 young people, 150 organisations and businesses and 23 schools and universities in the MENA region. By working in partnerships with local governmental institutions, regional foundations, international policy-making bodies and NGOs within the region, Mohamed has created a platform to serve youth empowerment.
Since 2012, Mohamed has worked for the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museums. It aims to preserve, store, investigate and exhibit sports and sporting paraphernalia of the Arab world.
It also deals with the inclusion of Qatar in the international sporting community and the increasing appearance of Qatar on the international sporting stage.
Inoussa Baguian, 29, Burkina Faso(04 of20)
Inoussa is uses his qualifications in Law and Filmmaking to defend Human Rights in Burkina Faso. In order to promote freedom of expression, he created the online platform Droitlibre.tv.
It is an internet TV channel, which offers discussions and information on the topic of Human Rights violations in Burkina Faso and elsewhere in West Africa. In less than a year, the platform has over two million viewers. Droitlibre.tv has become a credible media source for young people who do not trust public television.
Inoussa has also set up the first Human Rights Film Festival in Africa. So far, they have held Festivals in four countries in West Africa and hope to grow more in the coming years. It offers a space for thousands of festival goers to discuss issues that affect youth and life in West Africa.
It is an internet TV channel, which offers discussions and information on the topic of Human Rights violations in Burkina Faso and elsewhere in West Africa. In less than a year, the platform has over two million viewers. Droitlibre.tv has become a credible media source for young people who do not trust public television.
Inoussa has also set up the first Human Rights Film Festival in Africa. So far, they have held Festivals in four countries in West Africa and hope to grow more in the coming years. It offers a space for thousands of festival goers to discuss issues that affect youth and life in West Africa.
Mohammad Odai Al Hashmi, 22, Syria(05 of20)
When Odai was forced to flee to Turkey because of the war in Syria, he found that his fellow refugees were suffering from a lack of education opportunities.
Six months after arriving in Istanbul, Odai became one of a just a handful Syrian refugees enrolled in Istanbul Technical University out of around 500 applicants. He realised that many refugees, some with less than a semester to go before becoming doctors, engineers and teachers, were struggling to complete their secondary education.
With this realisation, he co-founded Kiron Open Higher Education, which started its classes in October 2015 and has already accepted 1,000 students. It is an online university and will enable refugees and asylum seekers to study a programme of their choice and graduate three years later with an internationally accredited degree.
Odai wants to use education to help the refugee integration process in their host countries and give an incentive to refugees to take part in secondary education.
Six months after arriving in Istanbul, Odai became one of a just a handful Syrian refugees enrolled in Istanbul Technical University out of around 500 applicants. He realised that many refugees, some with less than a semester to go before becoming doctors, engineers and teachers, were struggling to complete their secondary education.
With this realisation, he co-founded Kiron Open Higher Education, which started its classes in October 2015 and has already accepted 1,000 students. It is an online university and will enable refugees and asylum seekers to study a programme of their choice and graduate three years later with an internationally accredited degree.
Odai wants to use education to help the refugee integration process in their host countries and give an incentive to refugees to take part in secondary education.
Alexandru Ionut Budisteanu, 21, Romania(06 of20)
Alexandru is passionate about computers and wants to use his vast IT knowledge to improve peoples’ lives.
He is the founder of VisionBot, a company that builds affordable Pick and Place machines that assemble Printed Circuit Boards. This means that people are able to assemble Printed Circuit Boards in their own house, which has the potential to revolutionise small-scale electronic manufacturing.
Alexandru has also worked on projects designing self-driving cars and, in 2012, he worked on a device that used Artificial Intelligence to help blind people see with their tongues.
He has demonstrated his passion for computers from a young age and, while he was still at school, he created his own programming language ‘AILab’, which scripted language for Artificial Intelligence.
Coming from a town in Romania nicknamed ‘HackerVille’, has also inspired Alexandru to campaign against hacking. He uses his knowledge of computers to show how Computer Science can be used for good and raises awareness of the dangers of hacking in Romania.
He is the founder of VisionBot, a company that builds affordable Pick and Place machines that assemble Printed Circuit Boards. This means that people are able to assemble Printed Circuit Boards in their own house, which has the potential to revolutionise small-scale electronic manufacturing.
Alexandru has also worked on projects designing self-driving cars and, in 2012, he worked on a device that used Artificial Intelligence to help blind people see with their tongues.
He has demonstrated his passion for computers from a young age and, while he was still at school, he created his own programming language ‘AILab’, which scripted language for Artificial Intelligence.
Coming from a town in Romania nicknamed ‘HackerVille’, has also inspired Alexandru to campaign against hacking. He uses his knowledge of computers to show how Computer Science can be used for good and raises awareness of the dangers of hacking in Romania.
João Rafael Brites, 24, Portugal(07 of20)
João is a Co-founder of the Transformers Project, based in Portugal. The Project aims to empower the youth of Portugal to increase civic participation.
They have talented volunteer mentors in the fields of arts, sports and hip-hop, to help teenagers find something to be passionate about. The teenagers can then use this passion to transform their own communities.
In the last five years, the Transformers Project has mobilised over 200 mentors, specialised in over 120 different activities. They have taught more than 1800 teenagers in 50 institutions in Lisbon, Oporto and Coimbra in Portugal.
Their most popular classes are in kickboxing, cooking, parkour, skating, football, tap dancing, music, street art, leadership, development of videogames and breakdancing.
João’s passion is to increase the rates of civic participation among the youth of Portugal. So far, 68% of the Transformers Project participants are now volunteering their time and becoming involved in civic organisations.
They have talented volunteer mentors in the fields of arts, sports and hip-hop, to help teenagers find something to be passionate about. The teenagers can then use this passion to transform their own communities.
In the last five years, the Transformers Project has mobilised over 200 mentors, specialised in over 120 different activities. They have taught more than 1800 teenagers in 50 institutions in Lisbon, Oporto and Coimbra in Portugal.
Their most popular classes are in kickboxing, cooking, parkour, skating, football, tap dancing, music, street art, leadership, development of videogames and breakdancing.
João’s passion is to increase the rates of civic participation among the youth of Portugal. So far, 68% of the Transformers Project participants are now volunteering their time and becoming involved in civic organisations.
Abeer Abu Ghaith, 30, Palestine(08 of20)
Abeer is a technology entrepreneur from the West Bank. She has been branded Palestine’s first female high-tech entrepreneur and was voted number 53 on Arabian Business’ ‘100 Most Powerful Arab Women’.
She also received the ‘Best Technology Enabler & Facilitator’ Award given by MEA Women in Technology Awards 2014.
Abeer launched her IT business, StayLinked, in 2013. In two years of operation she has brought more than 300 jobs to 300 jobs opportunities for youth and women across the West Bank and Gaza.
She has led the training of over 2,000 graduates and students on employment and entrepreneurship in urban and marginalised areas, published articles, held workshops, round tables with stockholders and decision makers.
She also received the ‘Best Technology Enabler & Facilitator’ Award given by MEA Women in Technology Awards 2014.
Abeer launched her IT business, StayLinked, in 2013. In two years of operation she has brought more than 300 jobs to 300 jobs opportunities for youth and women across the West Bank and Gaza.
She has led the training of over 2,000 graduates and students on employment and entrepreneurship in urban and marginalised areas, published articles, held workshops, round tables with stockholders and decision makers.
Isaak Solissou, 26, Niger(09 of20)
Isaak is the founder and Director of NGO Recup, a womens rights and community empowerment NGO based in Niamey, Niger.
His community work revolves around the economic empowerment of homeless people. He has supported 150 people into formal employment.
Isaak recruited a team of 20 young leaders including football players, musicians and public speakers to conduct human rights education roadshows in 62 villages across Niger. They spoke to over 1,200 people and succesfully prevented 46 forced or early marriages in 17 villages.
In January 2015, Niger was rocked by anti-Charlie Hebdo protests when the Nigerien President joined other world leaders at a march in Paris. Civil unrest resulted in five deaths, scores of injuries and 45 churches suffered arson attacks.
In the midst of the riots, Isaak rallied young leaders in his community and protected 23 churches from being burned down. He received special recognition and from the Municipal government for his efforts.
He is now fundraising to support refugees who have been displaced from Nigeria to Southern Niger by the Boko Haram insurgency.
His community work revolves around the economic empowerment of homeless people. He has supported 150 people into formal employment.
Isaak recruited a team of 20 young leaders including football players, musicians and public speakers to conduct human rights education roadshows in 62 villages across Niger. They spoke to over 1,200 people and succesfully prevented 46 forced or early marriages in 17 villages.
In January 2015, Niger was rocked by anti-Charlie Hebdo protests when the Nigerien President joined other world leaders at a march in Paris. Civil unrest resulted in five deaths, scores of injuries and 45 churches suffered arson attacks.
In the midst of the riots, Isaak rallied young leaders in his community and protected 23 churches from being burned down. He received special recognition and from the Municipal government for his efforts.
He is now fundraising to support refugees who have been displaced from Nigeria to Southern Niger by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Aye Phoo, 22, Thailand(10 of20)
Aye is an education activist in the Thailand-Mayanmar border region. She came to Thailand as an illegal migrant to study when she was a teenager, and has now dedicated her career to creating positive life outcomes for other students who arrived in Thailand illegally.
These young people are vulnerable to exploitation as they have few labour rights. Many drop out of formal education to work in low-paid domestic jobs, garments factories and construction sites.
Young people from migrant backgrounds also have fewer educational opportunities and many girls are married off as children in order to ensure their financial stability later in life.
Aye now works on the Migrant Assistant Programme in the border regions. She is working on labour rights and microfinance projects to empower members of her community. She is the first Burmese migrant from her local community to be accepted into a Thai university.
These young people are vulnerable to exploitation as they have few labour rights. Many drop out of formal education to work in low-paid domestic jobs, garments factories and construction sites.
Young people from migrant backgrounds also have fewer educational opportunities and many girls are married off as children in order to ensure their financial stability later in life.
Aye now works on the Migrant Assistant Programme in the border regions. She is working on labour rights and microfinance projects to empower members of her community. She is the first Burmese migrant from her local community to be accepted into a Thai university.
Isabelle Kamariza, 30, Rwanda(11 of20)
Isabelle is the President and Founder of Solid’Africa, a healthcare charity that provides lifesaving resources to hospital patients from low-income backgrounds.
The organisation feeds 300 patients a day in a Rwandan hospital, supports medical expenses for those who cannot pay, tackles hygiene issues by providing sanitary products to underfunded hospitals, and promotes healthcare awareness in the wider community.
Solid’Africa is a sustainable social enterprise that owns its own farm to provide meals for patients, selling the surplus food products for profits that are reinvested into the organisation. They also manage an outdoor recreation venue and catering company whose profits go back into Solid’Africa.
Isabelle plans to create a new ‘pay it forward’ method by which the kitchen caters for private business and public institutions who then donate meals for low-income patients.
Solid’Africa raised funds to install a children’s playroom in a paediatric wing used by 25 children per day. They also installed a water purification tank that provides clean water for the whole hospital.
The organisation feeds 300 patients a day in a Rwandan hospital, supports medical expenses for those who cannot pay, tackles hygiene issues by providing sanitary products to underfunded hospitals, and promotes healthcare awareness in the wider community.
Solid’Africa is a sustainable social enterprise that owns its own farm to provide meals for patients, selling the surplus food products for profits that are reinvested into the organisation. They also manage an outdoor recreation venue and catering company whose profits go back into Solid’Africa.
Isabelle plans to create a new ‘pay it forward’ method by which the kitchen caters for private business and public institutions who then donate meals for low-income patients.
Solid’Africa raised funds to install a children’s playroom in a paediatric wing used by 25 children per day. They also installed a water purification tank that provides clean water for the whole hospital.
Abel Williams Cheayan, 25, Liberia(12 of20)
Abel is a One Young World Ambassador and the President of the Natural Resources Research Initiative. He was selected to represent his nation in the Mandela Washington Fellowship Programme, part of President Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative.
He is the co-founder and President of the Natural Resources Research Initiative (NRRI Liberia). NRRI Liberia is leading youth participation in Natural Resources governance and environmental issues in Liberia.
They work directly with the UN bodies and the Liberia Environmental Protection Agency.
Abel facilitated a partnership with a US-based organisation who raised money for the NRRI during the Ebola crisis. He managed the funds raised to educate 100,000 people in five communities about Ebola and install sanitation facilities across Monrovia.
He is the co-founder and President of the Natural Resources Research Initiative (NRRI Liberia). NRRI Liberia is leading youth participation in Natural Resources governance and environmental issues in Liberia.
They work directly with the UN bodies and the Liberia Environmental Protection Agency.
Abel facilitated a partnership with a US-based organisation who raised money for the NRRI during the Ebola crisis. He managed the funds raised to educate 100,000 people in five communities about Ebola and install sanitation facilities across Monrovia.
Lina Khalifeh, 31, Jordan(13 of20)
Lina is a martial artist and women’s empowerment campaigner from Jordan. She founded the NGO SheFighter in 2010 to teach Jordanian women self defence to combat the high rates of domestic abuse in the country.
Her organisation has trained and empowered around 10,000 women all over Jordan, and their goal is to train and empower 3 million women globally. They use a ‘training of trainers’ model to spread their impact across the world.
Later this year, Lina will be launching a series of YouTube self-defence training classes with an app available for iPhone and Android. Lina participated in a forum at the European Parliment in May 2015 to speak about violence against women in the Middle East and feminist self-defence movements around the world.
She also participated in the Expert Meeting at the United Nations in Geneva to promote SheFighter and the success story behind it.
Her organisation has trained and empowered around 10,000 women all over Jordan, and their goal is to train and empower 3 million women globally. They use a ‘training of trainers’ model to spread their impact across the world.
Later this year, Lina will be launching a series of YouTube self-defence training classes with an app available for iPhone and Android. Lina participated in a forum at the European Parliment in May 2015 to speak about violence against women in the Middle East and feminist self-defence movements around the world.
She also participated in the Expert Meeting at the United Nations in Geneva to promote SheFighter and the success story behind it.
Dr. Mazin Khalil, 26, Sudan(14 of20)
Mazin (left) is the Founder and CEO of SudaMed, a multi-million dollar social business revolutionising healthcare provision in East Africa. The business model revolves around providing affordable healthcare whilst donating 70% of its profits to fund education and youth empowerment initiatives.
Mazin has been awarded the Washington Fellowship, the MIT Arab Award and the King Abdullah Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement. McKinsey and Co. gave SudaMed a special mention in their research publication’ The future of Healthcare in Africa’ and Forbes Arab named it as the ‘African Company to Watch’ in 2014.
SudaMed currently runs 10 health clinics and funds 8 schools. They have 700 employees and are expanding into 8 countries across East Africa.
They are also the first private company in Africa to develop a unified patient records system that allows any licensed medical professional to easily access patient records. They have also developed a product called MediTab, a portable tablet containing all resources needed to study medicine in one tablet reader.
Mazin has been awarded the Washington Fellowship, the MIT Arab Award and the King Abdullah Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement. McKinsey and Co. gave SudaMed a special mention in their research publication’ The future of Healthcare in Africa’ and Forbes Arab named it as the ‘African Company to Watch’ in 2014.
SudaMed currently runs 10 health clinics and funds 8 schools. They have 700 employees and are expanding into 8 countries across East Africa.
They are also the first private company in Africa to develop a unified patient records system that allows any licensed medical professional to easily access patient records. They have also developed a product called MediTab, a portable tablet containing all resources needed to study medicine in one tablet reader.
Luwam Estifanos, 26, refugee & human rights activist, Eritrea(15 of20)
Luwam plays a key role in the campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking of Eritreans along the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and the plight of Eritrean refugees in Shagarab Refugee Camp in the Sudan.
She fled Eritrea’s forced conscription into indefinite military service, was shot at by border guards as she entered into Somalia, and was granted asylum in Norway after over 2 years of waiting.
The campaign culminated in Geneva where Luwam raised the concerns of Eritrean youth and the diaspora with the UN special Rapporteur for human rights in Eritrea.
She was instrumental in the coordination of a major international Eritrean conference called EYSC (Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change)- an event organized in Bologna Italy, last summer. The conference brought close to a hundred young Eritrean activists to discuss and develop an action plan for the cause of liberty and justice in Eritrea.
She continues her campaign to end modern slavery in Eritrea and the rights of migrant fleeing the dire political situation in the country.
She fled Eritrea’s forced conscription into indefinite military service, was shot at by border guards as she entered into Somalia, and was granted asylum in Norway after over 2 years of waiting.
The campaign culminated in Geneva where Luwam raised the concerns of Eritrean youth and the diaspora with the UN special Rapporteur for human rights in Eritrea.
She was instrumental in the coordination of a major international Eritrean conference called EYSC (Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change)- an event organized in Bologna Italy, last summer. The conference brought close to a hundred young Eritrean activists to discuss and develop an action plan for the cause of liberty and justice in Eritrea.
She continues her campaign to end modern slavery in Eritrea and the rights of migrant fleeing the dire political situation in the country.
Fabian Martinez, 29, Chile(16 of20)
Fabian is an education entrepreneur whose mission is to eradicate educational inequality in South America. His services have positively affected over 670,000 students.
Fabian founded an education platform called Open Green Road, the most active platform Latin America. It has produced 8,000 educational videos, has 12 million views on YouTube and boasts 19 million minutes of content.
More than 440,000 users have participated in their live classes, many of whom live in remote areas with few educational resources. Last year, 92% of the total number of Chilean students people who scored maximum points in the PSU entry exam for university were registered with the platform.
Even though all of Open Green Road’s services are for free to every student , the enterprise had a turnover of over US $1.2 million in 2014, and expects to generate US $2 million in 2015. This money will be reinvested in the business to reduce the educational gap across in Latin America.
Fabian founded an education platform called Open Green Road, the most active platform Latin America. It has produced 8,000 educational videos, has 12 million views on YouTube and boasts 19 million minutes of content.
More than 440,000 users have participated in their live classes, many of whom live in remote areas with few educational resources. Last year, 92% of the total number of Chilean students people who scored maximum points in the PSU entry exam for university were registered with the platform.
Even though all of Open Green Road’s services are for free to every student , the enterprise had a turnover of over US $1.2 million in 2014, and expects to generate US $2 million in 2015. This money will be reinvested in the business to reduce the educational gap across in Latin America.
Mallah Tabot, 27, Cameroon (17 of20)
Mallah is a sexual and reproductive rights activist who is working to ensure that women have a say in the decisions that affect their futures.
She is a Queen’s Young Leader and was named one of the top 100 young leaders in the world by Women Deliver in 2013. She has published numerous blogs for the Gates Foundation and Thomson Reuters about her education initiatives.
Mallah uses workshops and forum theatre as tools to combat the patriarchal attitudes that negatively affect young women’s life choices in rural Cameroon. She actively engages stakeholders including men, community leaders and women to remove the stigma of sexual and reproductive health discussions.
Mallah’s projects have given an average of 25 women per month access to long-term contraception. Her long term goal is to roll her specialised workshops at a national level.
She also works as a mentor for the MTV Staying Alive Foundation UK. In this role she provides general strategic development advice, support and monitoring & evaluation supervision for their 3-year funded HIV prevention project in the UK.
She is a Queen’s Young Leader and was named one of the top 100 young leaders in the world by Women Deliver in 2013. She has published numerous blogs for the Gates Foundation and Thomson Reuters about her education initiatives.
Mallah uses workshops and forum theatre as tools to combat the patriarchal attitudes that negatively affect young women’s life choices in rural Cameroon. She actively engages stakeholders including men, community leaders and women to remove the stigma of sexual and reproductive health discussions.
Mallah’s projects have given an average of 25 women per month access to long-term contraception. Her long term goal is to roll her specialised workshops at a national level.
She also works as a mentor for the MTV Staying Alive Foundation UK. In this role she provides general strategic development advice, support and monitoring & evaluation supervision for their 3-year funded HIV prevention project in the UK.
Arizza Nocum, 20, Philippines(18 of20)
Arizza is the Head of the Christian-Muslim Peace Library, an innovative education project working in deprived communities in the Southern Philippines to build bridges between Muslim and Christian communities who have experienced sectarian conflict.
The child of a mixed marriage (her father is Catholic and her mother is Muslim), Arizza took charge of the organisation in 4 years ago.
The organisation has built 6 libraries in low-income areas and provided 400 scholarship grants for students in the past 4 years. They also sent at least 50,000 books over the years to public schools in remote communities - especially in far-flung islands of the Philippines.
Arizza is expanding operations into other ASEAN countries who experience sectarian conflict between majority and minority religious/ethnic groups.
The child of a mixed marriage (her father is Catholic and her mother is Muslim), Arizza took charge of the organisation in 4 years ago.
The organisation has built 6 libraries in low-income areas and provided 400 scholarship grants for students in the past 4 years. They also sent at least 50,000 books over the years to public schools in remote communities - especially in far-flung islands of the Philippines.
Arizza is expanding operations into other ASEAN countries who experience sectarian conflict between majority and minority religious/ethnic groups.
PJ Cole, 29, Sierra Leone (19 of20)
PJ is a peace activist whose family helped to rehabilitate over 800 child soldiers who were involved in Sierra Leone’s bloody civil war. He is the director of Lifetime Nehemiah Projects (LNP), an organisation his late father founded to offer support to former child soldiers. 80% of the Senior Management Team of the organisation are former child soldiers.
LNP runs four schools, a safe home for vulnerable children and a vocational training centre. They also support rural small-holders to move out of poverty caused by subsistence farming, whilst facilitating meaningful community development.
They are also using this to get young people involved in farming, and stem the flow of urbanisation by providing job options in the sector. LNP continues to operate three social enterprises focused on providing employment and resources to the non-profit work of the organisation.
In response to the Ebola crisis, PJ and his team opened an emergency response clinic. They partnered with Medair and Oxfam in order to complete the construction and manage the clinic. The clinic opened on 5th January and closed on 18th April, having treated over 270 patients.
LNP runs four schools, a safe home for vulnerable children and a vocational training centre. They also support rural small-holders to move out of poverty caused by subsistence farming, whilst facilitating meaningful community development.
They are also using this to get young people involved in farming, and stem the flow of urbanisation by providing job options in the sector. LNP continues to operate three social enterprises focused on providing employment and resources to the non-profit work of the organisation.
In response to the Ebola crisis, PJ and his team opened an emergency response clinic. They partnered with Medair and Oxfam in order to complete the construction and manage the clinic. The clinic opened on 5th January and closed on 18th April, having treated over 270 patients.
Meron Semedar, 29, refugee & human rights activist, Eritrea(20 of20)
Meron is a One Young World Ambassador from Eritrea who now lives and works in the United States. He has experienced life as a stateless refugee and now campaigns for the rights of vulnerable migrant groups across the globe.
He founded an initiative called "Lead Eritrea " to empower diaspora youth. Lead Eritrea invites professionals to educate people on different areas and help new migrants settle into their communities. It is also a platform for older generation to pass their knowledge to the younger generation who are disproportionally affected by unemployment and poverty.
He attended and contributed on the discussion on the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations HQ in New York and on a live dialogue with former Secretary General of the United Nations.Meron is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and G7G20, the world’s leading source of analysis on the global agenda.
He advocates for democratic transition in Eritrea and campaigns against the West giving aid to the regime. He was instrumental in acquiring Father Mussie Zarai’s participation in the One Young World 2015 Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
He founded an initiative called "Lead Eritrea " to empower diaspora youth. Lead Eritrea invites professionals to educate people on different areas and help new migrants settle into their communities. It is also a platform for older generation to pass their knowledge to the younger generation who are disproportionally affected by unemployment and poverty.
He attended and contributed on the discussion on the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations HQ in New York and on a live dialogue with former Secretary General of the United Nations.Meron is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and G7G20, the world’s leading source of analysis on the global agenda.
He advocates for democratic transition in Eritrea and campaigns against the West giving aid to the regime. He was instrumental in acquiring Father Mussie Zarai’s participation in the One Young World 2015 Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
One Young World is a global forum for young leaders aged 18-30 which gathers youths from every nation in the world to develop solutions to some of today’s - and tomorrow’s - most pressing issues.
Editor’s note: This article was amended in 2020 to remove sensitive personal information about one of the young people originally profiled.