$ 1 : 16
For every $1 of value invested, One Young World Ambassadors deliver $16 of social value, based on a Social Return on Investment analysis of 42 Ambassador-led initiatives addressing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2022
SDG Impact Tracker
Interested in supporting impactful initiatives led by young leaders? Search this database of over 350 projects from the One Young World Community to find out more.
Bambuhay
Mark Sultan grew up in a family of slash-and-burn farmers living below the poverty line in the conflict-ridden and one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines in Sultan Kudarat. This upbringing inspired him to find a solution to the decline of agricultural productivity for these communities, a recognised cause of widespread poverty in rural Philippines (1). Mark founded Bambuhay, a social enterprise generating opportunities for marginalised indigenous communities through the process of environmental conservation. He started this social enterprise with only $200. Farmers in a simple educational programme through which they are introduced to sustainable agriculture practices and encouraged to shift to bamboo farming.
Bamboo is the perfect crop for this scenario as it “rapidly sequesters carbon in biomass and soil” and “can thrive on inhospitable degraded lands” (2). The bamboo grown by these retrained slash-and-burn farmers is then purchased by Bambuhay generating 200-500% higher income for the farmers than their previous produce. This bamboo is then used to produce plastic-alternative products such as straws, toothbrushes, and bottles, the process of which employs 25 indigenous individuals, including single parents, Indigenous People and people with disabilities. And, impacted 13,910 farmers. This process protects the environment in two simple ways. The reforestation of 428 hectares of denuded land restores the carbon capture capacity of the region. Additionally, produce from the fast-growing bamboo removes the negative environmental consequences arising from plastic pollution, an issue particularly prevalent in the Philippines (3).
The enterprise has grown impressively since its humble beginnings. Bambuhay has received significant grant funding from the British Council and other organisations, raising over $40,000. It is also sustaining itself with sales of its products. The organisation has reinvested all of its $380,000 revenue over the past 3 years to cover all costs. The project's success, and the international recognition gained by Mark since speaking at the One Young World Summit in 2019, has lead to interest from other organisations in replicating the initiative in Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, and Brazil.
Climalab
Since 1991, Colombia's National Constitution has embedded the necessity of education as an essential tool in promoting and raising environmental awareness (1). This is an especially important topic for a country where climate change threatens "significant and long-term effects on fragile and unique ecosystems" (2).
In January 2019, Maria and her co-founders Jhoanna and Andrés Urrego established ClimaLab, to engage and educate young Colombians and women in the country. A month later they began their flagship initiative "Colegios Al Clima Con El País". The primary aims of the project are to provide academic tools on climate action to schools, identify the main sources of environmental damage caused by schools, mitigate said sources, improve the administrative processes in schools to adapt to climate change, update curricular and extracurricular activities on the environment, and place schools at the forefront of sustainability and climate change education. In 2019 and 2020, they have partnered with two schools, Liceo de Colombia Bilingue School and San Mateo Apóstol School. The team works with teachers to integrate environmental education into the curriculums, and also run long-term programmes with students to educate them and engage them in tackling some of the causes of climate change, and create a generation of climate leaders within the institutions. They are also working to develop the capacity for the schools to measure their footprint and thus set themselves environmental targets, a part of the initiative delayed by the pandemic's impact on schools in 2020.
Additional programmes include a documentary that Climalab has produced to explore the intersectionality between the environment, rurality, and gender called "Retratos de Campo: Mujeres de Tierra y Agua". Another is a collaboration with artists to explore and depict climate change and its impacts in a gallery in Bogota. The team has worked in various spheres to drive the discussion on climate change, especially the collaborative work done in the framework of the "Climate Promise" project conducted by the UNDP in Colombia (2020). The objective was to make recommendations to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in regard to the update of the Colombian NDCs which allowed the team to coordinate regional tables to talk with young leaders from all the corners of the country to bring their perspectives and thoughts in just one recommendation report.
Tlejourn Shoes
In university, Padinya studied rubber and polymer technology. After attending a workshop at the One Young World Summit in Bangkok, Padinya and his peers founded a non-profit that gives trash a new life. His project, Tlejourn Shoe, upcycles old flip-flops that have made their way into the ocean, turning them into new shoe soles.
There is an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris floating in the world’s oceans (1) with flip-flops accounting for more than 25% (2). Padinya aims to reduce these numbers through his project. Tlejourn Shoe is powered by a close collaboration between Trash Hero volunteers, polymer scientists of Prince of Songkhla University Pattani, designer brands and locals of Pattani Province, Thailand. Trash Hero Volunteers collect the sea-wandering flip-flops from the beach, clean and shred them, mix them with the polymer glue and then compress them into sheets. The compressed sheets are then cut into soles to make new flip flops. Any remainders will be shredded again, repeating the process. The new soles are transported to a village where they will be made into flip flops and packaged.
Tlejourn operates on a zero profit model and a network of volunteers from diverse backgrounds. The income of this project goes directly to the local shoemakers and volunteer activities of Trash Hero Pattani. Through their project, they provide job opportunities for Pattani locals and support fair trade. The locals can make the flip-flops part-time while continuing to maintain their jobs and lifestyles. Tlejourn also supports local clothing shops and use their cloth for their packaging. Another goal of theirs is to raise awareness about the issue of marine waste and encourage their clients to adopt an eco-lifestyle through talks, arranged tours and Trash Hero Pattani cleaning events.
Yuludarla Karulbo
Despite progress in Australia in improving conditions for Aboriginal communities, said progress has been slow and there are still significant disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Yuludarla Karulbo is a social purpose organisation that is looking to tackle the prejudice at the root of these issues, by empowering young indigenous people to promote their community and culture.
Lisa co-founded Yuludarla Karulbo back in 2016 with two main goals. The first is to share Aboriginal culture with the wider community through Indigenous-designed products, cultural-activity workshops and cultural awareness and capability workshops. Based in Brisbane, Yuludarla Karulbo also operates workshops in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. In schools, these sessions may expose students to native Australian plants and indigenous cooking or introduce them to traditional oral story-telling as a form of education. Education is interactive, physical, and engaging. Yuludarla Karulbo has also provided cultural awareness training in more than 100 organisations, whereby 98% of the participants have left feeling more confident to work with Indigenous people.
The second goal is to provide opportunities for Indigenous youth to connect back to their culture and take part in activities that challenge them, and provide learning experiences to assist them in developing the skills required to become future leaders in their chosen field. Young Aboriginal Australians who are often struggling students are employed in the different programmes. They receive mentorship from elders and work experience to build their confidence. Of these facilitators, 98% feel more confident in the role, and 98% feel more connected to their culture.
BIMBA
Kiribati has been slow to adopt inclusive legislation on LGBT+ rights, and homosexuality remains criminalised in Kiribati (1). While levels of prosecutions are fortunately low, advocacy is essential in changing public policy and perception to create an inclusive environment for this marginalised community. Tebeio co-founded the Boutokaan Inaomataia ao Mauriia Binabinaine Association (BIMBA) to drive progressive change in his country. It is an NGO supporting the human rights of the LGBT+ community in Kiribati, primarily focused on the plight of gay men and transgender women.
The organisation partners with public and private actors in Kiribati to build a supportive network that is educating the wider population, providing support to the LGBT+ community, and building the capacity required to effectively advocate for LGBT+ rights. There are currently around 100 active members who both support and are supported by the organisation's activities. They attend the annual meeting at the beginning of each year to help to set BIMBA's direction and are consulted on strategy for new initiatives. Such projects include anti-discrimination workshops, presentations, and consultations. The team has conducted radio outreach and awareness programmes in schools. During the pandemic, BIMBA has ensured its network continued to be supported, through a food drive, and pandemic rapid emergency plan designed in collaboration with 10 partner organisations.
The organisation's ultimate aim is to decriminalise homosexuality in Kiribati, and BIMBA continues to build a foundation for the necessary advocacy by tackling stigmas and changing people's attitudes.
Monkiri
After leaving university, Trevor particpated in an impact investment internship providing debt relief and micro-financing in Cambodia. He noticed the underlying issue for late repayment tended to be education and knowledge. In March 2019, he founded Monkiri, aiming to become the 'duolingo' for finance. Monkiri is a mobile e-learning platform focusing on improving financial literacy and inclusion with gamified learning. It educates users on core financial concepts and provides transparent info on relevant financial service providers and resources.
The free mobile app uses a content management system that makes it simple to create, edit and localize lessons. This allows lessons to be delivered anywhere, in all countries, will an easy system to localize the content. Monkiri is sourcing partners to help collate the necessary, local, content. Monkiri has launched in Myanmar and is launching a pilot with content partners in Cambodia and Canada. Having access to formal financial services helps to economically empower people.
Trevor and his team have launched an innovative series educating people on how to manage their finances during the COVID-19 pandemic. They've recently partnered with the SPTF to develop additional COVID-19 related financial literacy lessons. Monkiri are translating the lessons into multiple languages so that people all around the world can have access to the resources, and have recently expanded their Content Management System to allow more organisations to distribute mobile lessons through the app and continue to reach their users.
Digital Citizenship Programme
Digital Citizenship Programme - Palau
Joleen Ngoriakl
Ambassador-led Initiative
1:5
SROI
The internet infrastructure in Palau has expanded quickly since the investment into fibre-optics in 2016, which will be built on by a second internet submarine cable in the near future (1). With increasing access to the internet, it is of paramount importance that the population is equipped to use the new digital resources safely and responsibly.
Joleen, who works as Chief of Staff for Governor Franco B. Gibbons of Koror State, recognised the need to prepare the Palau population to protect them from the potential security and privacy risks which arise from irresponsible or ignorant use of the internet. With support from the Governor, Joleen and a small team of volunteers have organised workshops, an online course, and three youth summits providing over 1,000 people - 5.5% of Palau's population - with the skills required to protect themselves or their families online.
They have delivered 2-hour sessions for parents which include discussions, and learning resources, on how they can keep themselves and their children safe online. Three sessions have also been tailored for school children aged 11-13 to educate them directly on data privacy and responsible use of the internet. The CyberSmart Youth Summit has also been run three times, reaching around 50 children per event, with longer-form workshops, real-world case studies, group discussions, presentations, and practical lessons.
In Summer 2020, Joleen ran a month-long online course that delved deeper with 20 adolescent students into online safety and digital citizenship. These participants were also taught project management skills as they helped to shape the programme and agenda of the 2020 summit. Recently, Joleen has been awarded $10,000 funding from the US Embassy and Ambassador John Hennessey-Niland to develop and expand the programme throughout the country, and to prepare more people in light of greater dependency on the internet as a result of the pandemic.
Guyana Animation Network Inc.
Guyana Animation Network Inc. - Guyana
Jubilanté Cutting
Ambassador-led Initiative
1:5
SROI
The creative industry holds huge potential for economic growth in the Caribbean, however, is a sector that has historically underperformed for various reasons (1). Jubilanté is a lawyer by profession, however, recognised the cultural and socioeconomic need to tell authentic Caribbean stories, and decided to equip young Guyanese and Caribbean people with the capacity to do so by founding the Guyana Animation Network (GAN) Inc.
GAN Inc. is a non-profit organisation that provides digital and creative skills training, opportunities, and resources to children and youth in Guyana, the Caribbean and diaspora communities. With a combined vision and mission to lead, activate, and contribute to change in Guyana’s creative and digital industries, GAN has trained over 400 children and youth, including 186 girls in ICT, entrepreneurship and management skills.
The Guyana Animation Network has hosted annual digital summer camps since its launch in 2016, in which young people have learnt a range of skills such as comic art design, 2D animation, 3D and virtual-reality game development and design, stop motion animation, digital painting, character design, design for business marketing and app design and prototyping.
In 2020, a grant and partnership with the Queen's Commonwealth Trust allowed GAN to support frontline workers by providing 806 3D-printed face shields and to sponsor access to digital training and digital training technology to for children and participants aged between 15 and 24.
Flushh
Kaveto is the founder and CEO of Worldview Technology (Flushh) in Namibia, a social enterprise that manufactures waterless toilets to provide an affordable, hygienic, and odourless alternative for people in developing communities who practise open defecation due to inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructures.
Millions of people in the world do not have access to toilets. Since 2000, the number of countries with less than 50% of the population using a basic sanitation facility has declined only slightly, from 56 to 49. Countries with the lowest coverage are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia(1). Open defecation, which is common in rural and low-income communities, can lead to a whole host of waterborne diseases that flourish in areas with improper waste disposal. These diseases can be medically and financially devastating in communities where people do not have proper medical aid, and travelling to clinics that are many miles away can cost a family their entire income.
Flushh is on a quest to provide adequate sanitation to households in Namibia. The award-winning social enterprise builds cost-effected, waterless toilets for people living in areas without sewage facilities. These waterless toilets provide low-income communities with an odourless, cheap ($100 production cost) and portable (37kg) solution. They include a solar light, hand sanitiser dispenser, secure lock, a mirror, and a coat hook. Their business model is based on training and employing local people to become sanitation champions in their community. Flushh’s waterless toilets address the hygiene challenge of open defecation and do not require new, expensive sewage infrastructure to be built. They also turn human waste into compost, which can be returned to the environment as fertilizer.
Green the Gene
Madhav founded Green the Gene at the age of 8 in his environmental science class. Learning about the falling water tables in his home state of Haryana converted a very abstract idea of environmental degradation into a tangible issue affecting the people around him. This inspired him to act. What was once a small environmental club in a school is now one of the world’s largest youth-run environmental non-profits. Now, they span over 62 countries and involve more than 7,000 volunteers.
This youth-led organisation envision a world where no human lacks access to safe water, faces food insecurity or is forced to live in survival mode. Their projects drive impact by partnering directly with local communities and utilising extremely low-cost technology and data-driven solutions to help local communities in acute and immediate environmental crises across the world. They have developed low-cost (< $8), portable, and completely energy self-sufficient water purification devices to ensure water quality and safety through on-device sensors and machine learning algorithms. They’ve already deployed 8,000 of these devices in Mwanza, Tanzania, bringing safe water access to over 40,000 people.
With advanced biomass technology, they’ve developed clean cookstoves that cost less than $4, increase energy efficiency and reduce harmful emissions by 60%. They’ve distributed over 20,000 of these cookstoves in Sierra Leone and India. Their vertical farm projects in Uganda have helped 2,000 young people start home-based farming enterprises and work towards food security. They have also pioneered modular, flat-packable emergency/temporary homes ("Nostos Homes") for people displaced from their homes due to natural disasters or violent conflict. Each unit is delivered in the form of an easily-transported "shelter-kit" which can be assembled into a house for 6 people in less than a few hours with no specialised tools and costs less than 20 cents for each person-night of shelter provided.
Wayuuda Foundation
Wayuuda Foundation - Colombia
Lëmnec Tiller
Ambassador-led Initiative
1:25
SROI
Lëmnec’s project, Wayuuda Foundation, works to improve the lives of vulnerable indigenous peoples in and around, La Guajira, Colombia. Through close collaboration with the people they serve, Wayuuda Foundation strives to preserve indigenous methods and maintain cultural heritage while developing a synergy with the STEM field.
La Guajira is characterised by desert landscapes, giant sand dunes and the remote ranches and fishing villages of the indigenous Wayúu people. The daily lives of the Wayúu is heavily impacted by climate change, lack of resources, drought and other inconveniences with waste and energy problems, in addition to child malnutrition.
Lëmnec is a descendent of the Wayúu people. Though he studied mechanical engineering in the city, he did so with a clear objective: to return to his roots and help improve the living conditions of the community. Lëmnec has developed different projects to improve the quality of life of these vulnerable populations ranging from the modernisation of manufacturing processes, ethno-tourism and the inauguration of a school that offers ethno-education - an educational approach that perpetuates the values and ancestral knowledge of the community - to more than 100 girls and children annually. He has also set up an automated solar pumping system, which manages to extract water from the ground more easily, a task that Wayú men have traditionally done by hand carrying buckets. They have produced three prototype solar pump so far that provide water to 3,000 people.
Shuttle
Reyasat co-founded Shuttle, a startup that addresses and aims to solve a pressing issue in Bangladesh - safe transportation for women. In Bangladesh, 94% women commuting in public transport have experienced sexual harassment in verbal, physical and other forms (1).
Shuttle is a mass-transit startup that provides safe transportation at an affordable fare by moving more people with fewer vehicles and primarily focuses on solving the transportation problem for women in Bangladesh.
With verified and responsible trip managers and a hard-working team, they work relentlessly to ensure safe travel for women with the highest comfort possible. Shuttle runs on specific routes with specific pick-up and drop-off points on a fixed schedule known to the customers. Their primary goal is to ensure each and every woman in Bangladesh has the freedom to commute wherever and whenever they want to. With this service, Shuttle supports an increase in women’s workmen work force and university participation rates. Their future goal is to hire and train women drivers in order to smash the gendered misconception that women can not take on this role. They also plan on developing a women driving school. So far, More than 20,000 women are registered in their “shuttle for women” platform with 750 rides per day. Shuttle ensures safety by incorporating a trained “Trip Manager” to accompany each ride, plus an emergency hotline and 24/7 vehicle tracking service. Each ride is also a fourth of the cost of an average rideshare trip in Bangladesh, which ensures accessibility. Shuttle also provides B2B services with their product “Shuttle for Business”. It provides app-based transportation support to organizations that want to ensure safe and comfortable commutes for their employees. They currently work with twelve companies and serve a customer base of 2,000 people every working day.
Girl Boss
Alexia founded GirlBoss New Zealand in late 2015 as a result of her own experiences as a teenager growing up in Auckland as the only female student of Advanced Physics and Digital Technologies classes. She started GirlBoss because she knew something had to change. The mission of GirlBoss is to inspire, empower and equip New Zealand's young women to develop their STEAM, leadership and entrepreneurial skills in order to become the change-makers of the future. GirlBoss is now a network of 13,500 high school-aged members with programmes implemented in over 100 schools across New Zealand, Australia, and The Cook Islands.
GirlBoss workshops provide a transformative experience. GirlBoss LEAD is an interactive series held in schools to inspire attendees to become strong, confident, and creative leaders. The “Changemakeher” workshops demonstrate why STEAM remains male-dominated and equips young women with STEAM capabilities. Finally, the “GirlBoss: Level Up” initiative helps young women to kick start their careers with access to internships from prestigious multinational organisations. With GirlBoss Advantage, GirlBoss brings high school-aged young women into the workplace for a 5-day rapid-fire corporate internship. Sponsor companies make a contribution to the talent pipeline whilst building authentic brand loyalty. They have also created New Zealand's most comprehensive online career accelerator with GirlBoss Edge, and 1,200 young women and 600 corporate mentors have participated to date. Finally, GirlBoss Awards recognise and award cash grants to trailblazing young women aged 11 - 18 from across Aotearoa. They have up to 9 winners each year in categories such as STEAM, Community, Enterprise and Arts & Culture.
Their members are united by their passion to use 21st-century skills to solve problems in their day-to-day lives and make a positive impact on the world. Through this project, GirlBoss continues to build a future where the next generation of girls and boys will have choices, purpose and power.
SNAI3I
Education has been one of the hardest hit of the SDGs during the crisis in 2020. Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Regional Director for UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa, has advocated the need for an innovative reform of education systems in the region to counter this damaging disruption. One Young World Ambassador Yaakoub Benarab has been doing just that for Algeria and the surrounding countries. Yaakoub, as the CEO and Co-founder of SNAI3I, aims to enhance the imagination of the next generation, by leading an organisation that provides education beyond that which schools and formal institutions offer. Said education has the purpose of providing children who participate with the necessary skills and abilities to prosper in the future economy and wider society.
SNAI3I’s curriculum is designed to offer high-tech, innovative courses to achieve this goal. However, education is technical, but also teaches more fundamental aspects of education. It involves the essential education of “how to think and learn”, which is crucial in creating the leaders of tomorrow. Content for these courses is sourced from and guided by a selection of teachers, who are paid to take the lessons and help design the materials.
Children who participate are aged between 8 and 16 and are aimed at students from lower-middle-income families who would not normally afford private tuition. The course costs an estimated 30 EUR per student. The students take part in weekly classes over a two-month period in groups of 10, exploring topics such as AI, robotics, and 3D printing. These remote classes have been vital in continuing children’s education amidst school closures. The aim is to implement a means-tested system with free sponsorships to ensure it is accessible to all, expanding its reach further through the MENA region.
Peque Innova
When Marisol was a child, she was lucky to be able to access a good education. She excelled in science and enjoyed it tremendously. However, she was aware from an early age that not everyone had access to education like her. In Bolivia, only a quarter of secondary-age children attend school. (1). That is why she founded Peque Innova.
Peque Innova is an organisation that creates educational materials that support learning processes in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). Peque Innova aims to reduce inequalities in education that arise from socioeconomic factors such as gender, income and ethnicity by stimulating children's curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking that will enable them to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities for brighter futures. Peque Innova was born in 2017 as one of the winning projects of the ALUMNI network INSPIRA of the US Embassy in Bolivia.
Peque Innova’s programmes are based on workshops for children from 5 to 12 years old who do not have access to these types of opportunities in Bolivia. The main beneficiaries are girls and boys from public schools, rural areas, hospitals and orphanages.
How to use to the SDG Tracker
Search for projects by the following case study categories:
- Ambassador-led Initiatives: qualitative and quantitative analysis of the social impact of projects which are led by young leaders in the Community.
- Business for Social Good: written case studies for initiatives ran by corporate partner organisations, led by young Ambassadors/employees.
- Leadership Stories: short biographies of Ambassadors who are growing into influential leaders for social good in some of the world’s largest companies.
- Covid Young Leaders Fund: detailed case studies of grant recipients from One Young World's 2020 funding opportunity for projects tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Lead2030: detailed case studies of the Lead2030 award winners and how their projects have generated impact from participating in the programme.