Atika is the founder of The J Healthcare Initiative, a nonprofit tackling the toxic drug crisis by affirming the healthcare choices of substance users. The organisation combines collaborative experiential learning with data-driven insights to close the gap between evidence-based policy and real-world implementation. The J Healthcare Initiative instituted the first drug user health promotion circle in Canada and the United States and played a pivotal role in landmark policy wins, including bringing "harm reduction" into UN resolutions and advancing innovative medical treatments for addiction.

Her work has reached over 174,000 college students, created more than 10,000 hours of student-led health promotion projects, and helped shift policies that now affect seven million Canadians. In recognition of her impact, Atika was named one of BC Business's 30 Under 30 in 2025. Atika is also part of the Broadbent Institute's 2025 Emerging Leaders cohort and serves in an advisory role at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, focusing on substance use and schizophrenia and psychosis.

Manal is the Founder and Director of the Kayani Project, an initiative to combat the injustices facing refugee women in Lebanon through education, mental health support, and vocational training. The organisation focuses their work in the Mar Elias camp, where Manal was born and raised, and became driven to develop long lasting solutions to social and legal marginalisation that go beyond providing temporary aid.

The work of the Kayani Project has reached over 500 women, over 300 of whom have achieved economic independence and social agency within their communities. Additional programmes such as literacy workshops and storytelling initiatives have reached countless other refugees and amplified their voices to local and global audiences. Proudly youth-led, the Kayani Project remains “by refugee women, for refugee women.”
 

Sharona is the Founder of Tuesdays for Trash, an environmental movement that encourages people worldwide to collect trash in their local neighbourhoods each week. Participants then share their efforts with the hashtag #TuesdaysForTrash to spread awareness and encourage others to join the movement. In doing so, Sharona not only protects the natural world but also creates a simple and easy way to mobilise communities for a sustainable and trash-free future on the planet.

Tuesday for Trash has been active for five years and has mobilized individuals in over 60 countries to remove 100,000 pounds of litter from the environment. In addition to direct action, the movement has launched educational campaigns, events, and collaborated with schools, youth groups, small businesses, and policy groups to promote effective waste management on a local and international scale. Sharona also recently co-authored Journey to Away (journeytoaway.com), a book dedicated to helping future changemakers understand the concept of where our trash goes after we throw it away.

Viktor is a Partner at 1991 Ventures, a seed fund focused on supporting mission-driven tech founders from Ukraine and other Eastern and Central European countries. The fund helps these founders enter a globally competitive market while reinforcing the UK as a key destination for international tech entrepreneurship. As a result, the fund creates jobs, increases company valuations, and contributes to both UK and Ukrainian economies.

One way that the fund helps startups navigate operating in the UK is through the UK-Ukraine Tech Bridge investment programme, a partnership between 1991 Ventures and the UK and Ukrainian governments that brought 37 Ukrainian founders to the UK. Across two cohorts, these participants had over 400 hours of meetings with stakeholders and pitched their ideas at London Tech Week. This led to 18 startups raising over £10,000,000 in venture capital.
 

Adilene has been an activist for youth and Indigenous rights since the age of nine and brings over 19 years of experience working with her community, the Mazatec people, in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has collaborated with more than 10 civil society organisations to design social projects and influence public policies and legislation related to youth.

She has been recognised with the National Atenea Award, as a Latin American Youth Ambassador for a World Free of Child Labor, and as former president of the Citizen Council for the Monitoring of Public Youth Policies of the Mexican Youth Institute. She has also been a fellow of the Pablo VI Foundation of Spain, among other distinctions. Her work is dedicated to advancing the recognition of youth and women’s rights, serving as a spokesperson across different spaces, engaging with peers, and building collaborative networks.

Janeth is the Co-Founder of the KISTH Foundation, a large network of Indigenous professionals in Ecuador that integrates science, technology, and the humanities with ancestral knowledge to develop innovative solutions addressing rural challenges and strengthening cultural resilience. The organisation is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and focuses on four strategic pillars: quality education, gender equality, climate action, and digital transformation in rural communities.

Since its founding, KISTH has implemented programmes that promote STEM education, revitalise the Kichwa language, and support sustainable agriculture. These initiatives have directly reached more than 1,000 people through academic fairs, community workshops, scientific outreach, mentorship, digital skills scholarships, and leadership development programmes. Currently, the foundation is expanding digital education opportunities for Indigenous youth through educational tours. The impact of the KISTH Foundation in rural communities has been made possible thanks to strategic partnerships with universities and NGOs in Ecuador.