18U18 WINNERS OF 2023

CELEBRATING YOUNG VISIONARIES

DISCOVER THE INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THIS YEAR’S WINNING 18 UNDER 18!

  • Cherry is the executive director of Greener is Cleaner, a youth-led international organization that empowers youth to environmental action. With this organization, Cherry has hosted virtual educational events, organized activism events and campaigns, as well as developed a variety of informative content on multiple platforms, all of which have impacted over 15,000 youths across 41 countries. Cherry hopes to turn the organization into a social enterprise that equips young leaders with the skills needed to drive positive environmental transformations in their communities and beyond.

  • Om spearheaded Project Dignity Entrepreneurship Experience at school as a partnership with Project Dignity, a social enterprise dedicated to restoring dignity to the differently-abled and disadvantaged through training programs. Om acted as venture capitalist to select and guide 15 students in multiplying $300 seed funds into profits to directly support the differently-abled community. Om hopes the project will become a self-sustaining club at his school which will in turn help create a curriculum centered on social entrepreneurship.

  • Jose Luis is the president and founder of Raíces de Cambio, an NGO focused on sustainable development goals aimed at fostering progress and securing a better future for children in the region of Nayarit. With the NGO, Luis has conducted various campaigns collecting school supplies, toys, and food for impoverished groups and underprivileged children as well as supported scientific projects at a local university, the results of which have impacted over 3,700 individuals and indirectly benefited another 6,000. Jose Luis plans to expand Raíces de Cambio to the national level and transform societal structures so that everyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity and tools to succeed.

  • Bauer is the founder of Cardboard Superheroes, a non-profit STEAM organization that fosters creativity and provides equal opportunities by empowering underserved students with sustainable STEAM education. Through Cardboard Heroes, Bauer has offered free and sustainable art resources to over 300,000 students worldwide. Bauer envisions every school embracing CS projects, providing students with skills for creative problem-solving through entrepreneurship classes, youth impact programs, and industry partnerships.

  • Eeman is the founder and organizer of MTS Walks, a sustainable fashion show focused on replacing fast fashion and empowering students to creatively upcycle. Through this event, Eeman has helped youth showcase their talents and with the auctioning of student-designed garments raised funds for over 20 orphans in Malawi and Kyrgyzstan thus providing them with nutrition, education, and shelter for a year. Eeman aims to have MTS Walks be a part of every school to promote sustainability while fostering a sense of community and inclusivity amongst students.

  • Anandini is the creator and organizer of workshops that aim to reduce isolation, build intergenerational relationships, and bridge gaps through facilitating conversations between senior citizens and younger generations. By creating a virtual community for senior citizens to not only interact with each other but engage in enriching conversations with younger generations, Anandini was able to positively impact her community and the lives of others by alleviating the isolation seniors had experienced during the pandemic. Anadini’s goal for the project is for it to be implemented globally and create a network of interconnected virtual communities that transcend geographical boundaries.

  • Dilnaz is the CEO of Igilik, an educational company focused on teaching children about internet security and online risks by improving their comprehension of cybersecurity and fostering media literacy awareness. Dilnaz recruited, coordinated, and taught 32 volunteers how to conduct cybersecurity lessons with children. Her program has reached over 400 students as well as received recognition from the National Volunteer Network and UNICEF. Dilnaz is working on making Igilik an app in order to reach and educate even more children, and hopes to bring this project to the rest of the world for all children to be well informed about cybersecurity.

  • Yigit is the developer of Hemi Change, a green plastic alternative to petroleum-based plastics which aims to reduce plastic-based water pollution in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers as well as air pollution at landfills with its unique advantages. Yigit developed a plastic made of hemicellulose and glycerol, sourced mainly from watermelon waste which allows for biodegradability within five weeks, non-toxicity, non-oxidization, as well as digestibility which makes it a viable and sustainable alternative to traditional plastics. Yigit’s goal is to mass manufacture Hemi Change in order for it to be available around the world and make the change to green plastics a reality.

  • Aditya and Rishabh are the creators of Plutus, a financial platform that aims to combat fearful trading and the piling of losses from financial investment through dynamic algorithmic approaches and financial education over mobile networks. They have obtained funding from Microsoft and Google,and are currently working with the 4th largest merchant bank in India. Aditya and Rishabh aspire to take on major funds such as Vanguard, BlackRock and Jane Street, while continuing to provide insights into markets and necessary fund and research infrastructure for retail investors.

  • Demilade is the creator of Anxiovoice.ai, a program that diagnoses anxiety through voice analysis and offers real-time treatment. The program aims to combat the growing levels of anxiety among teens and young adults, especially those who are unable to seek treatment due to mental health stigmas or financial capabilities. Demila is a self-taught programmer and collated and classified a dataset of over 200 recordings of people in varying emotional states to create Anxiovoice.ai. Demila plans to expand the project into a startup that will create AI programs for a wide range of disorders through voice analysis in order to continue helping people.

  • Alisa is the head organizer of TEDxYouth@StCuthbert’sCollege, an event that seeks to enlighten and empower youth by acting as a platform where innovative ideas converge to inspire transformative change. Alisa has led a programme of over 30 students, created outreach to over 500 schools, and gained a cumulative audience of over 10 million people online. Revenue generated from the sold out event has helped facilitate over ten community based projects and changed countless perspectives. Alisa aims to create more educational and inspiring platforms in the future as well as expand the topics of the TEDxYouth events to a wide array of interests and perspectives.

  • Lucas is the CEO of Inceptum, a social startup that teaches youth how to manage and gain money by providing knowledge about entrepreneurship and

    financial education. The money generated is put towards promoting social projects and expanding the project in Brazil's education system. Through the startup, Lucas has provided dozens of lectures, designed national competitions, and helped students attend financial literacy and economics olympiads which have supported the development of over 8,800 students. Lucas aims to make Inceptum a benchmark in the educational field for the simplicity of language and accessibility of products, promoting immersion of students in executive and financial areas.

  • Sean is a globally-recognized policy strategist, mobilizing youth across the world for an equitable future online. By advising on digital policy at the UN, having research published as a Global Research Fellow at Columbia University, and being an executive director for the Global Initiative for Digital Rights, Sean has been able to advise companies such as TikTok and Discord as well as help over 100 youth in more than 11 countries advocate for change. Sean’s goal is to equip the youngest generation from around the world and those in marginalized communities with the tools to enact real change and sit in with policy makers.

  • Ioanna is an elite level tennis player that has achieved incredible success as a young player and holds an International Tennis Ranking of 500th in the world.

    Through her commitment and dedication to the craft, she has participated in and won numerous tennis tournaments across the world, represents her state team, and has been offered enrollment at the number one tennis academy in the world. Her goals for the future are to achieve the highest possible tennis ranking and proudly represent her country as well as significantly contribute to the field of sports medicine through her studies.

  • Insar is the CEO of VisionAI, a medtech startup focused in medical imaging and diagnosis using cutting-edge AI technology. Insar led a team of 13 individuals and secured over $550,000 in service grants as well as the attention of entities like Microsoft for his company’s NeuroDetect, an AI-powered software that provides swift and accurate neurological disease detection and aims to greatly impact global healthcare. Insar aims for the company to stand out globally and to partner with healthcare providers, institutions, and drug companies in order to keep making a helpful impact in the medtech world.

  • Aikhan is the creator of Good Food Fest, a festival aimed at helping people optimize their diets and spreading awareness on the importance of nutrition. Aikhan led volunteers in putting together the festival which hosted over 3000 guests, had more than 10 sponsors, obtained coverage from multiple news companies, and successfully raised health awareness in the community to create a positive impact and change. Aikhan's goal is to improve the health of Kyrgyzstan's citizens and build an AI based healthtech company to transform the country’s healthcare and promote a healthy lifestyle.

  • Emily Ulloa and Juliana Lopez are the co-founders of Reforming Ecuador, a volunteer initiative that strives to reform laws and bring justice to those with disabilities in Ecuador. Through their own experience in the first legally recognized giftedness case in Ecuador, Emily & Juliana were directly involved in concretizing the Instructive for Giftedness, a legal tool using the first giftedness case as a pillar in technical meetings with institutions such as the World Bank, and have continuously advocated for programs and new technologies helping people with disabilities obtain the rights they deserve. Both of them continue to work towards a more equal society by building assertive guides and solid legal tools for rights accomplishment.

  • Siona, Meghna, and Veneeth are the creators of Safe Teens, an NGO dedicated to the safety of teens. Through creating a peer-to-peer program for online privacy and safety which provides learning programs for youth and supports the creation of action-oriented solutions towards cyber security, they have served over 5 million students, have expanded to languages beyond English, and have obtained government partnerships. Siona, Meghna, and Veneeth aim to engage parents, teachers, students, and other community workers in shared learning, preventative measures, and early intervention in the case of adversity as well as further develop their program and offerings to reach more people and provide more resources.