The winners of a global talent scheme have been announced, which will see 100 teenagers who want to make a difference in the world get lifetime access to scholarships, mentorship and funding for their initiatives.

The inaugural Rise Challenge was launched in November last year, inviting children aged 15-17-years old to explain how they would address an issue or are already addressing it. The challenge proved to be extremely popular with more than 50,000 teens from 170 countries applying to take part.

Winners include Christian Maboko from Burundi in Kenya who came up with his idea for the challenge while studying an education programme for refugees run by United World Colleges (UWC) and Amala Education. Christian has since been leading workshops to educate fellow young refugees about sexual and reproductive health as an effort to prevent youth pregnancy in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, where he lives.

The Rise scheme has been backed by Schmidt Futures, run by ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy, part of a wider $1 Billion philanthropic commitment by the couple to find and support talented individuals around the world.

Eric Schmidt commented:

It is imperative that we equip a new generation of leaders with the support and resources to address the growing complexities of our world throughout their lives. Today’s Rise Global Winners have offered us a glimpse into what brilliance looks like, and I am confident that our future is in very good hands.

Other winners include Ella Duus whose online tool aims to reduce political polarisation in American politics by working out how much biased information any Twitter account offers. Ella found out about her success while being interviewed on Good Morning America on the day the winners were announced.

The Rise Challenge 2022 has also now opened. For more information about how to apply, visit risefortheworld.org/apply-to-rise or download the Hello World Network app.

Photo by Amala Education