The AFS Award for Young Global Citizens recognizes young people for their commitment to improving the global community and whose actions contribute to a more just, peaceful, and tolerant world. The winner receives a $10,000 prize. The Award is given to an AFS Youth Assembly delegate who:
- Demonstrates how their project is successfully addressing a pressing global issue, tackling one or more of the challenges outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and what this translates into in real-life impacts.
- Shows how their project successfully engages others outside their own community/culture and how this aspect is crucial to advancing their work. Projects must rely on intercultural understanding and global competence.
- Articulates how their initiative has significant potential to be scaled up and extended.
Past winners of the AFS Award for Young Global Citizens include:
- 2024 winner: Diego Fernandez, Paraguay
- 2023 winner: Moemen Sobh, Egypt
- 2022 winner: Noel Alumona, Nigeria
- 2020 winner: Shah Chowdhury, Bangladesh
- 2019 winner: Luisa Romero, Colombia
The finalists for the 2025 AFS Award for Young Global Citizens are:
Surbhi Sankhla, Jharjhara, India
Surbhi Sankhla leads the Jharjhara Project, a climate-resilient initiative in Rajasthan, India, focused on sustainable agriculture. The project addresses water scarcity, saline soil, and low crop productivity by using Controlled Porosity-based Sub-surface Porous Vessel (SSPV) structures. Developed with traditional potters, these eco-friendly, low-cost vessels efficiently manage water in farms and urban gardens. As project leader, Surbhi oversees research, development, implementation, community training, and impact assessment, engaging farmers, artisans, educators, and urban users. The project has positively impacted over 1,200 individuals, helping smallholder farmers improve crop yields and reduce water usage, and encouraging urban gardeners to adopt greener practices. Jharjhara aims to build long-term environmental and socio-economic resilience through innovation, community empowerment, and education.
Christiana Miracle Bimba, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Advocacy (Advancing the Protection Rights of Adolescent Girls) in Liberia, Liberia
Christiana Miracle Bimba’s project aims to mitigate Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) against women and girls in Bong County, Liberia. It focuses on training and raising awareness among students and community members, amplifying the voices of survivors, and promoting advocacy among stakeholders like community leaders and school authorities. Initially focused on sexual exploitation and abuse, the project expanded to advance the protection rights of adolescent girls due to the severe real-life experiences encountered. Through the “Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Advocacy Project,” girls participate in clubs that offer critical conversations on self-awareness, boundaries, and bodily autonomy, equipping them with assertive communication skills and knowledge of their rights. The initiative creates a safe space, fostering a sense of empowerment, sisterhood, and a desire among participants to continue advocating for themselves and others, becoming agents of change in their communities.
Samintang, Climate Catalysts, Indonesia
Samintang leads Climate Catalysts, a non-profit organization dedicated to broadening access to climate education through a multifaceted approach. Their initiatives include developing eco-conscious curricula and learning materials, running digital campaigns, supporting mangrove planting and ocean conservation, and fostering interfaith and intergenerational dialogues, particularly with Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA) communities. In Sulawesi, they’ve collaborated with over 125 villages, training women and Indigenous youth in low-carbon livestock management and climate-resilient farming, and supporting women and youth-led enterprises in climate adaptation planning. They also co-authored an award-winning policy brief on weather index-based insurance for vulnerable farmers. A significant project is the “La Galigo world’s first superhero webcomic series, Voyage to Dusung,” which integrates augmented reality, Indigenous storytelling, and environmental awareness to engage younger audiences. This free, offline application has been piloted with over 270 elementary students and received dual intellectual property rights, with the local government exploring its integration into school curricula. Climate Catalysts also developed interactive sensory tools for children with intellectual disabilities, promoting fine motor skills and biodiversity awareness, which received an ISBN and a Gold Medal at the World Youth Invention and Innovation Award 2022. Their flagship program, “Climate Education and Leadership in Practice,” includes a cross-continental youth climate leadership program with Harvard and Ernst & Young, and the publication of an open-source climate anthology.
Pahola Ixchely Saloj Saloj, MAIA – Connecting Rural Indigenous Talent with 21st Century Opportunities, Guatemala
Pahola Ixchely Saloj Saloj is a key team member and curriculum designer for MAIA, an initiative designed and led by Indigenous women in Guatemala. Its core purpose is to connect the talent of Indigenous Maya girls with 21st-century opportunities, aiming to break generational cycles of poverty and exclusion. MAIA offers holistic programming encompassing education, health, leadership, and employability. Pahola’s role involves integrating global educational innovations with Indigenous culture and 21st-century skills, ensuring the program is both rigorous and culturally relevant. MAIA has directly supported over 3,500 girls, trained more than 450 educators, and impacted over 42,000 individuals. Notably, 70% of their graduates pursue higher education or formal employment, and over half assume leadership roles within their communities, demonstrating the project’s success in reshaping the future for Indigenous girls in Guatemala.
Nana Kofi Afriyie Sarpong, Merdeo Foods, Ghana
Nana Kofi Afriyie Sarpong is the Co-Founder and CEO of Merdeo Foods, an online B2B marketplace in Ghana connecting smallholder farmers directly to urban food vendors. Merdeo addresses post-harvest losses and limited market access by aggregating fresh produce and supplying it to businesses and individuals, ensuring quality and affordability. With over 10 years of experience in agribusiness, Nana Kofi leads a team dedicated to empowering farmers. Merdeo has already empowered over 1,000 smallholder farmers, increasing their incomes by up to 40% by eliminating exploitative middlemen. Their pilot solar-powered cold storage unit has saved 25 tons of food from spoilage, reducing methane emissions and diesel consumption. Merdeo currently supplies 100 restaurants in Accra and has 50+ urban family subscribers, with plans to expand into three more regions by 2025 with initial backing from organizations like the European Union and Kosmos Innovation Centre.
Oluwadamilola Akintewe, Project Rebirth, Nigeria
Oluwadamilola Akintewe founded Project Rebirth, a female and youth-led initiative in Nigeria aimed at restoring dignity, hope, and economic power to women in displacement and underserved rural communities. Addressing the intersection of gender, poverty, and conflict, the project empowers displaced women and young farmers through skills training, micro-loans, and sustainable agriculture, fostering self-reliance. As founder, Oluwadamilola designs and implements programs, leads fundraising, and guides an all-women team across four Nigerian states. Project Rebirth has trained women to establish over 500 businesses, disbursed over 15 million naira (approx. $18,000) in microfinancing to women farmers, and built a grassroots movement of over 1,000 young women, cumulatively empowering over 10,000 people across West Africa. Oluwadamilola’s broader work as a feminist lawyer and policy advocate, contributing to UN global goals across 30 countries, earned her recognition from the Ban Ki Moon Centre for Global Citizens, the Diana Legacy Award, and a ranking by Women of the Future UK.
Shem Redie, Climate Action Plan Working Group, Tanzania/Nigeria
Shem Redie led the Climate Action Plan Working Group with the primary goal of bridging the gap between climate policy and health system planning in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The initiative focused on engaging government decision-makers to build an evidence-based foundation for climate-responsive healthcare. Core goals included assessing policymaker awareness of climate change impacts on public health, documenting existing resilience strategies, developing evidence-based policy recommendations for climate-health integration, and contributing local perspectives to Nigeria’s national climate dialogue. As project leader, Shem designed and implemented a cross-sectoral stakeholder engagement strategy, fostering the first comprehensive dialogue on climate-health integration at the state level. The project achieved a 40% increase in commissioner awareness of climate-health equity connections, secured high-level buy-in, mapped vulnerabilities, and facilitated the first unified climate-health action planning process for Ekiti State, ultimately strengthening climate-health collaboration and informing national policy.