It was around midnight for me when I had the interview appointment with two of the organizers. About an hour we exchanged about community engagement and my motivation of being a Changemaker. A couple of days later, I received a message in my inbox. I was accepted and now it was official: I am a “Future Maker” This is the description Ashoka uses for its cohort of young adults who are actively involved in the planning process of its Changemaker Summit in September 2024 in Hamburg. As member of the Participation Collective (Team Teilhabe in German) I am currently in the phase of receiving inputs from Ashoka being connected with Ashoka Fellows, getting support by a 1:1 mentor and building a great network of other young people who are equally eager of changing the world for the better.
I really appreciate Ashoka’s take on youth participation. It is great how they emphasize that they are not satisfied with just checking a box to involve young voices, but really value our background and expertise.
Personally, I am not only organizing an entire day of the Ashoka Changemaker Summit together with the other “Future Makers” but I get the chance to be actively involved in making the conference overall more sustainable friendly. With the tool ChargeHolidays we will evaluate the sustainable footprint of the accommodations where the guests will be staying. Additionally, our features of indvidual trip planning will be used all over the conference, tracking the CO2-emissions of the participants and gamifying more sustainable behavior.
Stay tuned for updates and join us in September!