India’s Top Changemakers to Be Showcased at UN Summit

1M1B (One Million for One Billion), a UN-accredited non-profit organization, announced the Changemakers World Cup (CWC) as a country-wide program to discover and foster India's next 50 social changemakers. These winners will be representing India at the 1M1B Activate Impact Summit, which is to be organized at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in December 2025. The competition is to find innovative and impactful individuals from various walks of life who are positively impacting their communities and staying true to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Changemakers World Cup is available as a two-track competition, presenting it to young and old persons separately. School-going youth below the age of 18 years are provided admission to the "Young Changemakers Track", while students and working professionals and professionals, teachers, NGOs, grassroots leaders above the age of 18 are provided through the "Professionals Track". They can upload projects in any of three strands—Act for Change, Speak for Change, and Art for Change—in a wide range of media types from community initiatives and advocacy efforts to visual storytelling and creative media.

The competition is gamified, where the changemakers complete mission-based tasks, get points, and climb the leaderboard. The model is created in such a way that the changemakers stay engaged actively and are encouraged to play on a regular basis. The top 500 from the leaderboard will be invited to a national event in Mumbai, where they will be honored for their efforts and contributions. The top 50 changemakers will be chosen to attend the world summit at New York, where they will showcase their work on the global platform.

The 1M1B Activate Impact Summit is an annual United Nations event that convenes young changemakers, business leaders, policymakers, and diplomats to discuss and co-design solutions to issues in the world. The summit has evolved over the last decade as a platform for concentrating on youth-driven solutions to some of the most urgent issues in the world, including climate change, education, health, equity, and digital empowerment.

The 2024 summit was the 10th anniversary of 1M1B and had over 400 delegates, including high-level government representatives like India's Permanent Representative to the UN. The 2025 summit will carry forward the tradition of offering young leaders a platform to interact with global stakeholders, present their projects, and connect with networks that enable long-term impact and development.

With the CWC initiative, 1M1B seeks to democratize opportunity globally and honor changemaking efforts from varied sectors of society all over India. The portal is open to applicants from urban and rural areas, and the application process fosters inclusivity and creative thinking. Registration and competition in chosen tracks and categories need to be done by May 31, 2025.

Established in 2014, 1M1B aims to empower one million youth leaders to transform one billion lives. 1M1B's programs center around building future-proof skills like artificial intelligence, digital storytelling, green technologies, and entrepreneurship. With more than 800,000 young people involved, 500,000 educators empowered, and hundreds of employment opportunities created, 1M1B is increasing its impact through education, innovation, and collaborations.

It is supported by influential institutions and organizations such as UC Berkeley, IBM, Meta, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, and Indian state governments. Through these alliances, 1M1B has been able to extend its reach and inject emerging leaders into the changemaking ecosystem of the world.

Spotting and empowering changemakers with the Changemakers World Cup, 1M1B aims to establish a national movement to commemorate small and big acts of impact in equal measures. The platform is not being created as a mere competition, but as an organized system for bridging, mentoring, and enabling changemakers making an impact on social issues through creativity, leadership, and sustained effort.

The 50 CWC-invited participants who make it to the top will not only gain global exposure but also leadership skills and mentorship to equip them for top-tier advocacy and engagement. They will become part of a growing network of 1M1B changemakers who have showcased their work at past summits and gone on to impact their communities, institutions, and the world at large.

The Changemakers World Cup stands for more than as an event—it wants to be an annual institution for identifying grassroots innovation and setting off systemic change. The 2025 edition comes at a time of increased pressure for youth to drive change in local and global issues. It is an indicator of the new focus toward identifying viable solutions that can be replicated and scaled across geographies.

Briefly, the 1M1B Changemakers World Cup is a milestone towards creating a pan-India pipeline of changemakers with the potential to scale their solutions to the global level. Through the intense selection process, high-impact themes, and visibility on the global platform through the United Nations Summit, the program emphasizes the relevance of empowering youth for driving change. With open registration until the last day of May, emerging changemakers from all over the country are invited to play and give to make the world a better, more sustainable and equitable place.

Source/Credits:
1M1B | www.changemakersworldcup.com | Activate 1M1B | United Nations Summit