Roots and Sparks

What happens when someone walks into a classroom in a small Brazilian town and asks the children sitting there: what is your dream? For Marcos Vinícios Botelho, that single question at age 10 opened a door that has never closed. Growing up in Santana do Deserto, Minas Gerais, his world formed a literal triangle between home, school, and church, until the organization Onda Solidaria arrived and add...

Chef, Storyteller, and supper club curator, Dhvani Doshi sees food as a “living archive” with “every shared meal as an invitation to remember, reconnect, and reimagine together.” Her pathway to professional kitchen spans countries, continents, and sectors, and the thread that weaves this journey is a commitment to overlooked voices and advocacy, with the “power of food to nourish connection, recla...

Dr. Nojus Saad, physician, social entrepreneur, digital health advisor, and founder of Youth for Women Foundation, grew up in northern Iraq under the shadow of the 2003 U.S. invasion. At just 16, he founded an organization to drive gender equality and digital health inclusion, choosing activism and hope over despair. He talks about his journey into medicine, the power of digital technology, and ho...

What are some misperceptions about the youth population and unemployment in Africa? How about strategies to bridge the gap between the job market and the knowledge and skills of young people, especially in rural areas? How are the aspirations of young women shifting? Social entrepreneur, Pape Samb shares his journey from a 13-year-old founder in Senegal to a global leader in social innovation and...

What has changed in the lives of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the end of the Bosnian War nearly thirty years ago? How are young women and women in rural villages defining their role in civic life? What role must men play in changing gender norms? Seida Sarić, Director of Žene za Žene International, has accompanied thousands of women on the decades-long journey to recover from the devastat...

Artist and filmmaker,  Dr. Abel Tilahun , provokes important questions as he documents the uncertain and complex shifts that humanity experiences. He weaves connections from his native Ethiopia through history to outer space as a Guggenheim Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. He reminds us that when we produce the things that excite us and are not satisfied to be on...

Human rights advocate and expert in sexuality education, Amé Atsu David, strives for all children to have information about sex so they can make informed choices. She believes that adults must break taboos around sex and truly listen to young people. In her work with grassroots organizations in West Africa with Global Fund for Children, and in her own community, she challenges adults to work on th...

Dr. Rodrigo Barraza, anthropologist and Co-Director for the Americas at Global Fund for Children, facilitates brave learning spaces where men can explore what it means to be a man. Connecting with hundreds of men across diverse backgrounds, Rodrigo senses breakthroughs emerging, often led by young people, who are nurturing new concepts of masculinity with the power to foster gender norms rooted in...

Frederic Adou, a young Ivorian, created Atikan, a social business to tell new stories about Africa. Fred knows that powerful stories shaped by Africans and not Westerners are needed to shift the continent from a "narrative of despair" to a "narrative of hope." Learn more about Frederic Adou at https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederic-adou-9338a9121/ and Atikan at https://www.linkedin.com/company/atika...