Global Youth Action Fund

01 · 2025 at a Glance

One year.

One thousand ideas.

One hundred and ten funded.

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Applications Submitted

From 103 countries worldwide

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Projects Funded

10% selection rate, up to $3,000 USD each

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Youth Awarded

84% IB World Schools, 16% non-IB

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Countries Reached

15 new this year, 18 projects crossed borders

2025 Grant range

Up to$3,000

USD per project · flexible, unrestricted

Applications by language

English · 1,076 98.2%

French · 12 1.1%

Spanish · 8 0.7%

Even though I was leading this project on my own, GYAF showed me the power of connection with young leaders of the world, and the importance of building a circle of people who share your values, ideas, and goals.

Paula Isabella Mojica Millan Casa Nicolò · Colombia

Meet some of the 314

+ 306 more

02 · Our Mission

Launched in

2023

A worldwide grant programme dedicated to young changemakers aged 12 to 19, built on trust-based philanthropy that trusts young people to decide and act on their own terms.

Investing in youth already building change

The Global Youth Action Fund (GYAF) was launched by the International Baccalaureate (IB) in 2023 as a worldwide grant programme dedicated to young changemakers aged 12 to 19.

Its mission: to provide financial resources and capability-building support to young people who are already working to transform their communities. Rooted in trust-based philanthropy, GYAF offers flexible, unrestricted funding that trusts young people to decide and act on their own terms.

Open to any young person anywhere

The fund is open to any young person globally, from IB schools and beyond, who is driven by purpose and a genuine desire to make a difference. Each funded project contributes to a shared, growing movement of youth-led action and collective hope.

Founded

2023 by the International Baccalaureate

Who Can Apply

Aged 12-19, IB schools and beyond, anywhere in the world

Featured changemaker

Aru Lesbek presenting at Digital Bridge 2025

Aru presenting myZoneUSG at Digital Bridge 2025, Astana

One of 314 · Story 01

Aru Lesbek

myZone · Kazakhstan · SDG 3, 9

"We created a portable breast ultrasound prototype for early tumour detection and an AI-powered risk prediction web platform with 89% accuracy."

Aru built myZoneUSG, a portable breast ultrasound prototype paired with an AI risk-prediction platform achieving 89-90% accuracy, for early tumour detection in rural Kazakh communities. She collaborated with Imperial College London and Kazakh oncologists, secured 1st place at international competitions, and conducted live testing with 15+ women and 30 experts across the UK, USA, and Kazakhstan.

How we choose

Every application reviewed by an international panel of IB educators, subject experts, and youth advocates.

01

Purpose & Vision

A meaningful global or local challenge, understood in its community context.

02

Creativity & Originality

Bold approaches rooted in the unique perspective of youth.

03

Sustainability & Reach

A pathway to lasting change beyond the grant period.

04

Collaboration & Agency

Shared solutions built with partners and community.

Feeding Dreams · Reading Club · across 3 countries

Emotion literacy, one reading session at a time

"Helping children find words for their feelings is one of the most important things we can do, it changes how they understand themselves and connect with others."

Rathkhema Chhoun Cambodia · 365 reached · book translated into 7 languages

Cambodia

Reading Club Cambodia · founding session

Kenya

Feeding Dreams partner school, Kenya

China

Volunteer-led session, China

03 · A Connected Movement

A Truly Connected Movement

44 countries. 15 new in 2025. 18 projects that crossed borders. The map below is every place a GYAF project took root this year.

Impact in Action Award

Sadhika and Nghia with the EcoPsych ambassador cohort

Story 02 · Impact in Action Award

Sadhika Kapoor & Nghia Minh Hoang

EcoPsych · India / Vietnam, 8 countries · SDG 13, 4, 3

"We expanded from one school to 14 schools across 8 countries in eight months, building a team of over 100 students."

Sadhika and Nghia co-founded EcoPsych, applying behavioural psychology to environmental action. Their 12-step ambassador framework lets young people transform their schools within four months. The project now operates through a three-layer structure, a leadership team of 17, student ambassadors across 14 schools, and the student bodies they organise, with 40,000+ social views in the last 90 days.

The 2025 Awardees

110 funded projects led by 314 young people whose backgrounds, schools, and approaches to change are beautifully varied.

IB vs Non-IB schools

278 IB · 84%

36 Non-IB · 16%

Teams vs individuals

67 Teams · 61%

43 Individual · 39%

Ages 12 to 19

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Lead-applicant ages across 106 projects. Peak age 16, 39% of cohort leads.

The 2025 cohort, in action

13 of 314 shown · workshops, classrooms, street plays, podcasts, prototypes

Turkey · RISE

Cagan Okur

Autism Awareness · 6,000+ students

Impact Award

Sadhika & Nghia

EcoPsych · 14 schools, 8 countries

Innovation Award

Ishaan Surve

Praakruti · 40,500 reached, 30 villages

Storyteller Award

Salome Gallego Ramirez

Dear Friend · podcast, letters, workshops

Kazakhstan

Aru Lesbek

myZone · breast ultrasound + AI, 89% accuracy

Indonesia

Zhenxuan Qiao

Coral Restoration Robot · SDG 14

Canada

Lucas Allen

Green Internships · 2M social views

Cambodia

Rathkhema Chhoun

Reading Club · 365 reached, 3 countries

India / Philippines

Manushri Gaikwad

Shree Shakti · 1,500 girls, 600 kits

Financial literacy workshop for SOS youth

CH · MK · CR

Leontina Trajkoska

SOS Financial Literacy · 83% comprehension gain

Puno, Peru

Milagros Espinoza

Environmental Ed · 6 schools, 700 learners

Venezuela

Alejandro Vazquez

Finanzas en Juego · UCAB partner

Venezuela

Victoria Pereira

Pasiones Que Transforman · Las Minitas

Meet all 314 awardees

The full 2025 cohort lives on the Youth in Action page

ibo.org/festival-of-hope/youth-in-action

Visit the page

Story 03 · Innovation Award

Ishaan Surve

Praakruti · India · SDG 12, 4, 15

"From school teachers I have learnt that the play volunteers have become more engaged and self-driven. They have become role models within their communities."

Ishaan built Praakruti into a nature-based sustainability engine reaching 40,500 people: 8,000 government-school students across Mumbai, 18,000 villagers through a street-play troupe across 30 villages, and 2,500 tribal children via hands-on workshops. He assembled a team of 50+ Praakruti eco-heroes and reinvests 50% of his profits into tribal educational programmes.

Innovation Award

Ishaan leading a Praakruti workshop in a Maharashtra government school

Ideas made tangible

110 projects converged on five Sustainable Development Goals and six ways to turn intent into action. Here is what that looked like up close.

SDG 04

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Quality Education

Classrooms, podcasts, DIY kits, and reflective journals, designed by young people for their peers and teachers to carry forward.

SDG 03

0projects

Health & Well-being

Menstrual stigma, autism awareness, breast cancer screening, children's emotional literacy. Tools and spaces where care became possible.

SDG 13

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Climate Action

From COP30 youth delegation to behavioural psychology for sustainability. Climate urgency translated into community habits and global representation.

SDG 05

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Gender Equality

Menstrual health workshops, dignity campaigns, cross-cultural organising by young women who refused to accept stigma as the status quo.

SDG 10

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Reduced Inequalities

Projects for youth leaving care, young people with autism, and girls excluded from public life. Pathways for communities the system was leaving behind.

Storyteller Award

Salome Gallego Ramirez and the Dear Friend team

The Dear Friend team at a community gathering in Colombia

Story 04 · Storyteller Award

Salome Gallego Ramirez

Dear Friend · Colombia · SDG 3, 4

"Dear Friend did not just impact individuals, it transformed the way we relate to one another as a community."

Salome built Dear Friend as a multi-platform project: workshops with 20 students and 5 teachers, a 10-episode podcast reaching 35 students, kids, and experts, anonymous letters sent to roughly 100 students, and a published reflective journal. Through a single anonymous letter, the project uncovered a network of students struggling with eating disorders, enabling the school's psychology team to intervene. Delivered in partnership with NGOs Malabareando las Calles and Enfances.

Six outputs, by project count many projects built more than one

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Community Partnerships

Schools, NGOs, local orgs

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Resources & Toolkits

Kits, curricula, journals

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Workshops & Events

Communities learning together

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Videos & Campaigns

Beyond immediate community

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Other

Devices, apps, research

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Policy Proposals

Formal engagement with governance

Project spotlight · SDG 14 Life Below Water

The Coral Restoration Robot

Zhenxuan redesigned an underwater ROV from the hull up. Every subsystem, propulsion, electronics, brain box, power and data transmission, was rebuilt to handle real-world coral restoration work that previously required divers four times a week. The project was published in The Jakarta Post (5 million readers) and is being tested with CSR partner IWIP.

01

OceanVoyager assembly

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Propulsion & control testing

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Field deployment with IWIP

Zhenxuan Qiao · Indonesia · SDG 14, 9 Published in The Jakarta Post · 5M readers

"Being selected as a COP30 youth delegate has given me a platform to bring our community's voice to the global stage."

Lucas Allen Canada · Green Internships · SDG 13

Lucas Allen on CP24 live TV discussing climate action

06 · Year over Year

Growing year by year

From GYAF's strong launch in 2023, through a 2024 recalibration, to a 2025 intake redesign that brought applications 3.3× higher and expanded youth reach past every prior year.

Applications Submitted full-pipeline intake

2023 492

2024 335

2025 1,096

+227%vs 2024 · 3.3×

Projects Funded across every region

2023 101

2024 86

2025 110

+28%vs 2024

Youth Awarded direct grant recipients

2023 300+

2024 200est.

2025 314

+57%vs 2024

Countries Reached including 15 new in 2025

2023 48

2024 25

2025 44

+76%vs 2024

Data notes

GYAF launched in 2023 with 492 applications, 101 funded projects, 300+ young people across 48 countries, and over $230,000 USD disbursed in student grants. 2024 saw a dip across every metric. The 2025 cycle rebuilt the intake from scratch: applications 3.3× 2024 levels, countries reached nearly matching the 2023 peak, and first-time per-project youth counts captured instead of estimated. For reference, the predecessor MYP Student Innovators Application (2022) received 441 submissions and funded 84. Gender was not captured in 2025 applications; self-identification is part of the 2026 intake onward.

07 · The Scale of Reach

The scale of reach

These are not passive audiences. These are people whose lives, learning, and communities were directly shaped by the work of young changemakers in 2025.

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Direct participants

Beneficiaries reached through the 110 funded projects

From workshop attendees to street-play audiences, each one counted by the awardees themselves.

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Volunteers

People who joined awardees to run workshops, events, and campaigns.

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Teachers Engaged

Educators reached through partnerships, toolkits, and school-based sessions.

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Media Impressions

Indirect reach through press, social campaigns, and podcast listenership.

Story 05 · RISE Global Winner

Cagan Okur

Autism Awareness Science Sessions · Turkey · SDG 3, 10

"Through events and seminars, we reached over 6,000 students, changing how they understand and include their peers with autism."

Cagan organised science-based autism awareness sessions reaching over 6,000 young people across Turkey. A RISE Global Winner with national media coverage, his work shows how a single youth-led initiative can shift understanding at scale and create pathways for inclusion in school communities.

RISE Global Winner

Cagan leading an autism awareness session in Istanbul

We're just getting started

2025 made one thing clear: young people are not waiting for permission. GYAF exists to meet them where they already are.

What awardees receive every project, every cycle

The grant

Up to $3,000 USD

Flexible, unrestricted grant funding tailored to each project's scope, decided in partnership with the GYAF committee.

The network

Mentorship & community

Access to social entrepreneurship practitioners and a global cohort of fellow awardees building alongside them.

The framework

SDG alignment

Every project contributes to the global sustainable development agenda, with support to articulate its contribution.

Looking ahead where GYAF goes next

Expanding

Reaching further

Growing into new regions and engaging more young changemakers globally. The 15 new countries in 2025 are just the start.

Deepening

Stronger support

Enhanced resources, capability-building, and mentorship to help awardees navigate complexity and sustain their work.

Connecting

Growing community

Connecting young people across borders, languages, and cultures, building a global network of mutual support.

The 2025 cohort · a generation already in motion

Alejandro · VE

Aru · KZ

Leontina · CH

Lucas · CA

Rathkhema · KH

Sadhika & Nghia

Victoria · VE

Cagan · TR

"Working across India and the Philippines taught me that menstrual stigma is universal, but so is the desire for dignity and knowledge."

Manushri Gaikwad Project Shree Shakti · India / Philippines

Manushri Gaikwad leading a menstrual health workshop

Up to$3,000

Investing in youth already building change

Open to any young person anywhere

Aru Lesbek

How we choose

Emotion literacy, one reading session at a time

A Truly Connected Movement

44 countries on the map

Sadhika Kapoor & Nghia Minh Hoang

The 2025 Awardees

The 2025 cohort, in action

The full 2025 cohort lives on the Youth in Action page

Ishaan Surve

Ideas made tangible

Quality Education

Health & Well-being

Climate Action

Gender Equality

Reduced Inequalities

Salome Gallego Ramirez

Six outputs, by project count many projects built more than one

The Coral Restoration Robot

Growing year by year

The scale of reach

Cagan Okur

We're just getting started

What awardees receive every project, every cycle

Up to $3,000 USD

Mentorship & community

SDG alignment

Looking ahead where GYAF goes next

Reaching further

Stronger support

Growing community