A new youth-talent program is looking for young people with a desire to change the world.
The program, named Rise, is recruiting talented 15 to 17-year-olds from worldwide who are committed to helping others and discussing the world’s most pressing issues.
The initiative is inspired by a long list of young people making a positive impact, including chess prodigy Tani Adewumi and activists Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai.
‘Rise’ is being led by Oxford University’s The Rhodes Trust and is in partnership with Schmidt Futures, founded by philanthropists Wendy and Eric Schmidt.
“From young people today we see an immense amount of care and concern for the world around them and what’s more exciting is we see that manifest as concrete action,” Cassie Crockett, the program’s Head of Strategy told BBC News.
The program seeks to build a ‘global community of rising leaders’ working to serve others. They will receive a ‘lifetime of personalized support, including scholarships, mentorship, and access to funding to develop their ideas.
“Today’s young people will face a rapidly changing world of challenges on a scale unprecedented in human history,” Wendy Schmidt said in a press release. “We hope to engage tomorrow’s leaders across the globe, providing education and unique opportunities for them to identify problems, solutions, and ways they can work together, for a lifetime, in the service of humanity.”
Eric Schmidt said the aim is to use the power of technology to find talented young people ‘who would otherwise go undiscovered and unsupported’ and ‘give them the resources to use their talents for good throughout their lives’.
Eric Braverman, the CEO of Schmidt Futures said that many young people, despite being exceptional, often face a multitude of barriers that stop them from helping others.
“We have challenges relating to climate, to the benefits of economic development, to healthcare, as we can all see, all around the world, and we think to get the best solutions for the planet, you have to bet on exceptional people, you have to bet on human ingenuity and you have to do it early, and globally, and over and over again for a long time,” Braverman said.point 575 |
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The applications are now open until January 29, 2021. Apart from evaluating candidates based on grades or test scores, the application process looks for youngsters who can demonstrate perseverance, empathy, and integrity.