changemakers_for_the_planet

Changemakers
for the Planet

A global initiative

Through ‘Changemakers for the Planet’ we connect, support and amplify the work and voices of hundreds of young changemakers, activists and innovators from all regions of the world who address the planetary crisis.

What we do

We search, identify, and select young changemakers, activists and leaders, who tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, air, sea and land pollution.
We search, identify, and select young changemakers, activists and leaders, who tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, air, sea and land pollution.

The initiative tackles all dimensions of the planetary crisis

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Biodiversity
Unlike climate change, the slow-burning but equally devastating nature crisis has been invisible to large parts of the population. The world faces an accelerating loss of biodiversity, approximately 1 million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction, many of which could be completely wiped out within the next few years. Humanity must solve the climate and nature crises together or solve neither.
climateaction_planetary_crisis2_pollution
Pollution
Air, land and sea pollution around the world have reached unprecedented levels. Beyond the devastating impact on nature, it is now also one of the main causes of premature death in the world. Nine out of ten people worldwide breathe air that contains levels of pollutants that exceed WHO guidelines. We need scalable solutions to address pollution more than ever.
climateaction_planetary_crisis3_climate
Climate
Climate change is the defining crisis of our time. Rapidly rising temperatures are fuelling environmental degradation, natural disasters, weather extremes, food and water insecurity, conflict, and terrorism. “We are in the fight of our lives, and we are losing” Antonio Guterres told delegates at the COP27 summit. We need bold, urgent and radical collective action.

The programme

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The Changemakers for the Planet programme provides young leaders with in-person summits, capacity building, funding for collaborative efforts and life-long access to ChangemakerXchange’s vibrant global network of changemakers & activists.

What you can expect as a participant

Summits
The programme in each region starts with an in-person summit, convening 25 participants for an intensive 5 days in a beautiful location in nature. The gathering is designed to forge deep connections, foster wellbeing, and enable peer learning and meaningful collaborations.
Capacity Building and Collaborative Funding
Participants get access to a range of offerings and platforms by partners, including everything from learning exchange grants to fundraising trainings and strategic support from advisors and mentors.
Community
Finally, everyone becomes a lifelong member of the global ChangemakerXchange community, including access to resources and regular opportunities to connect, learn and co-create.

“This was probably one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve ever had.”

—  Sharona Shnayder, Founder of Tuesdays for Trash and member of ChangemakerXchange

Our Community

At the heart of ChangemakerXchange is a vibrant close-knit community of 1000 changemakers from 130 countries working on a vast range of issues. See below selected examples of members addressing the planetary crisis.
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Provides young people with the resources to start and engage in grassroot movements for climate and environmental justice
Harrison Ashangwa, International Student Environment Coalition
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Mobilises youth in over 30 countries towards easy, yet high impact action to mitigate plastic and trash pollution
Sharona Shnayder, Tuesdays for Trash Movement
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Builds open-source, circular and fair solar panels to disrupt the linear solar industry
Perine Fleury, Biosphere Solar
climateaction_portrait4_Jorge_Vega_Matos
Developed an innovative approach using seaweed to address regenerative agriculture, sustainable manufacturing, and scalable carbon sequestration
Jorge Vega Matos, Carbonwave

Summits

The applications for the program in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in 2023 are open between 27th April to 22nd May 2023

Changemakers for the planet in Latin America 2023

  • Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Deadline passed
  • Supported by SAP
CM4TP Latin America 2023
  • This programme is for Changemakers aged 18-35 from Latin America with solutions to tackle the planetary crisis.
  • It will commence with a summit from the 11th to the 15th of September 2023, followed by funding opportunities for collaboration among participants.
  • The Latin American summit will be hosted in Spanish. The team onsite will also speak English and Portuguese, to support any non-native speakers, but participants will need a strong level of Spanish to fully take part. Applications can be filled out in English, Spanish or Portuguese.
  • Attending a ChangemakerXchange summit is the first step into the programme and to joining our global community of 1000 changemakers from all over the world.
  • For all eligibility criteria, please refer to our FAQs below.

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela

Changemakers for the planet in Sub-Saharan Africa 2023

  • Rwanda
  • Deadline passed
  • Supported by SAP
CM4TP Sub-Saharan Africa 2023
  • This programme is for Changemakers aged 18-35 from Sub-Saharan Africa with solutions to tackle the planetary crisis.
  • It will commence with a summit from the 18th to the 22nd of September 2023, followed by funding opportunities for collaboration among participants.
  • The summit will be hosted in English, with French translation if required. You can apply for the summit in English or French.
  • Attending a ChangemakerXchange summit is the first step into the programme and to joining our global community of 1000 changemakers from all over the world.
  • For all eligibility criteria, please refer to our FAQs below.

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte-d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Réunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Changemakers for the planet summit in MENA 2023

  • Marrakech, Morocco
  • Deadline passed
  • Supported by Apple
Deadline passed
Istanbul 2015
  • For Changemakers aged 18-35 from Europe or MENA with solutions to tackle the planetary crisis.
  • Accepted participants get to choose between two summits as part of the overall programme, one taking place in Morocco, one in Germany.
  • To reduce travel emissions we recommend the summit in Morocco for individuals from the Middle East and North Africa.
  • Attending a ChangemakerXchange summit is the first step into the programme and to joining our global community of 1000 changemakers from all over the world.
  • For all eligibility criteria, please refer to our FAQs below.

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Western Sahara, Yemen

Changemakers for the planet summit in Europe 2023

  • Berlin, Germany
  • Deadline passed
  • Supported by Apple
Deadline passed
climateaction_thesummits_event1
  • For Changemakers aged 18-35 from Europe or MENA with solutions to tackle the planetary crisis.
  • Accepted participants get to choose between two summits as part of the overall programme, one taking place in Morocco, one in Germany.
  • To reduce travel emissions we recommend the summit in Berlin, Germany for individuals from Europe.
  • Attending a ChangemakerXchange summit is the first step into the programme and to joining our global community of 1000 changemakers from all over the world.
  • For all eligibility criteria, please refer to our FAQs below.

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Western Sahara, Yemen

More opportunities for changemakers based / with impact in other regions will be announced soon. Sign up to our waitlist now and stay tuned!

FAQ

Who is the Changemakers for the Planet programme for?

For the “Changemakers for the Planet” programme, we are looking for young changemakers who tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, air, sea and land pollution. We welcome applications from changemakers from a variety of backgrounds working to address the planetary crisis, including social entrepreneurs and innovators, social change agents and activists, and civil society leaders. We intentionally recruit a diverse variety of changemakers because the climate crisis requires an intersectional and coordinated approach between numerous stakeholders that are both tackling the root causes, and those who are responding to the changes which will affect society in a variety of ways.

Who are the partners for the Changemakers for the Planet programme?

Changemakers for the planet is the latest global initiative of ChangemakerXchange, an international non-profit organisation with a mission to provide inclusive, supportive and collaborative spaces for changemakers, social innovators and activists from across the world.

The initiative is supported by various global partners, including:

SAP | for programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America in 2023, as well as in the Middle East and North Africa in 2022.
Apple
| for programmes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa in 2023 and 2024
Fondazione Cariplo & Robert Bosch Stiftung | for programmes in Europe in 2022

To learn more about our partnerships, including how to join the effort, please reach out to Nick McGirl at

Are there any knock-out criteria for joining the programme?

Country:

  • (for programme in Sub-Saharan Africa 2023) You must come from or currently living / having impact in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Réunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
  • (for programme in Latin America 2023) You must come from or currently living / having impact in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Age: For this programme you must be aged 18–35. Due to permission reasons, we focus on over 18s. (Please note that joining most our other activities like the Train the Trainer workshop, capacity building programmes or activities of The Possibilists is however possible for changemakers of all ages.)

Role: You are the founder/co-founder, leader/co-leader, manager/co-manager (or hold an influential position with decision-making power, e.g. intrapreneur) of a social/environmental venture/organisation which is up and running and addresses the planetary crisis.

Language: The Latin American summit will be hosted in Spanish. The team onsite will also speak English and Portuguese, to support any non-native speakers, but participants will need a strong level of Spanish to fully take part. The Sub-Saharan African summit will be hosted in English, with French translation available to participants if required.

Complete application: The application form must be fully completed – with no open questions or very obviously insufficient answers remaining.

Do I need to be the original founder or co-founder?

No, we also welcome applications from changemakers, who might have joined a program, venture or initiative at a later stage. However, it is important that you are in a clearly defined leadership position. We unfortunately cannot accept applications from other employees or volunteers.

Does my organisation / project have to fulfil certain criteria?

When assessing the work of changemakers who apply to become a part of ChangemakerXchange we usually take the following aspects into account:

  • Stage: The organisation should be beyond the idea stage and currently active.
  • Impact: The organisation should solve an issue within the sphere of the planetary crisis (biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change) and have some tangible impact.
  • Innovation: The organisation should show some elements of innovation for the specific context.

What personal criteria are important to ChangemakerXchange?

  • Values: Applicants for a ChangemakerXchange summit should demonstrate an alignment with the CXC values.
  • Character: Applicants should show an entrepreneurial and creative mindset.
  • Motivation: Applicants should show motivation to co-create and collaborate.
  • Diversity: Diversity is also a critical criteria for us. The planetary crisis disproportionately affects society’s most at-risk individuals and regions. As such, we are putting a strong emphasis on curating cohorts that are diverse in terms of demographics and types of initiatives. Applicants from marginalised contexts and those with intersectional initiatives are a great fit for this programme and encouraged to apply!

Who covers the costs of my participation in the summit and programme?

Participants are asked to cover their own transportation costs to Rwanda (for the Sub-Saharan Africa summit) and to Buenos Aires, Argentina (for the Latin America Summit). ChangemakerXchange will cover ALL OTHER COSTS associated with the summit and programme, such as: accommodation, catering, local transportation, room hire, equipment & material, COVID-19 rapid tests, FFP2 masks, facilitation & hosting compensation, programme manager compensation, carbon emissions offsetting derived from the local hosting, post-summit capacity-building programme and post-summit community engagement activities.

What happens if I cannot afford the trip to the summit?

We always strive to make our summits accessible and inclusive so if your circumstances do not allow you to afford the trip to the summit, please state so in the application and confirmation form. We will evaluate the possibility of offering you a partial or full stipend to ensure you can join the summit.

Is there an interview as part of the selection process?

Given the high number of applications we receive and the limited staff capacity, only candidates who are being considered for the final shortlist will be invited to a short informal interview to ensure their suitability in the programme and their fit with the community. This informal interview will take place online and will be conducted by a member of the CXC core team or community member.

When and how will I hear back if I was selected?

The call for applications for Changemakers for the Planet programmes in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa will be open from 27 April  – 22 May 2023. Expect to hear back from us 3-4 weeks after the end of the deadline via e-mail (Around 19th of June).

Also, please note that you should have received a thank-you message when submitting your applications successfully and a short notification email from with a summary of your responses (please check your junk folder). If you did not see either, please contact us at .

Can I receive feedback on my application?

Unfortunately, we cannot provide individual feedback on each application. But we do send a thorough email to all applicants outlining the full application and selection process, as well as sharing useful resources for changemakers, which has always been appreciated by applicants in the past.

Can my co-founder join instead of me?

ChangemakerXchange invests first and foremost in the person, aka you. In the event that you cannot attend the summit anymore, we unfortunately cannot accept your co-founder as there are other candidates who went through the whole application process and have been waitlisted.

Can I join only part of the summit?

Unfortunately, no. The ChangemakerXchange summit is an intense and enriching experience that makes sense if undertaken from start to end. This means we can only accept applicants who can commit to the full duration of the summit. Also, we will only allow participants who have joined all sessions on all days into the ChangemakerXchange community.

What is your approach to Disability Inclusion?

We strive to be as inclusive as possible as an organisation and for all our activities, including the in-person summits. This includes physical disabilities (i.e. needing a wheelchair, being deaf or blind), as well as cognitive disabilities (e.g. being neurodiverse). If you have any specific questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to .

Also, if needed, we will prepare a personalised “onboarding toolkit” ahead of the summit to answer any questions you might have RE disability inclusion.

What is your COVID-19 policy?

We take the COVID-19 pandemic extremely seriously. The health of our team, participants and partners is the highest priority for us! Since we cannot yet predict the exact situation at the time of the in-person summits in September 2023 we won’t be sharing recommendations and notes on restrictions just yet, but in case you are accepted as a participant please expect to receive an extensive COVID-19 briefing several weeks ahead of the summit.

Will you support with Visa applications?

Whilst we do everything (!) we can to support your visa application by providing you with an invitation letter and hotel confirmation, please know that we cannot call the embassies / consulates to push for your visa. You will be responsible for your visa application process.

What happens right after the summit?

The completion of your summit marks the official entry into the ChangemakerXchange Community, which gives you lifelong membership in our vibrant global network of 1000+ changemakers from 130 countries.
Also, as part of the specific programme you join, there is a modest budget to provide Funding to go towards systemic collaborative efforts among participants. And last, but not least we’d make personalised recommendations for support and connections, based on your needs.

What is the value of joining ChangemakerXchange?

We believe the words of our community do the best job of highlighting the value of joining ChangemakerXchange. Here’s just some of the feedback we’ve received from members throughout the years:

“I wanted to change the world for the better since I was 14. But everyone around me would tell me ‘be normal, go to college, get a job, don’t try to do more than you can’. After CXC, I realised that I don’t want to have a ‘normal’ life. I want an extraordinary life. I want to fully realise my mission to paint the world in bright colours of peace, unity, and love. And ChangemakerXchange catalysed the process of realising my mission. Thank you!”

“CXC is an incredible platform to change the mindset and perspective on many things (to the best of course). I can definitely say that I’ve been transformed, and I now have a much better understanding about what it takes to be a social entrepreneur, scaling impact and opening yourself to others.”

“CXC gave me a feeling of belonging. I have been part of many conferences and different communities, but CXC still feels like home because of the genuine values, the genuine goals and long-lasting friendships.”

 

As a member, what are opportunities to get engaged in the community?

Attending a ChangemakerXchange summit is the first step to joining a global community of ~1000 changemakers from all over the world. Once you are part of the community, there are several engagement opportunities you can benefit from, including: 

  • Joining our private Facebook and Linked groups where you can engage with the rest of our community members from all over the world.
  • Joining the Bosch Alumni Network to access various opportunities such as job vacancies, workshops, seminars, travel grants, etc.
  • Joining additional community engagement activities to expand your network, connect with other members, and collaborate to amplify your impact.
  • Joining our Global Facilitation Pool to facilitate CXC-like experiences for other changemakers around the world.
  • Becoming a Community Host to bring the CXC summit experience to your country.
  • Becoming a Community Advisor to give feedback to the CXC core team on all-things strategy.
  • Getting access to a range of offerings and platforms offered by our partners, including everything from learning exchange grants to pro-bono coaching and law support.
  • Attending the Global Co-Creation Summit to shape the future of the community.

The beauty of ChangemakerXchange is that it is a very dynamic and constantly evolving community, continuously shaped by the needs and feedback of its members.