Helping young changemakers unlock the power of AI

Our ChangemakerXchange.AI programme is aimed at young changemakers aged 18-35 improving their communities and the world through social and environmental action. We welcome applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds.

We intentionally bring together a diverse group of changemakers, recognising that social impact and the planetary crisis demand an intersectional and coordinated approach involving various stakeholders. This includes those tackling the root causes and those responding to the societal impacts of these changes.

ChangemakerXchange.AI is an initiative by ChangemakerXchange, an international non-profit organisation with a mission to support young changemakers thrive and deepen or scale their impact in the world.

The initiative is supported by various global partners, including:

SAP, who are supporting the MENA cohort and the overall global initiative

Tech to the Rescue, who are providing Pro-bono tech support for our MENA 2025 cohort.

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

Our programme consists of three key elements:
– Hub & Online Resources: These are completely free and open to everyone—no registration required (more information September 2025).
– Masterclasses: Also free and available to all, but you’ll need to register in advance as spots are limited (more information September 2025).
– Cohorts: Participation is by application only. ChangemakerXchange conducts a selection process, and only selected changemakers can join and fully benefit from this experience (applications open)

Country:

• (for our cohort in MENA 2025) You must be based or currently living / having impact in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Age: For this programme, you must be aged 18–35. Due to permission reasons, we focus on those over 18s. (Please note that changemakers of all ages are welcome to join other activities like Train the Trainer programmes or activities under the Possibilists.)*

Role: You must be 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.

Complete application: The application form must be fully completed – with no open questions or very obviously insufficient answers remaining. Only applications submitted before the deadline will be considered.

*We might be able to accommodate older participants as an exception.

No, we also welcome applications from changemakers, who might have joined a programme, 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.

When reviewing applications to join a ChangemakerXchange.AI cohort, we consider several key factors:

– The current and future impact of the organization, as well as the potential for AI to enhance its work and/or reduce the burden on the team.
– The motivation and willingness of the team and founder to innovate and integrate AI tools.
– Basic tech savviness of the team.

Values: Applicants for a ChangemakerXchange cohort should demonstrate an alignment with the ChangemakerXchange 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. As such, we are putting a strong emphasis on curating cohorts that are diverse in terms of demographics and types of initiatives.

ChangemakerXchange will cover ALL COSTS associated with the cohort and programme, such as: capacity-building, programme manager compensation, specialists compensation, facilitation compensation, and post-cohort community engagement activities.

The call for applications for our ChangemakerXchange.AI cohort in MENA will be open from the 18th of March until the 16th of April. You can expect to hear back from us via email between the 28th of April and the 9th of May.

Please note that upon successfully submitting your application, you should receive a thank-you message and a short notification email from with a summary of your responses (please also check your junk folder). If you did not see either, please contact us at

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.

ChangemakerXchange invests first and foremost in you as an individual. If you are unable to attend, we unfortunately cannot accept your co-founder as there are other candidates who went through the whole application process and may be on the waitlist.

Unfortunately, no. To join our community, you need to be selected for one of our summit programs—currently **Changemakers for Democracy, Education, or the Planet**.

Our community members share a common experience through these summits, which are a core part of our program design. Since the **ChangemakerXchange.AI cohorts** will not go through this experience, they will function as a standalone capacity-building initiative rather than an entry point to our community.

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. wheelchair accessibility, support for deaf or blind participants), 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 address any specific accessibility needs.