10 Young Visionaries Rewiring the World
They’re launching companies before finishing university, rewriting climate policy between classes, and turning social movements into global blueprints for change.
Forget “the leaders of tomorrow.” These 20 are leading right now. From climate warriors and tech prodigies to culture-shifting artists and social justice architects, this under-30 generation isn’t quietly climbing ladders — they’re dismantling them and building something better in their place.
This is The Truffle 20: our definitive guide to the young visionaries rewriting politics, technology, culture, and community at global scale. They’re bold. They’re brilliant. They’re impossible to ignore — and they’re shaping a world the rest of us are still catching up to.
1. Zuriel Oduwole – The Filmmaker-Diplomat
From child-prodigy to global advocate, 22-year-old Oduwole has spent her teenage life documenting stories of African girls, pushing educational reform, and earning a nomination for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Why she’s on the list: She proves youth activism can outpace institutions — with cinema, policy, and heart.
2. Gitanjali Rao – The Science-Justice Samurai
At 20, Rao’s inventions — from water-quality detectors to opioid-overdose diagnostic tools — make STEM a tool for social justice.
Her imprint: When the world ignores slow crises, she codes their cures.
3. Fatou Jeng – The Green Whisperer of Gambia
Founder of Clean Earth Gambia, Jeng has mobilised youth, planted tens of thousands of trees, and pushed gender-inclusive climate policy at international summits.
Why she matters: She turns activism into roots — literal, sustainable change.
4. Alexia Hilbertidou – GirlBoss’s Global Architect
The Kiwi-born founder of GirlBoss — a platform amplifying young women in entrepreneurship and STEM — Hilbertidou won a Queen’s Young Leader Award and has represented New Zealand at NASA’s SOFIA mission.
Her power move: Changing the code on who gets to build, lead, and explore.
5. Ayobami Akindipe – Building Empires with Integrity
As CEO of ACE Real Estate & ACE Academy, Akindipe is transforming African real-estate and youth empowerment — proving that development and social responsibility can move in tandem.
Why pay attention: He’s writing a new playbook for growth that doesn’t erase history.
- Qiyun Woo – The Eco-Artist Reframing Climate Storytelling
An environmentalist, artist, consultant and 2025 BBC 100 Women honouree, Woo turns sustainability into art — making the climate crisis visual, relatable and urgent.
Her signature: Giving climate despair a colour. And hope a shape.
7. Elliston Berry – Digital Vigilante Against Harassment
Standing at the front lines of online rights, 16-year-old Berry fights cyberbullying and systemic harassment — and earned a place on 2025’s TIME100 Next.
Why we need her: Because humanity begins when the trolls stop laughing.
8. Jeeno Thitikul – Golf’s Gen-Z Revolution
Jeeno Thitikul isn’t just redefining women’s golf — she’s detonating every stale stereotype the sport still clings to. At just 22, the Thai phenom plays with a precision that feels almost meditative, paired with a charisma that’s pulling a younger, more global audience into a historically rigid arena. She’s stylish, unshakeably composed, and impossibly consistent — the kind of athlete who makes dominance look effortless.
In a sport built on tradition, Jeeno represents something far more electric: the future.
- Xiye Bastida — The Climate Oracle of Gen Z
Xiye Bastida isn’t just a climate activist — she’s the moral center of a movement. At 23, the Mexican–Otomi environmentalist has become one of the most commanding voices in global climate justice, anchoring her activism in Indigenous knowledge, intergenerational responsibility, and a clarity that cuts through political noise like a blade. She co-founded the Re-Earth Initiative, addressed the UN before most people her age finished university, and continues to push the climate conversation away from performative pledges and toward real accountability.
Bastida doesn’t speak in slogans — she speaks in truths. And the world listens.
- Nyamekye Wilson is rewriting STEM’s future
Nyamekye Wilson is reshaping the STEM landscape by uplifting Black women and building a talent pipeline that finally reflects the world we live in. Her work blends digital influence with real-world impact, opening doors for the next generation of innovators.
