Empowering children to solve the critical issues of their time
Empowering children to solve the critical issues of their time
Leadership for Change is an education programme from The Economist Educational Foundation, in partnership with Rolex. Designed by expert teachers in collaboration with world-leading journalists and fact-checkers from The Economist newspaper, it equips 10- to 16-year-olds with key critical-thinking, creative problem-solving and communication skills.
Following a series of classroom lessons, the Leadership for Change Prize offered students the chance to submit their “Project for Change” as part of a global competition. Three winning entries were selected by a panel of judges and each winner received funding and mentorship to turn their projects into reality.
Live lesson
On November 13th, over 100 classes from 15 countries joined social entrepreneur Felix Brooks-church and The Economist Educational Foundation for a global, interactive live lesson. Felix Brooks-church is a Rolex Awards Laureate. He tackles malnutrition in Tanzania through equipping rural flour mills with a "dosifier" machine, which adds critical micronutrients to staple foods.
Live lesson
On November 13th, over 100 classes from 15 countries joined social entrepreneur Felix Brooks-church and The Economist Educational Foundation for a global, interactive live lesson. Felix Brooks-church is a Rolex Awards Laureate. He tackles malnutrition in Tanzania through equipping rural flour mills with a "dosifier" machine, which adds critical micronutrients to staple foods.
Sadikunnahar Sababa and Jaima Jahan Jim
United Public School and College
Increase girls’ safety
in schools
Sababa and Jim, students at United Public School and College, became concerned about the safety of women and girls in their community, who have to travel alone in rural areas. Their project equips students with self-defence skills and aims to give girls agency and confidence, while also improving wellbeing.
Divya Rajora
Divya is a Marketing Technology Operations Manager at The Economist Group’s India office, specialising in tech-driven marketing strategies. She holds qualifications in Business Journalism and Computer Science Engineering, and is passionate about innovation.
February 25th
Sababa and Jim's project gained early momentum after their school assembly presentation. With Divya's guidance, they planned a student survey on girls' safety and confidence and recruited volunteers to help promote the initiative with flyers and an information booth.
April 17th
Seventy girls started karate classes, boosted by parental support and volunteer promotions. Divya advised Sababa and Jim on delegation and securing sponsorships from local businesses and NGOs to help ensure the project’s sustainability.
May 22nd
With new inspiring female trainers, student participation in the karate project grew and the budget allowed for uniforms. Volunteers even promoted it to a neighbouring primary school with a demonstration. Divya guided the girls on next steps: gathering feedback, maintaining awareness, and securing future funding, including support from local government and school fundraisers.
Karate class with new female trainers
Increase girls’ safety
in schools
Sababa and Jim, students at United Public School and College, became concerned about the safety of women and girls in their community, who have to travel alone in rural areas. Their project equips students with self-defence skills and aims to give girls agency and confidence, while also improving wellbeing.
Divya Rajora
Divya is a Marketing Technology Operations Manager at The Economist Group’s India office, specialising in tech-driven marketing strategies. She holds qualifications in Business Journalism and Computer Science Engineering, and is passionate about innovation.
February 25th
Sababa and Jim's project gained early momentum after their school assembly presentation. With Divya's guidance, they planned a student survey on girls' safety and confidence and recruited volunteers to help promote the initiative with flyers and an information booth.
April 17th
Seventy girls started karate classes, boosted by parental support and volunteer promotions. Divya advised Sababa and Jim on delegation and securing sponsorships from local businesses and NGOs to help ensure the project’s sustainability.
May 22nd
With new inspiring female trainers, student participation in the karate project grew and the budget allowed for uniforms. Volunteers even promoted it to a neighbouring primary school with a demonstration. Divya guided the girls on next steps: gathering feedback, maintaining awareness, and securing future funding, including support from local government and school fundraisers.
Karate class with new female trainers
Final thoughts from Divya
“The girls’ passion and dedication for this project truly moved me. I’ve seen them grow in confidence and leadership with every session and their commitment to making a difference is deeply inspiring. I’m so proud of all they’ve achieved. All the best, keep shining.”
Leo Watson, Griffon Erasmus, Duncan Roberts and Jed Reilley
Michaelhouse
Food for all: sustainable food security through aquaponics
The students from Michaelhouse were inspired by the ethos: “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime”. Through the Michaelhouse Community Partnership Trust, the boys aim to test and trial their specifically-designed and customised aquaponic water system, which will allow households to grow food without using soil and instead recycling nutrient-rich water.
Felix Brooks-church
Felix is a Rolex Awards Laureate and co-founder and CEO of Sanku, whose mission is to end malnutrition in Africa by ensuring food fortification with life-saving nutrients.
March 6th
Felix helped the team develop their aquaponics project, focusing on technical solutions like water filtration and heating, and community engagement strategies, including involving leaders and marketing the benefits of their invention.
May 8th
The team showed Felix their prototype and began preparing for a larger 700-plant aquaponic system at school. They continued trials for sustainable fish feed and best crops. Felix guided them on scaling to a commercial system that could supply the school and serve as a teaching hub. They also covered water access and renewable energy, with Felix sharing sustainable community-powered solar solutions from Sanku.
The students show Felix a prototype aquaponics unit and Felix offers guidance on water access and recycling.
June 12th
The team updated on their aquaponics unit, including a new pump, identified installation site, and solutions for fish food and shade. Their main challenge, power, led to considering solar options, with Felix suggesting existing setups or business partnerships. He also advised on marketing via local media and exploring local government sponsorship for school installations. For the future, they discussed training others and a pay-as-you-go community model.
Food for all: sustainable food security through aquaponics
The students from Michaelhouse were inspired by the ethos: “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime”. Through the Michaelhouse Community Partnership Trust, the boys aim to test and trial their specifically-designed and customised aquaponic water system, which will allow households to grow food without using soil and instead recycling nutrient-rich water.
Felix Brooks-church
Felix is a Rolex Awards Laureate and co-founder and CEO of Sanku, whose mission is to end malnutrition in Africa by ensuring food fortification with life-saving nutrients.
March 6th
Felix helped the team develop their aquaponics project, focusing on technical solutions like water filtration and heating, and community engagement strategies, including involving leaders and marketing the benefits of their invention.
May 8th
The team showed Felix their prototype and began preparing for a larger 700-plant aquaponic system at school. They continued trials for sustainable fish feed and best crops. Felix guided them on scaling to a commercial system that could supply the school and serve as a teaching hub. They also covered water access and renewable energy, with Felix sharing sustainable community-powered solar solutions from Sanku.
The students show Felix a prototype aquaponics unit and Felix offers guidance on water access and recycling.
June 12th
The team updated on their aquaponics unit, including a new pump, identified installation site, and solutions for fish food and shade. Their main challenge, power, led to considering solar options, with Felix suggesting existing setups or business partnerships. He also advised on marketing via local media and exploring local government sponsorship for school installations. For the future, they discussed training others and a pay-as-you-go community model.
Final thoughts from Felix
“It’s been really exciting to see you working on this project. I’m inspired that you obviously really care about this, and I see big progress since we started a few months ago.
You are essentially teachers now – you’ve done something really cool with this project, you’ve learned a lot doing it and, by working in the community, you’ll be able to give back. Don't give up – keep working as a team and listening to each other.”
Odiahi Blessing, Raji Emmanuel and Rabiu Faizat
Alimosho Senior Grammar School
Health station with sanitary products to alleviate period poverty
The students at Alimosho Senior Grammar School identified problems with period poverty and realised that misconceptions about female health affect their school community. Staff at the school spoke to how compassionate and empathetic students of all genders were in conceiving this project. They plan to make period products available in school and want to hire a health counsellor to help tackle misconceptions around female health.
Ọrẹ Ogunbiyi
Ọrẹ Ogunbiyi, an Africa Correspondent for The Economist. She has also written speeches for the Vice-President of Nigeria and co-authored the book 'Taking Up Space: The Black Girl's Manifesto for Change.
February 28th
The team shared that school health station renovations had begun. Ọrẹ prompted them to research global menstrual health initiatives and plan for outreach and sustainability by seeking donations, district support for education and alumni involvement. Ọrẹ also advised on school-wide promotion, advocating for clear communication at assemblies and including male students.
The students talk us through renovations of the health station and Blessing tells her class about the project and menstrual hygiene.
March 20th
With no immediate responses to their outreach, Ọrẹ guided Blessing, Faizat, and Emmanuel to target corporate social responsibility contacts at local businesses and banks. They also planned to research pad pricing and create bold, "period-inclusive” posters for school. Health officers were arranged to educate students on menstrual hygiene.
Blessing and Faizat explain that they are displaying posters around the school compound and thank the nurses for delivering the education session.
May 9th
The renovated health station is now open, providing a clean space for girls during their periods. Student presentations to peers led to community awareness and a 300-pad donation from a local NGO. Ọrẹ advised re-contacting businesses for stocking/funding. Post-mentorship, LAM, a sustainable period care start-up, committed to lifetime support for the school with termly eco-friendly pads.
Blessing and Faizat tell us about the finished health station, a local NGO donates pads to the school and LAM, a sustainable period care start-up, visit the school.
Health station with sanitary products to alleviate period poverty
The students at Alimosho Senior Grammar School identified problems with period poverty and realised that misconceptions about female health affect their school community. Staff at the school spoke to how compassionate and empathetic students of all genders were in conceiving this project. They plan to make period products available in school and want to hire a health counsellor to help tackle misconceptions around female health.
Ọrẹ Ogunbiyi
Ọrẹ Ogunbiyi, an Africa Correspondent for The Economist. She has also written speeches for the Vice-President of Nigeria and co-authored the book 'Taking Up Space: The Black Girl's Manifesto for Change.'
February 28th
The team shared that school health station renovations had begun. Ọrẹ prompted them to research global menstrual health initiatives and plan for outreach and sustainability by seeking donations, district support for education and alumni involvement. Ọrẹ also advised on school-wide promotion, advocating for clear communication at assemblies and including male students.
The students talk us through renovations of the health station and Blessing tells her class about the project and menstrual hygiene.
March 20th
With no immediate responses to their outreach, Ọrẹ guided Blessing, Faizat, and Emmanuel to target corporate social responsibility contacts at local businesses and banks. They also planned to research pad pricing and create bold, "period-inclusive” posters for school. Health officers were arranged to educate students on menstrual hygiene.
Blessing and Faizat explain that they are displaying posters around the school compound and thank the nurses for delivering the education session.
May 9th
The renovated health station is now open, providing a clean space for girls during their periods. Student presentations to peers led to community awareness and a 300-pad donation from a local NGO. Ọrẹ advised re-contacting businesses for stocking/funding. Post-mentorship, LAM, a sustainable period care start-up, committed to lifetime support for the school with termly eco-friendly pads.
Blessing and Faizat tell us about the finished health station, a local NGO donates pads to the school and LAM, a sustainable period care start-up, visit the school.
Final thoughts from Ọrẹ
“I'm so incredibly proud of the students and have been at every single point – when there were challenges, they managed to overcome them and they became bolder and bolder in all their ambitions as the project went on. It's also really amazing that they were able to sustainably find a solution for the project.
I'm really proud of how hard they worked, and how this became more than just about being a health station – more broadly, about supporting girls and dealing with the bigger problem of period poverty.”
United Public School & College
Bangladesh
The karate club has proved incredibly popular and the school is now running regular karate classes for girls. They are also excited to launch a programme for 150 boys. The project volunteer team are now exploring future funding options and how to accommodate high interest from local primary schools by running classes at a larger venue, such as the city stadium.
Michaelhouse
South Africa
Alongside fine-tuning the aquaponic unit's operations, the boys are now pursuing business partnerships to secure reliable power, and planning how they will market the system to the local community. They have also been nominated by Felix to apply for the Zayed Sustainability Prize which would provide significant funding for the project, and are working hard on their submission.
Alimosho Senior Grammar School
Nigeria
With the school health station now fully renovated, stocked and operational, the team are planning ahead for how to raise awareness of the project when new students join the school in September. The school alumni association has offered to provide support and funding, and the students will be increasing the size of their project team to ensure the health station and awareness campaigns can continue to run efficiently.
Feeling inspired?
About The Economist Educational Foundation
We are an independent charity that combines deep education knowhow with The Economist’s journalistic expertise. We enable children aged 10 to 16 to join inspiring discussions about the news, which teach them to think critically, communicate effectively and understand global issues. They build essential knowledge and skills for thriving in our changing world.
About the partnership with Rolex
The Economist Educational Foundation and Rolex’s partnership supports both organisation’s shared goals: to drive awareness and education on the critical issues of our time, to inspire action and to elevate young voices. With the support of Rolex, The Economist Educational Foundation seeks to reach 1 million school children by the end of 2026.
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