“I’ve made so many mistakes, been in so many ‘ wow, this is nuts’ situations.”

Vision: A society that nurtures tolerance and understanding among all people. Action: Twenty-something Sridharan invented a mobile app that provides real-time information on water availability in India via SMS. In addition to serving the needs of women in developing countries she has helped solve a problem that affects 90 percent of Asia. www.NextDrop.org

“A mosquito cannot do anything against a rhino, but a thousand mosquitoes can make the rhino change its direction.”

Vision: A world in balance, where climate justice prevails and children no longer have to fight for survival. Action: The 17-year-old passed his target of planting a million trees in his home country Germany, and kept on going. To date, 30,000 Climate Justice Ambassadors have planted 13 billion trees in 131 countries. “There is still space for 1,000 billion more,” he says. www.Plant-For-The-Planet.org

It all started with a school presentation at his school in Germany and today Plant-for-the-Planet is a global movement with an ambitious goal: to fight the climate crisis by planting trees around the world.

Inspired by Wangari Maathai, who planted 30 million trees in Africa in 30 years, Felix formulated his vision: Children could plant one million trees in every country on earth and thereby offset CO2 emissions all on their own – while adults are still talking about doing it. Each tree binds a CO2 intake of 10 kg per year.

Within a year, Klaus Töpfer, former German Federal Minister of the Environment and executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) became an official patron. Finkbeiner then became a UNEP Junior Board Member and gave speeches at important environment and climate events, including the European Parliament. Plant-for-the-Planet academies were established in Germany and around the world. These are events organized by children, for children, where they motivate each other to take action against the climate crisis. The children become active Climate Justice Ambassadors and pass on their knowledge and encourage other children to take on social responsibility and shape their future.

To popularize the campaign Finkbeiner started the “Stop talking. Start planting” campaign. This was characterized by a series of photographs of himself with famous supporters such as Harrison Ford, Prince Albert of Monaco and Michael Otto, with his hand over their mouths.

“Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Vision: A world where little girls know they can grow up to be a leader if they have a mind to. Action: As the immediate past Chair of the Women’s YPO Network (WYN) Carol gave a powerful organization a voice it never knew it had. Her team forged unity across nationalities, religions, industries and boundaries and became a beacon for advancing women in leadership positions. WYN provides role models for both sexes. www.TatonkaCapital.com

 “The world is not ruined by the wickedness of the wicked, but by the weakness of the good.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

Vision: A world where every individual has the courage and compassion to act and make a difference in their community. Action: Created an apparel brand to fund his vision, then established the Academy of Agents of Change – combining adventure learning and social entrepreneurship. Courage + Compassion = Agent of Change. www.LonesomeGeorge.net

 “The financial industry is a service industry. It should serve others before it serves itself.”

Vision: Foreseeing global opportunities and challenges in a globalized world. Action: Oversees global growth and economic stability at the world’s most powerful financing institution on behalf of 188 member countries. She works with developing nations to achieve stability and reduce poverty, and with developed nations to promote international trade. www.IMF.org

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

Vision: A world in which there is no “them” – the most dangerous four- letter word in the English language. Action: Leads delegations to countries that are understood only as adversaries and that are traditionally difficult to access to hear local perspectives and gain understanding beyond the headlines. He uses photography to convey his message around the world. www.DickSimon.com

“If you want me to do something tell me it’s not allowed for girls and then I definitely, absolutely would do it, whatever it is.”

Vision: To make science, technology, engineering and math accessible to diverse groups. Action: Klawe is closing the computer science (CS) gender gap and having stunning success in getting more women involved. She’s not concerned with filling quotas or being nice either. Content is designed around problems women can relate to. Female majors in CS have increased by 300 percent. www.HMC.edu

“I believe that we can create a world without poverty because it is not the poor that create poverty.”

Vision: To serve society’s most pressing needs by unlocking the potential of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs – the poor. Action: With a mission to interact, incubate and create, Yunus created the world’s first bank for the poor, with a focus on rural women. The bank now has revenue of US$178 million and employs more than 22,000 people. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. www.GrameenCreativeLab.com

“The most important thing a leader can do is set a vision and don’t stray.”

Vision: To change existing cancer research techniques to one of collaboration, not competition. Action: The medical research model has long been built upon a system of competition – funding (grants) and accolades. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma (cancer of the blood), Giusti created an organization that is now the world’s number one multiple myeloma research funder. This has changed the way research is done. www.TheMMRF.com

“You don’t need to invade a place or install a new government to help bring about positive change.”

Vision: To tell the world intimate tales of human courage and sacrifice that will inspire change for the better. Action: Giving a voice to the voiceless is what Kristof does best. The Pulitzer Prize-winner empowers audiences to understand the world we live in. He is author of the two best- selling books, Half the Sky and A Path Appears, coauthored with his wife Sheryl WuDunn. www.Kristof.Blogs.NYtimes.com