Vision: A world of gender equality. Action: Some campaigns portray the feminist cause as “man-hating.” By involving both genders in the #HeForShe campaign, Watson hopes to abolish the “us vs. them” mentality. She has launched a campaign that aims to galvanize one billion men and boys to end female inequality. As she’s said to men, “It’s your fight too.” www.HeForShe.org
Vision: A world where those who think outside the box don’t have their thoughts bullied back in to a box. Action: Created The 99 superhero comic series, based on the values that Islam shares with humanity. The idea was fought by zealots in both the East and West as it competes for mindshare. It became the first intellectual property from the Muslim world to go global. www.Al-Mutawa.com
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
Vision: A world in which business becomes a global force for positive social change. Action: Mainwaring wrote We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World. He started speaking around the world and writing for industry magazines to share these ideas. www.WeFirstBranding.com
Vision: A world that deals with global challenges through social enterprise and impact investing. Action: Skoll believes that you should be as entrepreneurial in impact investing as you would in any other form of investing. He founded the Skoll World Forum, made award- winning movies and started the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. www.SkollFoundation.org
Vision: Democracy depends on a citizenry that is highly informed and deeply engaged in the issues that affect their lives. Action: First Look’s insistence on editorial independence has already attracted some of the most fiercely independent journalists around. Omidyar seeks to improve society through journalism and technology, and to hold those in power accountable. www.FirstLook.org
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
Vision: To convince everybody they have a vested interest in fighting for the environment – however disenfranchised they feel. Action: Creator of the Observer Ethical Awards, Siegle thinks the circular economy has enormous potential to create positive change. @lucysiegle
Vision: A corruption-free Ukraine. Action: Appointed head of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Committee in 2014, she resigned after five months saying there was no political will in Ukraine to carry out a large- scale war against corruption. Her investigative journalism resulted in an attack in 2013 that many believe was ordered by the Ukrainian president for her investigation into his new luxury palace.
Vision: A society free of prejudice. Action: Parks refused to give up her seat to a white commuter on a bus in 1955. She became an icon of the modern Civil Rights Movement and a symbol of peaceful resistance to racial segregation. Her small, quiet and lone protest was to have a huge influence on the self-worth of an entire nation, one that still inspires many today. www.RosaParksFacts.com
