Canon Young Champions, powered by optimism

It’s been five years since we began sponsoring the Young Champion of the Year category at the Global Good Awards, an annual event which celebrates social and environmental impact. And it’s been a privilege to witness the flourishing of so many emergent ideas which have changed lives. In their applications, young activists talk about their work, lives and motivations in exacting detail and we’ve noticed two things which remain true every year. To begin with they, of course, have a great and important idea. But it’s their wholehearted belief in its power to make a difference which sets them apart.

Our two latest winners, Allison Choong, writer and publisher of Safiya Speaks Up (Under 21) and Samantha Fung, the founder of Music for Every Child (Under 16), shaped their young worlds around their ideas. They put in hours of work, fundraised and networked – all the while living normal busy teenage lives – to make a difference to others. But how has it made a difference to their own hopes and dreams? What does the life of a young changemaker look like as they enter adulthood? We caught up with them to find out.

The future is unwritten, but also in translation

“Safiya Speaks Up is a children’s book, co-created and illustrated by me, which teaches young girls how to identify and say no to an unsafe touch, and reach out to the safe people in their lives,” explains Allison, who has just turned 22 and has been working on this since she was 18. However, what’s really special about Safiya Speaks Up is that, in Allison’s words, “we are not professionals, we're not teachers.” This means that their words reach readers, girl to girl. “The book was read by several NGOs and Montessori teachers, so we knew that the language was appropriate for young children, but this is by girls, for girls. We know each other best.”

A taboo subject in her native Malaysia, it’s with enormous pride that she has been able to put these books into the hands of Malay children, as well as thousands more of all ages across the world (“We like to say it's for age four to forever, because there's no age limit to learn about consent”). And now funds are in place to begin further translation – just as Allison herself embarks upon life in a new country. “I'll soon be studying politics at the University of Bristol, in the UK,” she explains. “I’ve thought about a career in public policy, but I would like to continue the work I’ve been doing so far – there’s still so much potential.”

And like its founder, Safiya Speaks Up has travelled far, with volunteers now distributing it in Europe, the Philippines, Malaysia, the United States and Kenya. “I’m looking to bring it to the UK, since I'll be living there for a while. And I've been speaking to a couple of hospitals in the US to see if we can put the books in their libraries.” There is no reason at all to believe that Allison and her co-founders won’t be sharing this important book for years to come.

Making choices today to support a life of changemaking

Canada-born Samantha Fung has incredible energy, which she puts down to two things – firstly, her background as a gymnast, training 25 hours a week, with only limited hours in which to complete school work. “It just kind of trained me to get my work done more efficiently,” she smiles. Secondly, she finds every day as founder of Music For Every Child (MFEC) an exciting new challenge. She and her friends started the charity when she was only 12 years old and today it provides music therapy to children with developmental disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds in thirty-six public schools across Canada.

Also a dancer, pianist and flautist since early childhood, Samantha knows the power of music as a way of feeling good and expressing oneself. But it has so many more benefits – especially for those who might struggle to put their feelings into words. The therapy that MFEC offers also supports cognitive and social development, making it a powerful tool for learning, healing and building connections. “I think we're helping around 700 kids and continuing to expand in Canada, then into Europe and Africa,” she explains. “We're looking at ways to create workshops for teachers at a school in Liberia, so they can then use them within their community.” The goal, ultimately, is to help as many neurodivergent and marginalised children as possible.

And this is steering Samantha as she too looks to the future. “Right now, I’m in my last year of high school, studying the International Baccalaureate,” she explains. “But I will be studying law at university next year, as well as continuing Music For Every Child.” It’s a very deliberate choice of subject, based on her experiences running the charity. “We spend a lot of time drawing up agreements and contracts with the organisations we collaborate with and, sometimes, I feel quite lost,” she admits. “I hope that studying law will help me to navigate this better and to run the charity too.”

While Allison and Samantha were this year’s winners, there were hundreds of entries from young activists from across the world – each with a great idea and the will to create lasting and positive change in the world. Which is not only truly exciting, but a source of inspiration and optimism for us all.

Learn more about our partnership with the Global Good Awards.