Melati Wijsen is a 22 year old full time changemaker. She has founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags with her younger sister & has been leading the movement driven by youth since 2013 at the age of 12. She has also started the people movement One Island One Voice and the social enterprise, Mountain Mamas.
Melati Wijsen has given two global TED talks before she turned 21 and has spoken on world stages such as the UN & has also been selected as FORBES top ten most inspiring women in the country. She graduated from high school one year early & has since been honored by TIME as part of the annual list of most influential teens in the world along with CNN Heroes Young Wonders & FORBES 30 under 30.
Recently, Melati Wijsen has co-chaired the World Economic Forum GPAP committee, sat on the inaugural Expert Advisory Panel for the Earthshot Prize, & has had her film, Bigger Than Us, premiere at the 74th Cannes Film Festival 2021. Today, Melati has launched her new company, YOUTHTOPIA, which is all about youth empowerment through short & meaningful peer to peer programs & providing them the tools they need to be changemakers. Melati believes that young people can accelerate change & her vision is to make YOUTHTOPIA the go to platform for young people to learn about frontline skills.
The vision at YOUTHTOPIA is to be the global number one “go-to” HQ for young people. The mission at YOUTHTOPIA is to provide space that brings young people together, ignites their passions and grows their skills to become active changemakers. We will achieve this by creating short and meaningful peer to peer programs off and online. These programs are made by the frontline young changemakers in YOUTHTOPIA’s unique network of Circle of Youth members (200 changemakers globally in 50 countries). YOUTHTOPIA already has a first phase learning platform up and running on the website with 1600 users.
