1M1B Felicitates Top 200 Changemakers at Viksit Bharat 2047

UN-accredited youth-focused organization 1M1B (One Million for One Billion) hosted the Changemakers for Viksit Bharat @ 2047, an official pre-summit event of the AI Impact Summit 2026, to celebrate and felicitate the Top 200 changemakers of India identified through the Changemakers World Cup (CWC)- a first-of-its-kind, nationwide youth challenge designed to identify, nurture, and celebrate young changemakers taking bold action to address India’s and the world’s most pressing challenges.

The first edition of the Changemakers World Cup 2025 saw participation from 3,000+ changemakers from across 24 states of India, who engaged in a series of structured, action-oriented missions that went beyond ideation to real implementation. The CWC followed a mission-based, gamified format designed to make changemaking exciting, engaging and measurable. Participants were required to complete nine exciting missions spanning community action, advocacy, creativity, and leadership to address community challenges and earn points to move up the leaderboard and proceed further.

1M1B aims to democratize changemaking by prioritising inclusion and nationwide participation. The initiative has witnessed strong engagement from across India including Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh etc and several small towns and villages ensuring that any bold thinker, whether from a metro city or the grassroots, can step forward, apply, and aspire to present their ideas on a global stage.

Some of the key missions included Letters for Change – that required participants to challenge brands, leaders and decision makers through open letters on social media - calling them out to change a practice, policy, or behavior that is harming people or the planet; Circularity in Action -  which mobilized participants to collect and donate e-waste and clothing- keeping it out of landfills and raising awareness about overconsumption - 15,000+ kgs of e-waste were collected and donated to e-waste recyclers and 3,000+ kgs of clothes were donated and Mission 1.5- which challenged the participants to use digital media to raise awareness on climate change and the urgent need to keep Earth’s temperature increase under 1.5 degrees- 3M+ social media impressions.

Following a rigorous evaluation process for the missions, India’s Top 100 Changemakers were identified and invited to the 1M1B Impact Summit at the United Nations, Geneva, held on 7 November, where the Top 50 Changemakers were announced and felicitated with medals and special certificates in recognition of their outstanding impact and leadership.

The Top 200 Changemakers came together for a special celebration event in New Delhi on 18 December, marking the culmination of the Changemakers World Cup journey. The event celebrated the collective achievements of these young leaders and reinforced the message that youth-led action is central to shaping a sustainable and inclusive future.

The celebration was attended by distinguished guests including Ms. Deepali Upadhyay, Program Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, CEO, National Solar Energy Federation of India, who applauded the changemakers for translating purpose into action and encouraged them to continue leading change in their schools, communities, and beyond.

Speaking on the occasion, Saffin Mathew, Programs Director of 1M1B & Head of Changemakers World Cup said:  “The Changemakers World Cup is far more than a competition, it is a movement powered by young people who refuse to accept the world as it is and instead dare to imagine the world as it should be. It exists to remind young people that they are not too young to lead and not too small to create change. This platform helps them recognise their agency, take their first bold steps as changemakers, and see themselves as leaders of impact. What we are witnessing today is the emergence of a new generation of purpose-driven leadership for India.”