STILL HERE, STILL GOING.
SHIFT Global Impact Report 2025
2025 TESTED THE WORLD'S FAITH IN THE FUTURE.
616 YOUNG PEOPLE STILL SHOWED UP FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES.
Some took on child marriage. Others went after plastic waste, verbal violence, child labor, or the boys-only culture of STEM.
They came from fishing villages in Vietnam, mountain towns in Bhutan, rural Zambia, urban Bangladesh, and the highlands of Bolivia.
Together they reached over one million people.
Most impact reports tell you what happened.
Ours tells you how. Across every campaign in 2025, five patterns kept emerging. Five things the most effective young changemakers did that others can learn from.
These are those insights:
INSIGHT 1
They went where the power was.
UP NEXT!
🔥
UP NEXT! 🔥
INSIGHT 2
They started with what scared them.
INSIGHT 3
They timed it right.
INSIGHT 4
They sparked the next wave.
INSIGHT 5
They surprised everyone, including themselves.
2025 IN NUMBERS
Each insight in this report zoomed in on a single campaign or moment. Here, we zoom out: the full scope of SHIFT 2025, measured across 9 countries and every campaign that ran this year.
OVER A MILLION PEOPLE REACHED!
PEOPLE REACHED ACROSS 9 COUNTRIES*
*Reach data was reported by 7 of 26 campaigns. If 100% of the campaigns had reported their reach numbers, we might be talking about over 5 million!
HALF OF ALL 2025 CAMPAIGNS TACKLED PROTECTION ISSUES.
PROTECTION
50%
CLIMATE CHANGE & ENVIRONMENT
31%
ACCESS TO EDUCATION
8%
EQUALITY & INCLUSION
8%
HEALTH
4%
Fact: In 2022, Access to Education topped the agenda at 42.1%. In 2023 and 2024, Climate Change & Environment took over at 28.2% and 55.8% respectively. That said, the issues Shifters campaign on can at times be shaped by Save the Children's thematic priorities, so these figures may not always fully reflect what young people themselves consider the most urgent concerns in their communities. What's clear, though, is that Shifters bring genuine passion to every issue they take on.
THEIR RIGHT-SIZED PROBLEMS
Climate change & disaster risk
2
Plastic pollution
1
Environmentally harmful business practices
1
Abuse & lack of legal protection
1
Limited access to sexual & reproductive health
1
Psychological harm
1
Child labour
1
Lack of youth skills & opportunities
1
Girls' exclusion from STEM education & pathways
1
Limited access to quality education
1
Gender inequality
1
Discrimination against people with disabilities
1
Excessive screentime & mental health
1
Bullying
4
Early/forced marriage
4
Waste & pollution
4
STORIES BEHIND THE NUMBERS
SHIFT DOESN’T JUST RUN CAMPAIGNS. IT CREATES THE SPACE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO DISCOVER WHAT THEY'RE CAPABLE OF AND PROVE IT.
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW. THEY ARE THE LEADERS OF TODAY.
In 2026, more Shifters will start where these ones left off. We'll keep believing in them and backing them every step of the way.
All campaigns
"SHIFT is more than a project; it is a warm family that taught me to master my emotions and gave me the stage to prove my worth. I am proud to say I am becoming the best version of myself, and SHIFT will forever be the most beautiful part of my high school years."
Le Hong Phong, Vietnam
Shifter
In chao! We are SHIFT Thanh Hoa, a group of 25 high school students turning plastic waste into purpose across Thanh Hoa Province.
Vietnam