7 Genius Kids Who Are Creating Change In Their Own Backyards

Too often we hear the phrase wunderkind applied to just-out-of-college startup CEOs in Silicon Valley. Here’s a vote for using the term in the intended way: to convey that there’s a certain degree of novelty, and yes, wonder, in the ideas that spring from the minds of our youngest generation.

To restore our sense of wunder, we’ve partnered with Cisco to profile outstanding kids from around the world who are using technology and ingenuity to speed the pace of social change.

Richard Turere, Kenya, 15

At a time when many of his peers are thinking about dating and going to college, Alexey has become the face of a major political movement in one of the world’s most divided modern nations. In 2013, when Russia enacted sanctions against the LGBT community, Alexey joined the project Children-404, an online community where Russia’s LGBT youths support one another through a difficult, and personal, journey. Although criminal charges were brought against the founder of the organization, Alexey organized a picket line and wrote to the local media in an effort to force the state to drop its case. He was ultimately successful, and he continues to use his voice to propel change in the Russian LGBT youth community.

Cisco’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) education programs and partnerships improve access to quality education for students worldwide. From the Cisco Networking Academy to mentoring at-risk inner-city students, we are giving young people the skills they need to thrive and to speed the pace of social change. Find out more at csr.cisco.com.

The Huffington Post