- #HGWORLD
- #HGCREATORS
- #HGEXPLORE
- #HGVOICES
- #HGSHOP
- CAREERS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
It is no doubt that the future belongs to the youth. The will to bring about change, innovate and be proactive in spheres that matter most to them fuel their outstanding contribution to today’s world. The Indian adage of “Chhota packet, bada dhamaka” (Small packet, large explosion) seems apt when it comes to a few powerhouses who have gone beyond their years to bring about the change they wish to see in the world.
Starting from 2020, TIME Magazine’s yearly honour of ‘Person Of The Year’ will now be accompanied by a new laurel, ‘Kid Of The Year’, to recognise and appreciate the effort of youngsters in various fields.
Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year-old scientist and innovator of Indian origin has received the first-ever title, from 5,000 nominations for the same. Her work spans fields of contaminated drinking water, opiod addiction and even cyberbullying. A real go-getter, Gitanjali is not one to stop at simply solving a problem — she aims to inspire others to come up with their solutions, too. She said in her interview with Angelina Jolie for TIME, “I think that if you give them [students] that spark that they can then build off of, then that changes everything. That means one more person in this world wants to come up with ideas to solve problems.”
At only 15, she has the ability to realise that she must also contribute to shattering stereotypes. Speaking about how she sees scientists that are typically older white men on TV, she mentioned to TIME, “It’s weird to me that it was almost like people had assigned roles, regarding like their gender, their age, the colour of their skin.”
There is no abundance of problems in today’s world. As Gitanjali said, “Our generation is facing so many problems that we’ve never seen before. But then at the same time we’re facing old problems that still exist.” To be able to tackle these in an effective manner, the current generation must step up - it is not so that we lack capability, we sometimes simply lack the push, motivation and support.
Gitanjali’s contribution to the field of science and technology is probably not the only aspect that earned her the ‘Kid Of The Year’ title, but also her humility, broad outlook and the sheer will to bring about much-needed change.
Read her entire TIME interview here.
If you enjoyed reading this, we suggest you also read:
