The document provides guidance on how to change the world without dying in the attempt. It discusses searching for causes and opportunities by considering one's interests, skills, and availability. It encourages exploring a wide range of social, environmental, and humanitarian issues. The document also offers tips for finding volunteer and activist roles through organizations, considering starting one's own project if existing groups don't meet one's goals, and preparing while in school through research, language skills, and keeping social good in mind.

1. How To (and How Not
To) Change the World
Without Dying in the
Attempt?
by Mariel García Montes

2. How do you
actually change
the world?

3. Search criteria
•Cause
•What you want to do
•What you can (and want to) do
• Convenience (time, location)
• Social characteristics (friends, meeting new
people...)

4. Searching
opportunities by
cause

5. Searching by cause
• Children’s welfare
Image taken from http://www.causeengine.org/
• Human rights
• Animal rights
• Environment
• Cultural development

6. There are lots of causes
• Social entrepreneurship
• Specific medical causes (leukemia, HIV/AIDS,
hemophilia)
• Happiness
• Cultural understanding (preservation of cultural
diversity, intercultural education reforms)

7. There are lots of causes
In short, there are as many causes as there are problems in the
world.
Some resources to think of causes you’ve never heard of:
• Most comprehensive resource: Global Issues, www.globalissues.org
• Causes in Mexico: Los grandes problemas de México, book by COLMEX
• Social Issues list on Wikipedia - http://bit.ly/2wOsH
• Children’s problems in Mexico - http://bit.ly/f8xRFz
• Environmental Issues on Wikipedia - http://bit.ly/h53Hq
• Can’t get off Facebook? Look at Facebook Causes - http://bit.ly/4j0tiq
• Yahoo Directory - http://bit.ly/fE2OfX

8. Searching by
type of action
(what do you want to/can do?)

9. Searching by type of action
• Events (planning, attending)
• Spreading the word (recruiting,
creating materials, teaching
others)
• $ (donating, fundraising)
• Volunteer work of other types

10. Engineers Without
Borders; Emergency
Architects
Photos by 1)
ewb.org.au; 2) Sam
Bowstead

11. Images taken from cipce.org.ar; lawyerswithoutborders.org; worldvets.org; dance4life.com; http://
www.hairdressersagainstaids.com/; http://www.comedorsantamaria.org.mx; http://www.sicdos.org.mx/;
www.it4communities.org.uk

12. But what can high school students do?
Images by Un techo para mi país; dosomething.org; fundacioneugenia.org; imjuventud.org.mx

13. A few other cool ideas:
You can even donate your hair at
How about throwing orgs like Rizos de alegría
a ‘fundraising party’?
Instead of gifts/
drinks, ask for
donations.
Volunteer for 4 hours each week
(not just medical services!)
(Micro)loan through kiva.org - $25
USD

14. You can also do things you’re good at...
Baking for Good, a
project started by Emily
Dubner in 2009.
(NYC)
Images taken from bakingforgood.com

15. Quick tips on finding opportunities
• Easiest to find opportunities in organizations outside
the government, and that haven’t become very big.
• Use your common sense: would you show up for an
interview for a job for ‘girls 18-22 only’?
• You can always ask to visit the place or attend an event
beforehand;
• Be wary of tasks that seem too easy.

16. Opportunity finders
• Social Actions - www.socialactions.com
• Idealist/Idealistas - www.idealist.org ; www.idealistas.org
• CEMEFI/Haces falta - www.cemefi.org ;
www.hacesfalta.org
• In the future, www.iniciativamexico.org

17. Starting your
own thing

18. When should you consider starting your own thing?
• First and foremost: you’re always free to start your own
thing
• Starting your own thing requires resources, the work of
many people, time, a lot of effort.You’ll need experience.
• It’s a good idea to start your own project if there is
nobody doing exactly what you want to do (do your
research!)

19. Where to find resources for young entrepreneurs?
www.dosomething.org www.tigweb.org
www.global-changemakers.net

20. Global Changemakers
www.global-changemakers.net
• Network for young people who are interested in creating
change in their communities;
• they offer support through events for activists, funding for
projects, and speaking opportunities in international events;
• their website features content published by young activists
from all over the world.

21. But can young people really change the world?
You bet we can.

22. But can young people really change the world?
Nishin Nathwani,
19, Canada
Gay rights activist
Zuhal Sultan, 19, Iraq/UK
Founder of the National Youth
Orchestra of Iraq

23. But can young people really change the world?
Ryan Hreljac, 19,
Canada
Founder of Ryan’s
Well Foundation
(1997, helped
700,000+ people)
Brenda Villegas, 19, Sonora
Climate change activist, Premio
Nacional de la Juventud Image from zimbio.com

24. How can you prepare for this while at school?
Take your research one step beyond.
Nasma Dasser got an award
for her research on the digital
divide. She represents Swiss
youth in the United Nations.

25. How can you prepare for this while at school?
Work on your language skills.
You never know if you’ll end
up giving speeches in the
World Economic Forum
meetings, like Leticia
Oceguera

26. How can you prepare for this while at school?
Think outside the box, but keep social
good in mind.
You never know if you will have only one
opportunity to submit an article and win
the opportunity to be a war reporter.
You never know if that will be
your way to give vulnerable
people a voice.

27. by Mariel García Montes, April 2011