Journalist Andrew Mwenda has spent his career fighting for free speech and economic empowerment throughout Africa. He argues that aid makes objects of the poor -- they become passive recipients of charity rather than active participants in their own economic betterment.

Adong Judith uses art as a vehicle to drive social change and trains aspiring makers to create art that dares to ask serious questions.

Joel Baraka designed an innovative educational game to support learning for elementary-school children in Ugandan refugee camps.

Muthoni Drummer Queen's thought-provoking music fuses traditional African drum patterns with modern styles like hip-hop, reggae and blues.

Vanessa Nakate is the founder of the Rise Up Movement, which seeks to amplify the voices of climate activists in Africa.

Zachariah Mampilly is an expert on the politics of both violent and non-violent resistance.

Tara Winkler helps vulnerable children escape poverty and be cared for within their families.

TED Fellow Robert Hakiza is the co-founder of the Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID), which empowers refugees and builds community through vocational education, English classes, access to sports and computer literacy skills.

Noeline Kirabo self-educated her way out of the slums of Kampala, Uganda. Now she helps vulnerable youth gain skills to turn their passions into profitable businesses.

Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American singer-songwriter living the cultural in-between, both in her own luminous compositions and as a co-founder of the Nile Project.

Sue Desmond-Hellmann leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s mission to establish equity for every person.

Charmian Gooch is the 2014 TED Prize winner. At Global Witness, she exposes how a global architecture of corruption is woven into the extraction and exploitation of natural resources.

Natalie Warne did not let being too young stop her from running a successful campaign for the Invisible Children project In this talk, she calls on young people everywhere not to let age stop them from changing the world.

Bono, the lead singer of U2, uses his celebrity to fight for social justice worldwide: to end hunger, poverty and disease, especially in Africa. His nonprofit ONE raises awareness via media, policy and calls to action.

Joshua Roman is an internationally recognized cellist.

With her lustrous voice and wide-ranging musical curiosity, Somi spins elegant vocal jazz from African legacies.

Eye surgeon + innovator

African prison activist

Global women empowerment activist

Quantum inventor

Documentary Photographer

Singer + Cultural Activist