The legal sector's collective commitment to youth-led solutions for a better world
FOUNDING PARTNER
PARTNERS
SUPPORTERS
Advancing Social Justice
and Reducing Inequalities
The Case for Change Challenge, backed by an alliance of law firms, is designed to enable young people aged 18–30 across the world to develop and grow solutions that, this year, advance social justice and reduce inequalities in the communities they serve.
Inequality is widening. Across the world, millions are pushed to the margins of the systems that shape their lives – denied access to justice, locked out of opportunity, excluded from decisions about their own futures.
Women and girls face violence and discrimination. Refugees and migrants navigate hostile systems. Disabled people face avoidable barriers to services and opportunities that were designed without them. Communities displaced by climate change carry the social cost of a crisis they did least to cause.
The systems that produce these outcomes were built. They can be adapted and rebuilt for a just and inclusive transition. A generation of young innovators is already doing the work – designing platforms that put marginalised voices at the centre, tools that create accountability, and ventures that turn rights on paper into rights in practice. The window for action is now. Incremental change is no longer enough.
Solutions for a
FAIRER WORLD
The Case for Change Challenge will support innovative youth-led social startups that advance social justice and reduce inequalities. Solutions that confront the social, economic, civic and environmental dimensions of exclusion, and redesign the systems that produce them. We’re particularly interested in solutions that:
We want to see sustainable, scalable solutions grounded in lived experience, including practical ventures that don't just treat symptoms but redesign or adapt the systems around them.
2026 SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!
WHY ME, WHY NOW?
1) GRANT FUNDING AWARDS
Multiple grant funding awards (provided by our supporting law firms) are available of €10,000 and $3,000 USD.
2) FREE FOUNDER SUPPORT
All finalists will receive 1-2-1 pitch coaching, plus potential pro bono legal support and operational insights from our supporting law firms (requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis).
3) YOUR OPPORTUNITIES GATEWAY
Your journey with us doesn’t end with the competition. As you progress, you’ll unlock incremental access to opportunities including paid work, fellowships, networking and learning experiences!
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
To enter the Case for Change Challenge 2026 your idea must contribute towards at least one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY.
“I WANT BIOMEC TO BECOME THE WORLD’S REFERENCE POINT FOR PRACTICAL,HIGH QUALITY AND ECOLOGICAL PROSTHETICS, ENABLING PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCELIFE WITHOUT LIMITATIONS.”
Marta Vânia Uetela , 27, Mozambique
Marta is a Co Founder of social enterprise ‘BIOMEC’ that collects abandoned fishing nets and plastic waste from the ocean and transforms these harmful plastics into affordable 3-D printed prosthetic limbs for people with disabilities.
“I DECIDED TO START CONEDUCACIÓN BECAUSE EDUCATION CHANGED MY LIFE. AS A FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT BORN IN A LOW-INCOME NEIGHBOURHOOD IN MEDELLÍN, IT WAS EDUCATION THAT OPENED THE DOORS TO A FUTURE I WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE NOT DREAMT OF.”
Yuliana Palacio, 24, Colombia
The ConEducación Foundation is a non-profit entity that aims to close gaps in academic performance and promote access to high-quality education for less advantaged students in Colombia. Anchored in the values of social responsibility , equity , community , support and empathy.
“GROWING UP IN A COMMUNITY WITH NO ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY WAS A CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. THESE EXPERIENCES, COMBINED WITH MY PASSION FOR BUILDING TECH PROJECTS, LED ME TO BECOME A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR. THE KEY TRIGGER FOR ME WAS MY DESIRE TO ENSURE THAT NO OTHER CHILD HAD TO GO THROUGH WHAT I DID.”
Stanley Anignogu, 23, Nigeria
LightEd is a social enterprise that repurposes electronic and plastic waste to build sustainable energy solutions - bringing power and light into refugee communities.
“I BELIEVE BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ENABLES PEOPLE TO GET ACCESS TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH EITHER JOBS OR BUSINESSES IS THE SUREST WAY OF IGNITING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN COMMUNITIES LIKE MINE.”
Charles Oyamo, 26, Kenya
ReThread Africa is a project developed in Kenya that enables smallholder farmers to turn their agricultural waste into a new revenue stream that could subsidise smallholder agriculture and be the missing link to elevate farmers from the poverty bracket.
“MY WORK IS IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE I KNOW IT CAN IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES. IF I CAN INSPIRE CHILDREN AND ADULTS TO DISCOVER THE WONDERS OF NATURE, TO GO OUT MORE, TO LEARN TO COOK AND EAT HEALTHY OR TO DISCOVER A HOBBY THAT WILL GIVE THEM COMFORT ON A STRESSFUL DAY – THEN I WILL TRY TO DO THAT. IF I CAN GET JUST ONE CHILD TO MAKE A HAPPY MEMORY, IT’S ALL WORTH THE EFFORT.”
Elena Höge, 30, Germany
Yaldi Games enrich their players' lives by offering engaging gameplay that enhances their skills and wellbeing. Their debut title is called Out and About, a foraging life simulator that connects you to nature with real plants and recipes!
7 IN 10 BABIES DIE ARE PREMATURE BABIES DUE TO THE INSUFFICIENT FACILITIES ON GROUND [...] MOST MOTHERS THEN OPT FOR KANGAROO SKIN TO SKIN CARE BUT MOST OF THE MOTHERS USE UNSTERILE AND LIGHT CLOTHING TO DO THIS EVEN PREDISPOSING THESE BABIES TO MORE INFECTIONS LEADING TO DEATH. IT IS WITH THIS BACKGROUND THAT I AND MY COLLEAGUES DECIDED TO COME UP WITH A SIMPLER AND MORE AFFORDABLE SOLUTION.
Comfort Peace Ayikoru, 26, Uganda
KangaCare is a low-cost, locally made, alternative to neonatal incubators used to support the life of premature babies. A knitted double-layered carrier that embraces the Kangaroo-inspired ‘skin-to-skin’ mother care technique and is fitted with vital reading sensors, and microprocessors for infant vital sign monitoring.
Your 2026 Challenge Journey
From 18th May -
Register Early and Access our Launch Event
1st July
Submissions Open!
July
Get your submissions in!
31st August
Submission Deadline 5pm (UTC)
September
Submission Scoring Begins
October
Submission Scoring Ends
October
2026 Finalists Announced
October
Pitch Coaching Begins
November
Finals! Pitching Begins.
December
Winning Projects Announced!
AM I ELIGIBLE?
The Case for Change Challenge is designed to give young impact founders a platform; providing project funding, unique leadership learning, and exclusive exposure through some of the worlds biggest brands.
To be eligible for this program your social startup must be:
100% YOUTH-LED – Founders leading the startup or project must be between 18 and 30 years old at the time of submission and have clear decision making authority.
IMPACT FOCUSED – Startups and projects must address a clearly defined social or environmental issue and must already be delivering measurable social outputs and impact.
ABOUT Social Shifters
We exist to support the next generation of leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs – young people everywhere taking action on the social and environmental issues that matter to them most.
We operate on a non-profit basis to provide unique learning experiences, guidance and grant funding for young impact founders around the world.
We’re here to support your work in driving positive change in the communities you serve, and to connect you with our incredible global community of in Social Shifters – young impact founders just like you!
