Melati Wijsen
Founder, Bye Bye Plastic Bags and YOUTHTOPIA
Melati Wijsen is a 19-year-old full-time changemaker from Indonesia. She co-founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags when she was 12 years old with her younger sister and has been leading the movement, which is driven by youth, since 2013. She also started the people’s movement One Island One Voice, as well as the social enterprise, Mountain Mamas.
Wijsen has spoken on world stages, such as TED and the U.N., and was selected as one of Forbes’ top ten most inspiring women in the country. She received her high school diploma from the Green School, graduating a year early, and has since been honored by TIME as one of the most influential teens in the world. She has also been included in the CNN Heroes Young Wonders and Forbes’ 30 Under 30 lists.
Today, Wijsen is excited about her new youth empowerment project, YOUTHTOPIA, which empowers youth through meaningful, short peer-to-peer programs and provides them the tools they need to become young changemakers themselves.
