Ashoka is the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs—men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. Since 1981, we have elected over 2,000 leading social entrepreneurs as Ashoka Fellows, providing them with living stipends, professional support, and access to a global network of peers in more than 60 countries.

Please join us in celebrating the election of these leading social entrepreneurs, elected as Ashoka Fellows from December 2008 to April 2009. Read on to learn about their system-changing and innovative work.
 
Human Rights   
Alito Alessi, Mexico, Senior Fellow
Eliminating prejudices and misconceptions towards disabled people through mixed-abilities dance that enables expression for all people.  

Tasneem Siddiqui, Pakistan, Senior Fellow
Overhauling the traditional housing scheme by granting former slumdwellers access to affordable and developed plots of land.  

Asad Danish, Afghanistan, Fellow
Bringing harmony to war-torn Afghanistan and the Pushtoon tribal belt in Pakistan by encouraging a culture of reading and increasing the literacy rate.  

Junior Smart, UK, Fellow
Providing new avenues of reintegration for prisoners through a peer mentoring system led by ex-offenders.
 

Health   
Sanjeev Arora, USA, Fellow
Spreading a new model to treat complex chronic diseases in rural and underserved areas by connecting urban healthcare specialists with rural providers through communication technology.  

Albert Jovell, Spain, Fellow
Democratizing healthcare by giving patients a platform to play a more participatory role in decisions concerning their health.  

Jorge Gronda, Argentina, Senior Fellow
Creating a self-sustaining, alternative healthcare system for bottom-of-the-pyramid patients.
 
Anna Alisjahbana, Indonesia, Senior Fellow
Combating high infant mortality rates and child development problems through a model that combines early monitoring and intervention and strong doctor-patient relationships.  

Julia Borbolla, Mexico, Fellow
Transcending traditional methods of child psychology with new forms of multimedia treatment.
 

Economic Development   
Pierre Rabhi, France, Senior Fellow
Offering an alternative to agricultural industrialization patterns by demonstrating technical and philosophical relationships between human beings, food production, nature, and modernity.
 

Ingrid Munro, Kenya, Senior Fellow
Providing urban poor and slum dwellers access to business and housing loans, health and life insurance, and business education through the largest microfinance institution in East Africa.
 

Zeinab Al-Momani, Jordan, Fellow
Empowering female farmers to organize unions and gain access to economic and social opportunities.
 

Lucie Chagnon, Canada, Fellow
Bringing a new solution to help employees manage their personal responsibilities through the first online provider of work-life balance services.
 

Learning/Education
Jean-Claude Decalonne, France, Fellow
Increasing the performance of at-risk youth by teaching them teamwork, discipline and self-esteem through participation in school orchestras.  

Fairouz Omar, Egypt, Fellow
Normalizing the idea of counseling for all individuals through training in-school counselors in methodologies adapted to Egyptian culture.  

Connie Siskowski, USA, Fellow
Bringing recognition and value to youth who have dual roles as students and caregivers for ill, frail or disabled family members.
 

Civic Engagement    
David Castro, USA, Fellow
Building the capacity of marginalized communities by identifying grassroots leaders and teaching them the life skills to be agents of change.  

Manon Barbeau, Canada, Fellow
Restoring damaged aboriginal culture through a professional film-making process that connects indigenous communities internationally.
 
Olivier Gaillard, Belgium, Fellow
Transforming the youth years in Belgium by organizing teenagers as agents of social change.  

Tom Steinberg, UK, Fellow
Demystifying politics and democracy through participatory internet technology interfaces.  

Raziq Fahim, Pakistan, Fellow
Countering the recruitment of young people by militant and extremist groups by engaging youth in the development of their region.
 

Environment    
Rob Hopkins, UK, Fellow
Providing a holistic, bottom-up solution to the problems of climate change and peak oil.

Visit www.ashoka.org.