LUKE LANCASTER
2011 YOUTH AWARD
Young Pioneers
United Kingdom
Luke founded his organization, Young Pioneers, at the age of 12 after being continuously bullied at school. Through his experiences, Luke began to notice many others like him, struggling to succeed in life, yet still wanting to make a difference in the world. Inspired to find a solution to the problem, Luke decided to create a youth-led organization whose goal is to “make it cool to care.” He is enabling young people with the skills they need to overcome adversity, be successful and lead change.
Bullying is one of the most common forms of violence in our society, yet is often overlooked. A child who is bullied at school is more likely to have academic difficulties and face other challenges that prevent them from living up to their full potential.
Young Pioneers’ research found that 83% of young people today would rather ask a friend for advice than an adult, parent or teacher. In response, Young Pioneers has created a training program to equip young people with the tools necessary to overcome adversity and lead change. Luke’s international education training program called “Tomorrow’s Leaders” is identifying and developing young people around the world like himself who want to lead change in their own personal lives, as well as in their schools and their communities. The Young Pioneers network is effectively helping young people be responsible for their own success and is now expanding from the UK into France, Germany, the Netherlands and the US.
Luke used our Award to set up an online learning platform, Stay Safe, to teach youth how to channel their fear of bullying into positive action. He also used a portion of our grant to fund eight scholarships for young social entrepreneurs.