Mark Benjamin Lozano and Alexon Grochowski were among the sixty (60) young social activists who participated in the 2016 Global Changemakers’ Event held in Zủrich recently. The two were chosen from among the 4,000 candidates around the globe.
Alexon Grochowski and Mark Benjamin Lozano, 2016 Global Changemakers
In August 2010, at age of 16, Lozano co-founded One Million Lights Philippines (OML PH), a non-profit organization that provides clean, safe, and affordable solar lights to off-grid communities. As Country Head, he oversees all operations of the organization, from resource mobilization to resource deployment.
OML PH has successfully conducted over 60 lighting initiatives across the Philippines, impacting the lives of over 70,000 Filipinos. For his work at OML PH, Lozano, together with his co-founder, received the Spirit of EDSA Award as the sole recipient in 2012 from Philippine President, Benigno S. Aquino III.
Apart from his work at OML PH, Lozano is involved in various initiatives that promote youth development. He served as a Director for the youth component of APEC Philippines 2015, and regularly gives talks on the subject of youth empowerment and social transformation. He is also trained in the conceptualization and execution of non-formal education workshops.
He is a graduate of Applied Economics at De La Salle University.
Grochowski currently works full-time in Haiti with the le Centre d’Education Inclusif (CEI), a non-profit organization she founded in 2014. Through CEI, she works with local and international partners to establish Haiti’s first inclusive primary school to fully integrate children living with disabilities into traditional classrooms. She has been recognized by Business Insider as one of the “19 Incredibly Impressive Students at Cornell” and was featured on the front page of the Cornell Chronicle through the article, “Undergrad Marshals Resources to Build School in Haiti”.
Grochowski also received awards and recognition from the Clinton Global Initiative University and Estee Lauder Companies.
In the coming years, Grochowski looks to continue the growth of CEI in Haiti and even internationally, including in the Philippines.
Grochowski graduated from Cornell University in the US in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Policy Analysis and Management. She is of Filipino-Polish parentage.
Global Changemakers was created in 2007, originally as a British Council programme, aimed at empowering the youth as catalyst for social change, providing them with skills, contacts, opportunities and a worldwide community of like-minded people. During its seven years of existence, it has been transformed into an independent organization of a close knit network of 100,000 young social activists.
Event Organizer Katherine Hermanns giving her message to the participants
The organization has supported 280 youth-led projects in 128 countries with 200,000 people directly involved and benefiting over 4 million people. It has partnered with the Work Bank, the World Economic Forum, the Nike Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative and many others.
Minister and Consul General Maria Theresa S.M. Lazaro (leftmost) and Press and Information Officer Elizabeth Joanne Tecson (rightmost) represented
the Embassy during the reception of the Global Changemakers
Every year, Global Changemakers organizes an event with selected host country where selected changemakers are brought together in a week summit to discuss issues relevant to their work and come up with new ideas to improve on their initiatives. The yearly summit also brings together experts in various fields who act as resource persons, providing inspirations and innovative ideas to summit participants. This year, Switzerland was chosen to host the summit. END
