The Lens


Team Illuminate

Shaping the next generation of climate leaders, with QS ImpACT.

By Krusha Khakhar, QS ImpACT

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Team Illuminate isn’t stopping at education, it's driving real-world action and instilling environmental stewardship in young people.

Climate action starts with education, and Saviour Iwezue, winner of the QS ImpACT Women’s Leadership for Climate Action Award, is proving just how powerful youth-led initiatives can be. Through her organisation, Team Illuminate, she is equipping young minds in Nigeria with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to take on environmental challenges head-on.

The Green Student Fellowship: From Awareness to Action

Recognising that many young people lack access to practical environmental education, Team Illuminate launched the Green Student Fellowship, a dynamic programme designed to empower students and teachers to lead impactful sustainability initiatives.

What started with a small group in 2023 has grown to include 75 students, 10 teachers, and 4 expert speakers, driving real-world environmental action.

The initiative encourages hands-on engagement, with 10 teams of teenage students collaborating to execute a variety of project ideas addressing critical environmental challenges, from advocating against waste burning and petitioning for better waste management in schools to organising clean-ups, planting trees, tackling microplastics in the food chain, and finding solutions for food waste and flood mitigation.

Breaking Barriers in Climate Education

One of the biggest misconceptions the Green Student Fellowship seeks to dismantle is the belief that environmental careers lack prestige or economic viability. To challenge this belief, the programme offers breakout discussions that expose students to the diverse opportunities within the sustainability sector.

Through these sessions, students delve into key topics in climate activism, coastal preservation, climate storytelling, engaging for action, and the connection between climate and health. Beyond education, the fellowship emphasizes design thinking and teamwork. Nine student teams collaborated to develop creative, action-driven solutions, using the Design Canvas framework to refine their ideas.

Meanwhile, teachers took part in sessions focused on redesigning environmental education through practical strategies and storytelling, learning how to inspire action among youth without triggering climate anxiety.

Looking Ahead

Team Illuminate isn’t stopping at education, it's driving real-world action and instilling environmental stewardship in young people.

With every student engaged, every teacher involved, and every project launched, Saviour Iwezue and Team Illuminate are shaping the next generation of climate leaders, one initiative at a time.

If this story inspires you and you’d like to support young changemakers like Saviour in expanding their impact, reach out to QS ImpACT at partnerships@qsimpact.org

QS ImpACT is a UNEP-accredited global charity registered in the UK and Wales and the global SDG incubator for a better world. Our global community of youth grows and earns recognition for their positive impact on society. We equip young leaders with the skills to drive impactful actions through strategic collaborations with universities, organisations, and communities. In 2024, we impacted over 162,000 people across 101 countries, with over 7,000 community members and 50 Youth Ambassadors.

The culmination of the 2024 calendar year at QS ImpACT was marked by the prestigious QS ImpACT Awards, serving as our organisation's flagship event. The overarching theme and mission of the awards centered on celebrating youth-led impact through sustainable initiatives and innovations.

It featured influential speeches and engaging discussions, showcasing the participation of distinguished leaders from the United Nations, top university leaders, and sustainability experts. The final eight winners of the QS ImpACT Awards 2024 came from six different countries, driving change across diverse areas—from climate education and sustainable innovation to biodiversity protection, plastic pollution solutions, and waste management advocacy. Their collective impact highlights the power of young changemakers in tackling some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.