The 20 Under 40 Series: Young Shapers of the Future

200 amazing young leaders changing the world.
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The future is unwritten. It is also right around the corner, and, if, as science fiction author William Gibson noted, it is not evenly distributed, more and more young people around the world are reaching toward it to shape it, improve it, and make it more equitable. These “shapers of the future” work in many fields and endeavors, embracing every corner and intersection of health and medicine, science and technology, business and entrepreneurship, social activism and politics, and many other areas listed above. They are people of ideas, framing the intellectual questions and concerns that will guide future thought. They are scholars, builders, designers, architects, artists, teachers, writers, musicians, social and political leaders, and much more.

While under the age of 40 (as of January 2022), the 200 shapers of the future that Britannica is highlighting in this series have already left their mark on the present, and they surely have much more invention, innovation, creation, and interpretation ahead of them.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica