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Meet our 2025 Bright Future finalists!

Through the Bright Future Prize, ACT searches the globe for aspiring young community leaders and change makers – with a prize fund of £40,000 waiting to invest in their bright ideas.

After receiving applications from young people aged 15 to 21 around the world, at the start of 2025 we announced our eight finalists who together represent Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Portugal and the UK.

Over February, we met them all to create films to showcase the drive and inspiration behind each their projects and to learn more about their dreams to do good.

So get to know them and their bright ideas ahead of our ACT Trustees having the difficult decision of selecting the winners of each of the prize’s four categories, with our winners being announced at the end of March.

This week we meet our four remaining finalists, Nicole, Farhad, Kanishk and Maria…!

Hear from our four remaining finalists

Gaining social insights through an immersive app
Nicole Phan, UK

Drawing on her passion to further social integration, Nicole has plans for an innovative way tap into empathy through experiencing some the life and issues of minority groups through her self-designed app, Equal Eyes.

Equal Eyes takes the user on an immersive journey to gain an insight into asylum seekers and refugees. In doing so, Nicole hopes the app will help mobilise young people to promote social justice and community cohesion – enabling young people to better participate in politics and beyond.

The passion of my project is a culmination of what I’ve experiences as a person. Being able to unlock that and see how I can turn that around to make sure that everyone is seen and is felt to be seen – and the community it fosters as well. Being able to have other people come in and say – we are there, we see you.
Nicole Phan

Upskilling young entrepreneurs of the future
Farhad Gohar, UK

Based in Manchester, Farhad is the founder of Potential MCR, an incredible project supporting young people across the area.

Off the back of his own experience navigating growing up, school with undiagnosed dyslexia and the risks of violence in and amongst friends, he's determined to give young people an alternative path.

Already, Farhad has led entrepreneurship workshops to instil belief and skills in teens with the potential to dream big. Now, he's on a mission to deliver a new range of sessions to further develop young people and their access to business opportunities. We’re inspired by his commitment to support those around him seek new beginnings.

When I grew up, no money was coming into the family. I just wanted to be able to pay for normal things, like clothes, because I got bullied for wearing the same clothes each day. That made me go down the wrong path and that was the turning point. I wanted to do better. I wanted to create a project for people like us that are forced, socially and financially, to go down that path. To do something different and actually make something of ourselves.
Farhad Gohar

Inventing smart solutions to support independent living
Kanishk Aggarwal, Australia

Inspired by his own family, Kanishk has harnessed his passion for technology and problem solving to design a new way to help people with low mobility to retain as much independence as possible.

Using textile technology, his smart bed sheet monitors movement and pressure real-time to support care through the night so that an individual can sleep independently. Having already created a prototype, Kanishk is now ready to further develop and test the innovative design.

I've always been that curious child who used to open up household appliances to understand how it works and the engineering behind it. I realised while building incredible stuff is cool, its true power lies in changing lives using it. One day I would like to redefine assistive healthcare technology, making something as simple as a good night's sleep accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Kanishk Aggarwal

Championing equality for deaf students
Maria Eduarda Rocha De Oliveira, Brazil

After seeing a close friend struggle to get the same opportunity to perform academically, Maria took action to make sure other deaf students in Brazil don't have to experience inequality – setting up the OBMLibras, a mathematics Olympiad specifically for deaf young people (LIBRAS being Brazilian sign language).

Along the way, Maria has collaborated with deaf and hearing teachers and students to develop the digital platform where the competitions are hosted – making them accessible and engaging for deaf pupils. Now, Maria wants to turn OBMLibras into a fully-fledged NGO to host even more events in schools right across Brazil.

I am passionate about education and its transformative power. However, in Brazil it is very common for people with disabilities to drop out of school. I want everyone to feel encouraged to be part of education environments. We offer a totally exclusive environment for deaf students. I want to inspire them to recognise themselves as young changemakers in their lives and in their communities too.
Maria Eduarda Rocha De Oliveira

Who will be our 2025 winners?

At the end of March, our ACT Trustees will have the difficult task of selecting the winners of our four prize categories, each connecting to a different way young people can make a difference. The winners will share the £40,000 prize fund to invest in their bright ideas.

Our four prize categories.

All our finalists join our global network of Bright Future Alumni, now totalling over 45 incredible young people. Throughout the year, our alumni connect and collaborate, sharing their successes and supporting one another's journeys.

Watch videos from our other four finalists by taking a look at our first Finalists Showcase article.

Learn more about Bright Future Prize and all our alumni on the dedicated Bright Future Prize page.

Stay up to date with the prize by following ACT on Instagram and Facebook @ardonaghct

Get in touch with the ACT team using info@ardonaghtrust.org