Social & Cultural Innovators
Think of them as the game-changers, barrier-breakers, and storytellers who’ve reshaped how we live, connect, and think.
Ai Weiwei
Chinese contemporary artist and activist
b. 28 August 1957
Known for Sunflower Seeds, Beijing National Stadium
Movement: Excessivism
Awards: 2008 Chinese Contemporary Art Awards, Lifetime Achievement; 2009 GQ Men of the Year; 2010 Kassel Citizen Award, Kassel, Germany; 2012 Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent of the Human Rights Foundation; 2013 Appraisers Association Award for Excellence in the Arts; 2015 Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award; 2018 Marina Kellen French Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award
Angela Davis
Scholar and activist for prison reform and racial justice
b. January 26, 1944
Known for Women, Race and Class (1981), Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003)
Main interests: Social theory, socialism, prison abolition, intersectionality, Black Marxism
Awards: Lenin Peace Prize
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Musician and cultural icon pushing conversations around race, feminism, and identity
b. September 4, 1981
Known as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist, producer, director
Organizations: BeyGood, Parkwood Entertainment, Ivy Park, Cécred, SirDavis
Awards: 35 Grammy Awards, 2016 Peabody Award, 2002 St. John's Church's Philanthropist Award
Bryan Stevenson
Lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (featured in Just Mercy)
b. November 14, 1959
Known for founding Equal Justice Initiative
Occupations: Director of Equal Justice Initiative, Professor at New York University School of Law
Awards: National Humanities Medal (2021)
Cathy O’Neil
Data scientist and author of Weapons of Math Destruction, questioning algorithmic bias
b. 1972
Known as a mathematician, data scientist, and author
Movement: Occupy
Awards: Alice T. Schafer Prize in 1993, MAA's Euler Book Prize
Greta Thunberg
Swedish climate activist, inspiring a global youth movement
b. 3 January 2003
Known as a Climate activist
Movement: Climate movement - Fridays for Future, Pro-Palestine movement - June 2025 Freedom Flotilla
Awards: Swedish Woman of the Year (Årets Svenska Kvinna), March 2019; Rachel Carson Prize, March 2019; Goldene Kamera film and television awards, March 2019; Fritt Ord Award, April 2019; Laudato si' Prize, April 2019; Human Act Award, on Earth Day, 22 April 2020
James Baldwin
Novelist, essayist, and voice of racial and sexual identity in 20th-century America
1924 - 1987
Known for Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), Notes of a Native Son (1955), Giovanni's Room (1956)
Occupations: Writer, activist
Awards: Eugene F. Saxton Memorial Trust Award; Foreign Drama Critics Award; George Polk Memorial Award, 1963
Jane Addams
Founder of Hull House, pioneer in social work and women's suffrage
1860 - 1935
Known for co-founding Hull House
Occupations: Social worker and political activist, author and lecturer, community organizer, public intellectual
Awards: Nobel Peace Prize (1931)
Jose Antonio Abreu
Creator of El Sistema, transforming lives through classical music in Venezuela
1939 - 2018
Known for founding of El Sistema
Occupations: Orchestra conductor, pianist, economist, educator, activist, politician
Awards: Right Livelihood Award
Joy Buolamwini
Founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, fighting facial recognition bias
b. 23 January 1990
Known for Algorithmic Justice League
Fields: Media Arts & Sciences, Computer science, Algorithmic bias
Awards: 2022 ASQ Hutchens Medalist; 2024 Center for the Study of African American Religious Life (CSAARL) Octavia Butler Award in Computer Science; 2024 NAACP Archwell Foundation Digital Civil Rights Activist Award
Malala Yousafzai
Education activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
b. 12 July 1997
Known for being an activist for female education
Organization: Malala Fund
Awards: Nobel Peace Prize (2014)
Marina Abramović
Performance artist pushing the boundaries of human endurance and connection
b. November 30, 1946
Known for Performance art, body art, shock art, art film, endurance art
Movement: Conceptual art/signalism
Awards: ars viva, 1982; Golden Lion, XLVII Venice Biennale, 1997; Niedersächsischer Kunstpreis, 2002; New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), 2002; International Association of Art Critics, Best Show in a Commercial Gallery Award, 2003; Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (2008); Honorary Doctorate of Arts, University of Plymouth UK, September 25, 2009; Honorary Royal Academician (HonRA), September 27, 2011; Cultural Leadership Award, American Federation of Arts, October 26, 2011; Honorary Doctorate of Arts, Instituto Superior de Arte, Cuba, May 14, 2012; July 13' Lifetime Achievement Awards, Podgorica, Montenegro, October 1, 2012; The Karić brothers award (category art and culture), 2012; Berliner Bär (B.Z.-Kulturpreis) 2012; Golden Medal for Merits, Republic of Serbia, 2021; Princess of Asturias Award in the category of Arts, 2021; Sonning Prize, 2023
Muhammad Yunus
Father of microfinance, founder of Grameen Bank
b. 28 June 1940
Known for Grameen Bank, Microcredit, Social business
Occupations: Economist, Entrepreneur, Statesman, Civil society leader
Awards: Olympic Laurel (2020); Congressional Gold Medal (2010); Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009); Nobel Peace Prize (2006); Independence Award (1987)
Rihanna
Entrepreneur and founder of inclusive beauty brand Fenty
b. February 20, 1988
Known for being a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman
Organizations: Clara Lionel Foundation, Savage X Fenty, Fenty Beauty
Awards: 9 Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards
Spike Lee
Film director spotlighting Black voices and social justice themes
b. March 20, 1957
Known for 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Occupations: Director, producer, writer, actor
Awards: Academy Award, 2 Primetime Emmy Awards, BAFTA Award, 2 Peabody Awards, Honorary BAFTA Award 2002, Honorary César 2003, Academy Honorary Award 2015
Trevor Noah
South African comedian and cultural commentator tackling post-apartheid realities and race
b. 20 February 1984
Known for being a comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host
Medium: Stand-up, television, film, books, podcast
Awards: 2 Primetime Emmy Awards, 2023 Erasmus Prize
Tristan Harris
Founder of the Center for Humane Technology, rethinking digital well-being
b. 1983/1984
Known for Starring in The Social Dilemma (2020)
Organization: Center for Humane Technology (co-founder)
Awards: Tällberg‑SNF‑Eliasson Global Leadership Prize (2023), Future Tech Award (2020)
Vandana Shiva
Indian scholar and environmental activist advocating for seed sovereignty and traditional farming
b. 5 November 1952
Known for her activism associated with the anti-GMO movement.
Occupations: Philosopher, environmentalist, author, professional speaker, social activist, physicist
Awards: Right Livelihood Award (1993), Sydney Peace Prize (2010), Mirodi Prize (2016), Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize (2012)
Wael Ghonim
Egyptian activist who used social media during the Arab Spring
b. 23 December 1980
Known for playing a prominent role in sparking the Egyptian Revolution of 2011
Occupation: Group Product Manager
Awards: JFK Profile in Courage Award (2011)
Yayoi Kusama
Japanese avant-garde artist, blending pop culture, trauma, and psychedelia
b. 22 March 1929
Known for painting, drawing, sculpture, installation art, performance art, film, fiction, fashion, writing
Movement: Pop art, minimalism, feminist art, environmental art
Awards: Praemium Imperiale