The year of 2016 has been a year of youth making a change. 2016 was a year for kids and teens breaking into the entertainment industry and using that platform for spreading awareness and trying to make a difference.

At the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) anniversary gala, 12-year-old actress and Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown was a host to raise money and awareness for the cause. Brown is not even a teenager yet and she is already an advocate for children all over.

Still speaking of Stranger Things alumni, Brown’s costar Gaten Matarazzo came onto the small screen with a much bigger agenda. Matarazzo openly speaks and raises funds/awareness for his own disorder; cleidocranial dysplasia. The 14-year-old star has started a t-shirt fundraiser and openly shares support for kids struggling from the same disorder. He shows people not to be ashamed of whatever they’re going through and to embrace all of life’s difficulties.

Gold-medal-winning teen Laurie Hernandez is only 16 years old and already dominating the Olympics and small screen as the 21st winner of Dancing with the Stars. Despite her immense success at such a young age, Hernandez keeps true to her Hispanic heritage and remains a voice and role model for all young Latina women.

Cosmetic company CoverGirl has named their very first “cover boy” to James Charles, 17. The high school senior is to appear in the campaign targeting equality and be the spokes-model for the products. Charles is the first  boy to ever be crowned as the head of a campaign for CoverGirl and he is hoping to inspire other people to try something they’ve never done and break out of their comfort zone.

Anyone who has seen Hunger Games will remember Amandla Stenberg, who played Rue and won the hearts of many. Since starring as Rue, Stenberg has used her platform to become one of her generation’s leading social activists. At only seventeen years old, Stenberg advocates for equality surrounding race, representation, and gender identity.

19 year old Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams has also earned a great deal of fame and recognition, winning her first Emmy for her role on the show. Williams chooses to use her high-profile platform to speak about such political topics as feminism and the refugee crisis.

The year of 2016 has been the year of the youth. Youth have stampeded over the entertainment industry and stormed into the hearts of many across the globe. It is refreshing and humbling to see the youth using such a platform as fame to speak about important things that we really need to be thinking about.

The world’s youth-kids, preteens, teens-are the future, but they are also the present.  Youth don’t have to wait until they’re older to start making a difference and speak out about controversial things. The fire and passion that the youth brings is what the world needs.