This Radio Davos episode features three Young Global Leaders interviewed during their Geneva onboarding event: Charlotte Magai, founder of Mukuru Clean Stoves from Kenya; Kirani James, Olympic gold medalist from Grenada; and Trisha Shetty, founder of She Says from India. Host Robin Pomeroy is joined by co-host Ida Jeng Christensen, head of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.

The conversations explore how personal tragedy sparked Charlotte's clean cookstove innovation, Kirani's advocacy for sports investment in underrepresented nations, and Trisha's gender equality work following her experience as a child sexual abuse survivor. Each leader demonstrates how local challenges can scale into global impact through the World Economic Forum's multi-stakeholder approach.

The episode also discusses the Global Future Council on Leadership's research, culminating in their report Next Generation Leadership for World in Transformation, which examines leadership approaches for navigating today's complex global challenges including misinformation, climate shifts, and economic fragmentation.

From Personal Tragedy to Clean Cooking Innovation

Charlotte Magai founded Mukuru Clean Stoves after her 2-year-old daughter suffered severe burns from a traditional cookstove, initially just wanting 'to make a stable stove to limit the risk of burns in children under the age of five.'

The stoves use recycled metal manufactured locally in Kenya, making them 75% cheaper than comparable thermal efficiency interventions and 40% safer through concentrated heat design that prevents outer surface burns.

Mukuru Clean Stoves have reached 900,000 households across Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Namibia, impacting 4.5 million lives through a network of women distributors earning 10% commission.

The biggest unexpected challenge remains cultural resistance: 'Communities will push back and tell you, but my food tastes better when it smells like smoke' - requiring extensive education and cultural sensitivity.

The Sports Investment Gap in Smaller Nations

Olympic gold medalist Kirani James describes the gap between smaller and fully funded countries as 'phenomenal' - 'We are not starting at the same level. When that happens, we have to try a lot harder.'

'The talent is there, the mind is there. But if we don't have the support or we're not starting from the same level, then it's always going to be difficult to truly break through' - Kirani on universal talent versus unequal opportunity.

Kirani advocates for 'proper investment' - both financial and intellectual - emphasizing that sports teaches life skills and serves as 'the greatest unifier that we have in the world.'

Growing up in Guav, a small fishing village in Grenada, Kirani credits his close-knit community where 'everybody looked out for each other' as foundational to his Olympic success.

Fighting Gender-Based Violence Through Systemic Change

Trisha Shetty founded She Says after surviving child sexual abuse, noting that 'one out of every second child will be subject to abuse' with 'upwards of 90% perpetrated by someone closely known to the child.'

The 'Lahu Ka Lagaan' (tax on blood) campaign reached 23 million Twitter impressions in 24 hours, successfully making sanitary napkins tax-free in India - affecting half the population and the country's GDP.

Trisha emphasizes being 'need-driven' rather than 'cause-driven,' working directly with police stations and hospitals to identify system deficiencies rather than replacing state apparatus.

Drawing from The God of Small Things author Arundhati Roy's wisdom: 'There's no such thing as the voiceless. It's only the deliberately ignored people or the actively silenced' - shaping Trisha's approach to bearing witness.

Building Next-Generation Leadership Networks

The Forum of Young Global Leaders comprises 1,400 leaders from 55+ countries across academia, business, civil society, government, arts, and culture, operating as 'a think and do tank for the future of leadership.'

The Global Future Council on Leadership published Next Generation Leadership for World in Transformation during Davos, addressing leadership challenges from 'misinformation and disinformation to extreme shifts in weather to economic fragmentation.'

Rather than prescriptive answers, the council focuses on 'the evolving role of leadership and some of the shifts that we're seeing' - providing tools and guidance for navigating complexity.

The annual onboarding brings together 90+ new Young Global Leaders including 'gold medalists, ministers from different countries, social innovators, leaders of civil society organizations, founders of companies.'