Representatives of all 14 finalists in the Young Men at Risk: Transforming the Power of a Generation competition gathered with 11 funding organizations in the first week of June at a Change Summit meeting organized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and Ashoka's Changemakers. RWJF "committed to providing up to $1 million in funds to groups that are changing the future for young men of color in this country," said John Govea, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation senior program officer.

The summit meeting was the culmination of a competition that published 362 solutions from 39 countries on Changemakers.net in order to find the most innovative solutions for helping young men overcome risks including violence, crime, dropping out of school, unemployment, addiction, and issues such as personal accountability, mental health, and self-image.

Participants committed to collaborate to strengthen their projects and create a strong and growing network dedicated to exploring, sharing, informing and refining the ideas and actions that will help create brighter and healthier futures for young men. "It is very good to be looking at some of the organizations that are similarly focused to ours and feeling affirmed—seeing the lessons they’ve learned and some of their best practices," said Shawna Smith (left), Taller San Jose associate director.

"I was seeing this belief that change can happen, one life at a time. It does, and it’s happening all over the world. When you look at it with all of us together, whether in the same room or on the same web page, you begin to see how that effect compounds itself and begins to create bigger change—that has been very inspiring."

"Through the competition, we set out to spark a conversation among experts from every corner of the globe and every area of expertise about how to solve the longstanding social challenges that impact the health and life outcomes of so many young men today," Govea said. "With 362 entries from 39 different countries and over 1,000 questions and comments from a diverse group of interested individuals, I’d say that we’ve made a great start."