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Mehdi Oulmakki, Morocco

The unique challenges facing developing countries often call for innovative community-centered solutions. That is why 16 year-old Mehdi Oulmakki joined the Aquarium Acting Troupe, which travels across Morocco to educate women in remote areas about their rights and to provide information about opportunities for education, economic independence, and ultimately, empowerment. "Theatre is a great medium to combat existing stereotypes in a way that is non-confrontational, which almost everyone in the community can understand and associate with," he says, which is why he believes Aquarium succeeds where other initiatives might fail.

In his spare time Mehdi helps build another kind of community. After teaching himself several computer programming languages, he now monitors a community message board for his favorite video game, which challenges users to create new civilizations and technologies that improve the quality of life and level of productivity in their new society.

Mehdi’s diverse interests include music and TaiJitsu, a martial art in which he won the Moroccan national championship in 2006. After graduating from ALA, Mehdi says, "I want to help strengthen the foundation of the African Union to the point where it challenges the European Union economically and socially."