Giving Compass' Take:

• Youth activism has emerged successful throughout 2018. Here are 14 activists that defied critics, and made a true impact this year. 

• How can philanthropists help advance youth-led social movements?

• Read about why philanthropy must invest in social movements led by young people. 

Young people have often been at the forefront of social movements, but in 2018 they dominated social media conversations, news coverage, forced politicians to respond, and made headlines when they voted at historic rates. An exit pollshowed about 31 percent of people aged 18 to 29 voted in the midterms, up from 2014's 21 percent.

Here are a couple of the 14 youth activists who have made an impact this year, in alphabetical order.

  •  Millie Bobby Brown, 14: On World Children's Day, UNICEF named Millie Bobby Brown its youngest-ever Goodwill ambassador. The Stranger Things star teamed up with Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, and other ambassadors to encourage fans to sign the #GoBlue petition, a call to world leaders to fulfill and uphold children's rights.
  • Edna Chavez, 18: Edna Chavez, an activist from South Los Angeles, delivered a powerful speech at the March For Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C. She reminded Americans that gun violence has been normalized to the point that she "learned to duck from bullets" before she learned how to read. The crowd chanted "Ricardo" to remember her 14-year-old brother, who died during a shooting.
  • Ramon Contreras, 19: Ramon Contreras is the co-founder of Youth Over Guns, a student-led group that advocates for inclusive gun reform that protects people of color. (Youth Over Guns is now part of the nonprofit New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.)
  •  Mari Copeny, 11: Mari Copeny, who most people know as Little Miss Flint, is the chief change agent at Pack Your Back, a nonprofit that delivers school supplies to children in her hometown of Flint, Michigan, and the founder of Dear Flint Kids, a project that encourages people from around the world to send letters to kids in Flint.

Read the full list of  youth activists by Victoria Rodriguez at Mashable