Latest news with #RebeccaYoung
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Scottish pupil named a Time magazine girl of the year for solar-powered blanket design
A Scottish schoolgirl has been named a 'girl of the year' by Time magazine after she invented a solar-powered thermal blanket to help rough sleepers keep warm. Rebecca Young, 13, came up with her design after seeing homeless people struggling in subzero temperatures on the streets of her home city, Glasgow, in winter. She said her message to young people was: 'If you see a problem you think you can fix, you can do something about it.' She joins nine other girls from across the world on the magazine's first list to spotlight girls' achievements. It builds on Time's existing women of the year list, with the express intention of recognising young female role models globally. Rebecca's design – a solar-powered backpack with an electric blanket inside – won an engineering award in a UK-wide competition that received 70,000 entrants and Rebecca has since developed it as a prototype. The engineering firm Thales, which sponsored the competition, subsequently manufactured 30 of the blankets and distributed them to six homeless charities in Glasgow earlier this year, with plans to make 120 more. Rebecca, a student at Kelvinside academy, said: 'The idea came from seeing how hard it is for people living on the streets of Glasgow, especially during winter, and wanting to create something that could make a real difference. At first, it was just a drawing – I never imagined it would actually be made.' 'Knowing that something I came up with is helping others makes me feel really proud. By seeing themselves as builders, girls can challenge norms, pursue any passion and shape the world. It's easy to fall into thinking that building just means construction. It's so much more than that.' The list is launched in partnership with Lego Group, as an extension of their She Built That campaign, which challenges stereotypes and encourages girls to see themselves as builders. Other entrants on the list include Rutendo Shadaya, a 17-year-old Zimbabwean-New Zealander fantasy novelist, the Olympic skateboarder Coco Yoshizawa, 15, from Japan and an organ donation advocate, Naomi S DeBerry, 12, from the US. Nine of the 10 girls are reimagined as Lego figures on the cover of the new edition. Launching the list, the Time senior editor Dayana Sarkisova said: 'These girls are part of a generation that's reshaping what leadership looks like today. Their generation understands that change doesn't require waiting for adulthood – it starts with seeing problems and refusing to accept them as permanent.' Rebecca said: 'I think there's a really important message for any young person to look at what you're interested in and follow your dreams If you see a problem you think you can fix or contribute to, you can do something about it. And whatever you do, you should always follow your own path to what you want to achieve.'
Rhyl Journal
5 days ago
- Science
- Rhyl Journal
Scot, 12, named on Time's first Girls of the Year list after homelessness design
Rebecca Young, from Glasgow, was aged just 11 when she came up with the idea after becoming concerned about people sleeping on the streets during a freezing Scottish winter. Now 12, she has been named alongside nine other girls from around the world all recognised as being young leaders inspiring communities, as part of a list aimed at celebrating and empowering girls. The Kelvinside Academy pupil described it as 'cool and very unexpected' to be among those named, adding: 'I'm honoured by the fact they wanted to include me on their Girls of the Year list and hope other kids see it and decide to do their part in helping people.' Rebecca, who had already won a UK engineering award earlier this year for her design, said she is interested in art, innovation and music, and one day hopes to pursue a career in the latter which she said 'can also help lots of people in many different ways'. Rebecca's design has resulted in 30 of the blankets being manufactured and distributed to a homeless shelter in Glasgow, with plans to make more. She and eight of the other girls are featured as part of a limited-edition animated Time cover – reimagined as Lego minifigures, with each character aimed at capturing the spirit of their achievements. The collaboration followed a recent study by the Lego group of more than 32,000 parents and children across 21 countries which found 70% of young women struggle to see themselves as someone who is good at building things. It also found that children were twice as likely to credit major inventions to men – with most believing that wifi (69%) and the Moon landing software (68%) were invented by men, even though they were pioneered by women. Time chief executive Jessica Sibley said the list features girls aged between 12 and 17 who are 'shaping their communities with courage and purpose'. Julia Goldin, Lego group chief product and marketing officer, said: 'When girls don't see it, they don't believe it – the world risks missing out on the next big breakthrough. 'There's no stopping what girls can build. 'Together with Time we hope these stories will inspire a future generation of unstoppable female builders to dream big and continue making their mark on the world.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Scottish pupil named ‘Girl of the Year' for solar-powered blanket design
A Scottish schoolgirl has been named a 'Girl of the Year' by Time magazine after she invented a solar-powered thermal blanket to help rough sleepers keep warm. Rebecca Young, 13, came up with her design after seeing homeless people struggling in subzero temperatures on the streets of her home city, Glasgow, in winter. She said her message to young people was: 'If you see a problem you think you can fix, you can do something about it.' She joins nine other young women from across the world on the magazine's first list to spotlight girls' achievements. It builds on Time's existing 'Women of the Year' list with the express intention of recognising young female role models globally. Young's design – a solar-powered backpack with an electric blanket inside – won an engineering award in a UK-wide competition that received 70,000 entrants and Young has since developed it as a prototype. The engineering firm Thales, which sponsored the competition, subsequently manufactured 30 of the blankets and distributed them to six homeless charities in Glasgow earlier this year, with plans to make 120 more. Young, a student at Kelvinside academy, said: 'The idea came from seeing how hard it is for people living on the streets of Glasgow, especially during winter, and wanting to create something that could make a real difference. At first, it was just a drawing – I never imagined it would actually be made.' 'Knowing that something I came up with is helping others makes me feel really proud. By seeing themselves as builders, girls can challenge norms, pursue any passion and shape the world. It's easy to fall into thinking that building just means construction. It's so much more than that.' The list is launched in partnership with Lego Group, as an extension of their She Built That campaign, which challenges stereotypes and encourages girls to see themselves as builders. Other entrants on the list include Rutendo Shadaya, a 17-year-old Zimbabwean-New Zealander fantasy novelist, the Olympic skateboarder Coco Yoshizawa, 15, from Japan and an organ donation advocate, Naomi S DeBerry, 12, from the US. All 10 girls are re-imagined as Lego figures on the cover of the new edition. Launching the list, Time's senior editor, Dayana Sarkisova, said: 'These girls are part of a generation that's reshaping what leadership looks like today. Their generation understands that change doesn't require waiting for adulthood – it starts with seeing problems and refusing to accept them as permanent.' Young said: 'I think there's a really important message for any young person to look at what you're interested in and follow your dreams If you see a problem you think you can fix or contribute to, you can do something about it. And whatever you do, you should always follow your own path to what you want to achieve.'
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Scot, 12, named on Time's first Girls of the Year list after homelessness design
Rebecca Young, from Glasgow, was aged just 11 when she came up with the idea after becoming concerned about people sleeping on the streets during a freezing Scottish winter. Now 12, she has been named alongside nine other girls from around the world all recognised as being young leaders inspiring communities, as part of a list aimed at celebrating and empowering girls. The Kelvinside Academy pupil described it as 'cool and very unexpected' to be among those named, adding: 'I'm honoured by the fact they wanted to include me on their Girls of the Year list and hope other kids see it and decide to do their part in helping people.' Rebecca, who had already won a UK engineering award earlier this year for her design, said she is interested in art, innovation and music, and one day hopes to pursue a career in the latter which she said 'can also help lots of people in many different ways'. Rebecca's design has resulted in 30 of the blankets being manufactured and distributed to a homeless shelter in Glasgow, with plans to make more. She and eight of the other girls are featured as part of a limited-edition animated Time cover – reimagined as Lego minifigures, with each character aimed at capturing the spirit of their achievements. The collaboration followed a recent study by the Lego group of more than 32,000 parents and children across 21 countries which found 70% of young women struggle to see themselves as someone who is good at building things. Rebecca Young is one of the Time Girls of the Year (Time/Lego Group/PA) It also found that children were twice as likely to credit major inventions to men – with most believing that wifi (69%) and the Moon landing software (68%) were invented by men, even though they were pioneered by women. Time chief executive Jessica Sibley said the list features girls aged between 12 and 17 who are 'shaping their communities with courage and purpose'. Julia Goldin, Lego group chief product and marketing officer, said: 'When girls don't see it, they don't believe it – the world risks missing out on the next big breakthrough. 'There's no stopping what girls can build. 'Together with Time we hope these stories will inspire a future generation of unstoppable female builders to dream big and continue making their mark on the world.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Pupil who invented device to help homeless named 'girl of the year'
A Glasgow school pupil has been named among Time magazine's girls of the year for inventing a device to help homeless people warm. Rebecca Young, 12, designed a solar-powered blanket, which an engineering firm Thales then turned into reality. The Kelvinside Academy pupil is now among 10 girls from across the world selected by Time who have inspired and helped communities. She told BBC Scotland News that she was shocked and honoured by the recognition, which has also seen her turned into a Lego mini-figure, due to the awards being run in partnership with the Danish toy manufacturer. More stories from Glasgow & West Scotland More stories from Scotland Rebecca first came up with the idea while attending an engineering club at school. She explained: "Seeing all the homeless people, it made me want to help – it's a problem that should be fixed. "During the day, the heat from the sun can energise the solar panels and they go into a battery pack that can store the heat. When it's cold at night people can use the energy stored in the battery pack to sleep on. "In Glasgow it can be freezing at night and they [homeless people] will have no power, so I thought the solar panel could heat it." Rebecca's idea came out on top in the UK Primary Engineer competition, where more than 70,000 pupils entered ideas aimed around addressing a social issue. Engineering company Thales then turned the idea into a working prototype, with 35 units given to Homeless Project Scotland to use in Glasgow. That achievement led Rebecca to a spot on TIME's list, which the magazine's CEO Jessica Sibley said highlights "those who are turning imagination into real-world impact". Rebecca's mum Louise told BBC Scotland News: "I couldn't be more proud, it's fantastic. It's obviously all come from a drawing and going from that to it actually being made is amazing." As part of the honour, Rebecca and the other nine winners are appearing on a digital cover of the famous magazine, where they are styled as Lego mini-figures - something the 12-year-old said was both "really cool and crazy". She also had advice for any other girls who wanted to get involved in STEM subjects, meaning science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Rebecca said: "If you have an idea like I did, then join clubs and talk to people about it, it helps." Reflecting on the TIME magazine recognition, she added: "All my friends think it's awesome." Colin McInnes, the founder of Homeless Project Scotland, said the initiative had already proven successful. He added: "When somebody is having to rough sleep because the shelter is full, we can offer that comfort to a homeless person, of having a warm blanket to wrap around them during the night. "We would 100% take the opportunity to have more of them." Daniel Wyatt, the rector at Kelvinside Academy, said Rebecca was a "shining example of a caring young person". He added: "She is also a role model for any young person who wants to follow their own path in life." Women in tech groups 'can't run on inspiration alone' How NI's STEM industry is tackling its gender gap Girls in England lag behind boys in maths and science study
