A SCOTTISH schoolgirl has been named on the first-ever Time magazine Girls of the Year list for designing a solar-powered blanket to help the homeless.
Rebecca Young, from Glasgow, was aged just 11 when she came up with the idea, as she “always felt bad” seeing how cold people were sleeping on the streets and wanted to help combat homelessness.
Now 12, Young 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.”
Young had already beaten 70,000 other entrants to win a highly coveted 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”.
Her design has resulted in 30 of the blankets being manufactured and distributed to a homeless shelter in Glasgow, with plans to make more.
“To think something I’ve designed could one day help somebody on the streets is amazing,” Young said in January when she won the UK Primary Engineer competition.
“Unfortunately, you see so many people sleeping rough on the streets of Glasgow, and I always felt bad seeing how cold they were. It was obvious to me that this could help.
“It felt amazing to see my drawing turn into something real. I never thought that could happen. Homelessness is a big problem that needs fixing, and if you see a homeless person, help in any way you can.”
Young 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.”
