ISABELLA WEN, ACTIVIST AND GLOBAL YOUTH LEADER, ON THE POWER OF STORYTELLING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

June 29th, 2026 by lavinia ricca

From a young age, Isabella Wen became acutely aware of the inequities that surrounded her. Long before speaking on international stages or leading global advocacy campaigns, she found herself drawn to something simpler. "I've always been really enamoured by stories", she explains.

It was this curiosity led Isabella to frontline community work. As she supported individuals through direct service programs, however, she began to understand the limitations of helping people one at a time.

"I remember working in disability and seeing how, no matter how much service we gave as individuals, if we couldn't bring it to a systemic level, there was an extent where direct service couldn't help anymore."

This realization became a turning point; rather than choosing between grassroots work and policy, Isabella decided she wanted to become the bridge connecting the two. Today, her work spans public health research, youth advocacy, global development, and public speaking, with one goal at its centre: ensuring that the voices closest to a problem help form its solution.

Now speaking at international forums like TEDx events and UNICEF conferences, Isabella laughs when asked what her younger self would think. "I was a super, super shy kid," she says. "I definitely did not want to speak up."

"I was a super, super shy kid", she says. "I definitely did not want to speak up."

Finding her voice, she explains, wasn't something she did alone. It was a mentor who first encouraged her to believe that her experiences mattered and that she had something worth contributing. Isabella credits much of her confidence not to individual achievement, but to the people around her. "I feel so lucky to have grown such a great support system," she says. "They challenge me, inspire me, but they also question me."

Those questions, she believes, have shaped her approach to leadership. Rather than assuming she has the answers, Isabella has learned to ask better questions herself, ensuring the communities she works alongside are genuinely reflected in the solutions they create.

For Isabella, storytelling remains one of the most powerful tools for creating that change. Statistics matter, she acknowledges, but people rarely remember numbers alone: "they remember how they felt."

Books first taught her that lesson. As a child, weekly trips to the library with her older brother exposed her to perspectives beyond her own. “My older brother would take me to the library every week," she recalls. "I would try to finish the huge stack of books so I could go back and get more.

"I think that's the root of everything," she says. "Empathy. And storytelling creates that."

"My older brother would take me to the library every week," she recalls. "I would try to finish the huge stack of books so I could go back and get more."

One story, in particular, has stayed with her. While developing a magazine promoting youth mental health and confidence, a close friend contributed an article describing the experience of standing in a clothing store, looking at himself in the mirror, then comparing himself to the models staring back from magazine covers. It was a perspective Isabella had never personally experienced. "That's when I realised storytelling really has so much power", she reflects.

Much of Isabella's work has focused on confidence, particularly among young people. Yet the biggest misconception she encounters is that confidence belongs only to those who are exceptional. "I don't think confidence comes from being the very best," she explains. "It comes from being your authentic self."

Competition, she argues, often distracts from the relationships that actually allow people to grow. The strongest communities are those where people build one another up rather than constantly comparing themselves. That philosophy also shapes the advice she gives to young people hoping to create change. "I think one of the biggest barriers is the fear of reaching out," she says. "More people will want to help you than you think."

Throughout our conversation, Isabella repeatedly returns to the importance of listening. Leadership, she believes, has become associated with being the loudest person in the room when, in reality, the strongest leaders are often those who create space for others to be heard. "The best leaders are people who listen," she says. "They let the room lead."

Through her work, Isabella has mentored a wide range of students, from young girls in Canadian classrooms to young girls learning public speaking in Afghanistan. While the challenges facing those communities differ enormously, Isabella notes that one thing has remained constant. "I found that they all had so much excitement to learn," she reflects. "As a global community, people are trying to stay hopeful in a world that is seemingly hopeless."

"The best leaders are the people who listen," she says. "They let the room lead."

Looking ahead, Isabella hopes to create sustainable spaces where change-makers can collaborate rather than compete. Through initiatives like Loudly Together and the emerging Loudly Lab, she is building communities where young people can transform stories into action. Her work is grounded in the belief that lasting change starts with giving young people the confidence to share their stories, learn from their experience, and advocate for change.