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The American magazine Time named a 15-year-old scientist and inventor as the first “Child of the Year”, a title that Gitanjali Rao intends to use to inspire others to have ideas that “solve the world’s problems.”
The teenager invented technologies such as a device that can identify lead in drinking water and an application for mobile phones that detects ‘cyberbullying’ (threats or intimidation through the Internet) and was chosen among more than 5,000 American children nominated for the historic title.
“If I did it, anyone can do it,” she said in an interview published by Time magazine and today quoted by the BBC, in which the teenager admits that she is not at all like “a typical scientist.”
In the interview, the young woman considers that there are many problems to be solved, but she guaranteed that, now, her objective is no longer just trying to find solutions.
“I no longer want to create devices that solve the world’s problems, but to inspire others to do the same. Because, from personal experience, it is not easy to do something when you don’t know anyone like us.”
Hailing from the US state of Colorado, Gitanjali Rao warned of the challenges his generation faces as it struggles with new and old problems.
“Our generation faces many problems that have never been posed. But at the same time, we face old problems that still exist,” he told Time.
“We are in the midst of a new global pandemic, but we are also facing human rights issues. There are issues that we did not create, but that we now have to address, such as climate change and ‘cyberbullying’ that emerged with the introduction of technology. “he stated.
Time’s nomination is just the latest award from Rao, who was previously considered “America’s Best Young Scientist” for inventing a low-cost, rapid test to detect lead-contaminated water.
Time magazine began nominating the Man of the Year in 1927, and later updated the Personality of the Year award.
Last year, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish student who inspired a global movement to fight climate change, became the youngest person ever to be chosen by the magazine.
According to Time, the introduction of the new title, “Child of the Year,” aims to become a “barometer of the rising leaders of America’s younger generation.”
The magazine is expected to announce the 2020 Personality of the Year next week.
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