Even before the Ope
ning Ceremony there is plenty of One Young World activity taking place across the city of The Hague. On arrival, I shared a shuttle bus with delegates from Manila, Tokyo, Algiers and Quebec, who were either first-time attendees, returning Coordinating Ambassadors, those selected by their organisations to attend or scholars who had been funded by corporates for the work they're doing within their local community. The short journey set the tone: global, multi-cultural, diverse and engaged.
The partner roundtable this morning was equally open and enthusiastic: so far I've met representatives from GSK, Bristol-Myers Squibb, DSM, Rio Tinto, Experian, Danone, IKEA, Hilton and OCBC Bank Singapore, all with a commitment to One Young World and keen to engage with other like-minded organisations. Motivations for their involvement in the summit range from nurturing and retaining young talent; fostering global collaboration within the organisation; committing to corporate social responsibility; and encouraging innovation within the workforce for issues around key themes, such as sustainability and inclusivity. We shared best practice around delegate selection, post-Summit initiatives and internal/external communications.
During the meeting, attendees committed to forming a Partner Executive Club which will enable conversations to continue throughout the year, paving the way for collaborative projects in tandem with the active delegate and 'alumni' network which now reaches 10,000 people. We heard from the dedicated community team who support post-summit initiatives, measuring the social return on investment to understand the impact of OYW. It's pretty impressive: for every $1 invested, OYW ambassadors deliver $13 of social value, and an estimated 17.5 million people have been impacted by OYW Ambassador-led initiatives over the past ten years.
Next stop, the Peace Palace for the Opening Ceremony, where Alex will be posting live as an Instagram Story Takeover on the University of Bath's Instagram account.
Respond
