One Young World: Bringing business and youth together to create change

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the One Young World Summit (OYW) in The Hague. There I joined 1,800 youth leaders from over 190 difference countries, who were ready to use their voices and lived experiences to make change. We were also joined by government, business, human rights, and educational leaders from a range of industries.

Throughout the four day summit, young people from all walks of life displayed a deep understanding of what’s happening in the world and felt personally responsible to change it; I was reminded of why business and government leaders should pay more attention to the concerns and ideas of young people.

First, Millennials are not the “wait in line, wait your turn generation”. They (we), sit at the forefront of change – whether that’s starting our own non-profit/for-profit from our dorm rooms or debating topics on both domestic and foreign policy at the United Nations.

As a Deloitte delegate for One Young World, I had the pleasure and honor of meeting some of the most dynamic change-agents, many of whom are under the age of 30. They are CEOs, elected officials, artists, activists, and all around “get stuff done” type of people; more often than not, though, our predecessors overlook that – to conclude we’re just lazy and “entitled”. Now when you hear the word “entitled”, it’s normally in a negative context. In reality, my generation just has a higher expectation for not only government but also business leaders, who many of them harbor a deep distrust of.

During day three of the summit, I interviewed David Sproul – CEO Deloitte North-West Europe and the UK on the topic of  “What can business do for young people?”, where we also addressed youth distrust of the business community and how we can create intergenerational solution-driven dialogue.

You can watch the interview here: https://vimeo.com/297064329

Other talks and sessions during the conference included environmental justice, sexual assault, war, hunger, poverty – just to name a few. As a way to try and move the ideas and relationships built at the summit, OYW announced Lead2030 – an initiative powered by some of the world’s leading businesses. Lead2030 will find, fund, and accelerate youth-led solutions for each Global Goal and enable young innovators to scale and accelerate their impact.

Over the course of the next year, Lead2030 will offer $500,000 to some of the most innovative and impactful solutions – created by and for young people. GBC-Education partnered with Deloitte on Lead2030 to seek innovative youth-led initiatives focused on improving the quality of, or access to, education and skills training that prepare young people to succeed in 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 4 – quality education.

To find out more information about the challenge and One Young World: HERE

Jamira Burley is the Head of Youth Engagement and Skills at the Global Business Coalition for Education. To learn more about her work at the Youth Skills and Innovation Initiative, follow the link here.