As the world struggles to recover from the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, ONE activists joined 2,000+ of the world’s brightest young leaders from more than 190 nations and 250 organizations in Manchester for the 2022 One young world (OYW) summit to discuss the most pressing issues confronting humanity. This comes as the United Nations Statistics Division Development Data and Outreach forecast that for 2022, an estimated 75 million will be living in extreme poverty – an estimation that exceeds pre-pandemic predictions.
As ONE global activists, joining this summit was a welcome move as it served to amplify our campaign message of ending extreme poverty and preventable diseases on a platform that hosted and brought together a range of senior world leaders, promising young leaders, human rights advocates, business titans, thought-leaders, politicians, and inventors from every nation and sector.
Poverty disproportionately affects youth, as well as women and children, leading to the proliferation of crime and social vices that can be avoided. Our presence on this global stage is a testament to our will and perseverance to resolve and create a better world, our impact in our various jurisdictions, and our commitment and passion for lending our voices to realize a just world.
The OYW platform, which is committed to ’empower and develop young leaders to build a fair, sustainable future for all by supporting change makers with necessary support and a platform to share their story and network,‘ served as a robust platform that compliments ONE‘s strategy of equipping youth to be at the center of policy intervention in the fight against extreme poverty.
Here is what ONE change-makers had to say about the summit.
Moses Gichuho, ONE Champion, East Africa
The One Young World Summit conference underlined a vivid truth; ’The Youth are powerful and have the power to make any desired change in their communities.‘ The summit provided a networking platform for young people to synergize and find ways of collaborating and partnering to deal with the challenges of our times. My two key takeaways were:
- As youth, we have to believe in our capacity to offer solutions and scale up our solution offering.
- It is important that the youth find ways to partner and collaborate for greater synergy as the combined power of working together is greater than the total power achieved by each working separately.
Maham Malik, ONE Ambassador, UK
“It was inspiring to see young people taking action. Meeting and making friends with amazing young leaders from across the globe from a range of backgrounds beyond activism, i.e. finance, pharmaceuticals, and engineering, who were all united to lead change in their respective fields for the benefit of humanity, has inspired me to continue leading change in my community.
The summit was also an eye opener allowing me to learn more regarding issues that don‘t affect me personally in the UK, such as indigenous communities being disproportionately affected by climate change or public health concerns and trends in other parts of the world.”
Frances Logan, ONE Ambassador, UK
Insights from the rich array of world leaders present will feed into my work at ONE in several ways. It will:
Help my campaign be more effective. Focusing on the issue presently and focusing on the reality to create the urgency needed to create change.
Help navigate the ’do no harm‘ activists‘ mantra by constantly educating ourselves about other societal issues, and placing the lived experience of others at the center of this learning.
Help balance self-care with campaigning to sustain reach and impact, and avoid burnouts when our opposition wears us down.
Eseosa Iyagbaye, ONE Champion, Nigeria
Seeing fellow ONE Champions and Ambassadors worldwide present at the summit really depicts the calibre of energetic, passionate, and impact-driven individuals working with ONE. The One Young World Summit was life and career changing as it expanded my horizon beyond my borders to gain inspiration, insights, skill, networks, recognition, and much more needed to propel the growth of my social impact initiative, Chronic Disease Mate for Africa (CDMA). It also provided me a seat as a global citizen to share local perspectives relating to global issues with other leaders, experts, and change-makers. As a ONE Champion, I plan to apply these insights to future projects and build collaborations from the network.
David Michael, ONE Community Leader, UK
The deep conversations and issues we discussed, the experiences we shared, the stories we told, the passion, the energy, and all of the networking for future collaborations at the One Young World summit have left me more passionate about making a global impact with my work, and reinforced my values and commitments towards an all-inclusive and sustainable future where everyone, everywhere has equal opportunities to lead a life of dignity and opportunity.
I left this event filled with hope and excitement for the future again, especially knowing that there is a group of motivated young leaders out there with common values, beliefs, and ideas, and who are passionate about building a more sustainable future. I believe that a world free of crime, corruption, war, racism, modern-day slavery, pandemics, hate, climate disaster, poverty, and inequality is possible, and I pledge my commitment to fight for what truly counts to making our world a better place.
Bethel Kyeza, ONE Ambassador, UK
’Don‘t Be a Spectator! Be a part of the change,‘ was my most powerful takeaway from the diverse and passionate OYW gathering. The One Young World Summit highlighted important topics, from the current problems we face to the solutions and innovations we can implement to resolve them. The summit allowed me to network and learn from leaders, entrepreneurs, and other leading driving forces in different fields, and was a reflection of the work of leadership and an opportunity to get involved and be part of the change.
The experiences accrued from attending the One Young World Summit will be vital in helping our efforts as ONE global activists towards the goal of ending extreme poverty and disease by 2030. The 2,000+ change makers in Manchester were a testament to the hope and the will to save lives and improve futures.
As ONE change makers, we have been strengthened by the experience, encouraged by the stories told, and inspired by the passion and energy exhibited. We hope to share best practices with our fellow ONE Campaign ambassadors, champions, and the community leaders globally. We hope that ONE continues supporting and exposing young people to such forums that challenge them to become better at their advocacy and future collaborations.
