GLOBAL – ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011: Heads of global corporations, visionary activists and international stars came together to support the world’s youth at One Young World, which concluded on Saturday after three inspirational days of plenary sessions and ceremonial events.
The summit saw passionate keynote speeches from Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Jamie Oliver, Sir Bob Geldof, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Wael Ghonim and Muhammad Yunus, who offered their knowledge and powerful insights to the 1,200 young delegates that gathered from around the world.
One Young World 2011 kicked off on September 1 with a dazzling opening ceremony at which representatives from the 170 participating countries laid down their national flags, symbolising the over-arching unity of the One Young World community.
Young delegates were inspired by a distinguished panel of counsellors that supported them as they discussed a range of challenging global issues, from leadership to interfaith dialogue and from the role of global business to changing media, with a view to taking actionable resolutions for change.
Highlights from the summit included: Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s only public address since announcing his retirement, Jamie Oliver launching his campaign to tackle the growing threat of obesity around the world, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway’s first international speech since the atrocities of July 22, and performances from Chinese superstar Shang Wenjie and Indonesian pop star Sherina Munaf.
“I don’t think that the potential for destruction and great evil has ever been more palpable. This is where you meet; you are the pilots now. You are the thinking present, not the future,” said Sir Bob Geldof.
Kate Robertson, UK Group Chairman of Euro RSCG, said: “One Young World 2011 brought us young leaders who moved us with concrete plans to change the world for the better. The level of talent and commitment was astounding. You know it’s good when the Archbishop, Bob and [Muhammad] Yunus are impressed.”
Seven of the One Young World ambassadors launched the #wakeupcall campaign at the closing ceremony, which will see a major worldwide social media campaign to engage political and business leaders to wake up, stop talking and take action on some of the world’s most pressing issues.
