Meeting of Minds ‘It was [incredible],’ said One Young World attendee Anne Marie Toccket, ‘being around some of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever encountered from every corner of the world.’
presidential candidates to address questions from Mexican youth. In Algeria, they asked President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to limit presidential terms to five years, and to integrate young people into the election process. In Nepal, they requested that the minister of local development implement a policy to make the country’s capital city, Kathmandu, more easily accessible for the physically disabled. The 2012 summit covered important, timely international
issues, such as the attempted assassination of 14-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, gay and disabled rights, and environmental sustainability. Antony Jenkins, who was appointed CEO of the global financial-services pro- vider Barclays last August, discussed ethical business and his plans for reforming the scandal-plagued bank. Summit ambassadors also shared the work they’d been doing in their home countries concerning government transparency and accountability. Delegates had more input than in years past, contributing
firsthand to the conference’s content. “In the run-up to [the 2012] summit,” Robertson said, “we dedicated more time to work with the incoming participants than in previous years. We gave them a real sense of ownership by enabling them to choose discussion topics for the summit. This really changed the nature of the event.” Many delegates left the 2012 summit feeling “invigorated,
excited, and empowered to create,” Toccket said. “The impact of the events [at the summit] are really intangible and hard to articulate. The biggest thing is creating these projects and ideas, and reinventing the world in our young image.” And giving tomorrow’s leaders a voice today. To that end,
the summit has seen a surge in international media coverage, welcoming journalists from India, China, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Europe, and Mexico last year. “Ultimately, we want One Young World to be the most important summit in the world other than the World Economic Forum,” Robertson said, “and that the media give the delegates a hearing — that the world listens to young people.”