by Ishmael Tsoaela
24. February 2010 16:19
Recently, I attended the One Young World Conference in London. Movius was one of the sponsors of this global event. The purpose for this conference was to bring together potential future leaders who are actively involved in their community to bring about a positive change. More than 1000 attendees from more than 100 countries were brought together to discuss global issues and eventually come to a vote on resolutions which would be passed on to world leaders.
The opening ceremony was kicked off by Desmond Tutu who touched on the media that focus on negative issues in this world rather than positive issues. The second and third day of the conference is when everyone engaged and raised their views on global issues. The format of the conference consisted of resolutions being presented to the delegates, discussions on them and a voting system in place to have everyone’s opinion on the resolutions counted.
The highlight for me during the second day was a speech made by Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Laureate and economist who developed the internationally adopted concept of microcredit. During his speech, Mr. Yunus highlighted the importance of social business in the developing countries and mentioned that business can play and important role in the poverty stricken areas with an aim of not making profit but providing a source of sustainability to the communities that they operate in.
The last day highlight for me came from a debate on all the issues discussed especially social responsibility of multinational businesses which the youth of this world believe that these businesses should play an important role in the communities that they profit from. Overall, the two main focus points for me during the conference were the responsibility of businesses within our communities and the great impact that the media has on the development of our countries.
Main topics during the conference included Environment and Its Protection, Interfaith Dialogue, and the Role of Global Business. Results that voted on during the conference included:
1) In the belief that climate change will seriously affect future generations, we call upon governments to take more dliberate, legislative action to help guarantee that appropriate carbon emissions reduction targets are both agreed and met by 2020.
2) In the belief that ware must never be carried out in the name of religion, we call upon leaders and flowers of all faiths to unequivocally commit to deliver peace amongst nations, races and creeds.
3) In the belief that multinational corporations have a fundamental responsibility to behave ethically, we call upon global businesses to define and act on their role in the fight against poverty.
4) In the belief that freedom of speech is essential to a successful society, we call upon the media to use its influence and power to help protect truth and personal freedom.
5) In the belief that all humans have the right to health care and nutrition, we call upon businesses governments and civil society to work together more effectively to prioritize spreading information about and providing access to good health care and nutrition.
6) In the belief that upholding human rights should come before any political activity, we call upon our political leaders to make clear their stance on humanitarian issues before we consider our support for them.
We as the One Young World Ambassadors believe that We can bring about a positive change to this world and have taken the first step by forming a One Young World African Network that will focus on issues affecting Africa and come with ideas to present to Non-Government Organizations and the Governments as a way to assisting in bringing about a positive change in the African Continent. The Network has a Facebook group called “One Young World African Network (OYWAN).”
Overall, the conference was very productive and enlightening for many of us and we can only hope that business leaders and world leaders will hear what we have to say.
Recently, I attended the One Young World Conference in London. Movius was one of the sponsors of this global event. The purpose for this conference was to bring together potential future leaders who are actively involved in their community to bring about a positive change. More than 1000 attendees from more than 100 countries were brought together to discuss global issues and eventually come to a vote on resolutions which would be passed on to world leaders.
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