The ninth annual One Young World summit began on Wednesday in the international city of justice, The Hague.
The opening ceremony welcomed more than 1,800 delegates from over 190 countries, with Ambassadors presented at the city’s Peace Palace. Queen Máxima of The Netherlands officially opened the summit, before Sir Bob Geldof paid a moving tribute to his fellow long-serving One Young World Counsellor, the late Kofi Annan.
Kate Robertson, co-founder of One Young World, called on delegates to challenge themselves to take up the work of peace and justice, with further speeches coming from former Nobel Peace Prize laureates Muhammad Yunus and Tawakkol Karman.
The scene was set for the four-day summit earlier in the day with a press conference chaired by Seven Hills co-founder Nick Giles, and hosted by One Young World co-founders Kate Robertson and David Jones, Unilever CEO Paul Polman, Mayor of The Hague Pauline Krikke, Dutch business leader Feike Sijbesma, CEO of DSM and Monica de Greiff, president of the Colombian Chamber of Commerce who chaired the advisory board for last year’s One Young World summit in Bogota. See a picture below.
Praising the quality of The Hague as host city with its credentials as the international city of justice, David said: “Our young leaders want to know where justice in the world is today.
“Our senior leaders are failing us. But fortunately, there is a brilliant generation of the most knowledgeable, responsible and empowered adults we have ever seen who intend to do something about that.”
David also announced the creation of the One Young World global advisory board, to be chaired by Paul Polman. The Global Advisory Board will support the development of One Young World as the forum for young leaders into a globally recognised body, ensuring that its Ambassadors have a positive impact on the most influential organisations worldwide.
Mr Polman said: “One Young World is a remarkable organisation and it is a privilege to be chairing its first Global Advisory Board. Our role will be to support and champion the growing One Young World community as it approaches its tenth anniversary.”
One Young World continues on Thursday, with a panel featuring Sir John Major and the 2018 Young Politicians of the Year. With a spotlight on human rights, delegates will also hear from actors and activisits Amber Heard and Roasrio Dawson, and Gordon Brown will deliver a tribute to Kofi Annan.
See highlights from the One Young World opening ceremony at The Hague’s Peace Palace here.
Press conference chaired by Seven Hills co-founder Nick Giles, hosted by One Young World co-founders Kate Robertson and David Jones, Unilever CEO Paul Polman, Mayor of The Hague Pauline Krikke, Dutch business leader Feike Sijbesma, CEO of DSM and president of the Colombian Chamber of Commerce, Monica de Greiff.