Annual Impact Report 2023

Every year, One Young World Ambassadors generate meaningful social impact on a huge scale across the world, and 2023 was no different.

We were delighted to be hosted by the historic city of Belfast in the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. We welcome 1,952 Delegates from 190+ countries and 64 Counsellors, including Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, President Juan Manuel Santos, Sir Bob Geldof, Lucy Hale, Rio Ferdinand, and 19 high-profile CEOs and Partner Executives. Summit content was focused on five key plenary challenges selected by the global Ambassador Community: the climate emergency, the food crisis, education, mental health, with a day devoted to peace and reconciliation, learning lessons from the Northern Irish peace process for other countries devastated by conflict.

In the run up to the One Young World Summit Belfast, 2023, the six month global leadership programme of monthly seminars was attended by 1,461 Delegates. We also collaborated with British embassies and high commissions around the world to hold send-off events for Delegates eagerly awaiting their trip to the Summit. We also collaborated with British embassies and high commissions around the world to hold send-off events for Delegates eagerly awaiting their trip to the Summit...

Amid a rising tide of populism and a deteriorating political climate in large parts of the world, One Young World Ambassadors are taking a stand for a better future by actively building a fair and sustainable future for all. The Ambassadors featured in this report represent a small but extraordinary slice of our wider Community. They are working across all Sustainable Development Goals to impact people, influence policy, and foster meaningful partnerships for change. The Ambassador-led initiatives analysed in this report have impacted 8.86 million people so far, and generate, on average, $16 of social return for every $1 invested into their work. Ambassadors featured in our Impact Reports since 2010 have impacted 50.42 million people; the 16,300+ other Ambassadors active in our wider Community have impacted countless more. 

One Young World’s mission to empower young leaders grows more urgent every day as the world faces multiple crises and a failure of leadership at the highest levels. We could not have come so far, and we could not continue to drive forward, without our staff, our partners, our Ambassadors, and everyone who shares our vision of tackling the world's biggest challenges head-on.