We spend a great deal of time reading bad news in print and listening to bad news on television. However, at the same time, incredible stories take place around the world and most of the time, we don't seem to hear about them. These stories are the ones that come to One Young World.
The commitment these young leaders have made to the most critical challenges the world faces is truly commendable. They are achieving positive impacts in their communities to make them better day by day. That’s a big deal! But there is more.
By simply sharing their stories on the main stage to an audience of leaders, someone from the opposite side of the world can get inspired and come up with solution for their own problem. The power of a great story then becomes two-fold: they leave a major impression as well as create an exponential effect.
We as people, as entrepreneurs, and as companies have the power not only to create social change but to create hope. So we must act whilst taking into account this double commitment.
Through the next days, we will hear again calm and vast words from Kofi Annan, revolutionary ones from Sir Bob Geldof, solid recommendations from Muhammad Yunus, but also words of the professional storyteller, the one who decided to make words her daily routine, Fatima Bhutto.
The story of Bhutto is especially encouraging. Being a poet, writer and activist and losing her father, uncle and aunt by assassination, she knows very well what it was like to grow up in Pakistan’s famous political dynasty. Her memories in Songs of Blood and Sword as well as her fiction books remind us that violence is never very far away.
Bhutto came to One Young World in 2012 and reminded us how wars make countries go back by ten years in terms of education, just like what has happened in Syria where she went to school. She told us about the importance of the small steps needed to fight against the 25 million children who will never see the inside of a classroom in their entire lives. Being in the middle of one of the worst “European crises” ever, she encouraged us to not forget that the real “crisis” is the one the refugees and their families are facing. “I’m hopeful that, in the end, there will be justice”, she said.
This is how all networks work. We share moments and thoughts, we learn, get inspired, act, fail and try again. And we come back to share the results. Therefore, I expect each One Young World to be the same place of hope, and provide the story of our future.
Maria Ramiro is a One Young World Ambassador from Spain. She is a New Media Manager, Content Strategist and Digital Specialist at Telefónica.
