This article was originally published by the University of Bath.
Since we first sent student representatives to attend the annual One Young World (OYW) Summit back in 2013, the University has developed a strong partnership with OYW through our Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences.
It is now hoped that Saturday’s event – which was the first time we have been able to bring discussions back on to campus to students, staff and the local community – can be rolled out again in future years.
Speakers from business and industry included Bath alumnus, Tom Fairburn, who, inspired by a love for Africa and a passion for enterprise, set up The Baobab Network helping to develop start-ups in sub-Saharan Africa. Attendees also heard from Fatima Zaman from the Kofi Annan Foundation who launched her ‘Extremely Together’ initiative – a new toolkit aimed at tackling extremism.
Other contributors included final year Politics and International Relations student, Alex Polkey, who back in 2014 became the youngest speaker at a One Young World event.
Attendees also heard from members of our own research community, including Professor Hugh Lauder, Dr Aurelien Mondon and Professor Andrew Crane who shared their insights on topics ranging from responsible business, combatting extremism and the importance of global education.
Kate Robertson, Founder of One Young World commented: “On behalf of One Young World, thank you for hosting the first One Young World caucus in Bath and for supporting our hardworking Ambassadors, Emma Powell and Mohammad Lone. We are incredibly grateful for helping them to deliver an exceptional event which received acclaim not only from the Ambassadors who attended, but from the speakers who represented some of One Young World's closest partners.”
Professor Peter Lambert, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning & Teaching) added: “The One Young Bath Conference is a wonderful initiative. The inaugural conference was a unique opportunity for staff, students, and prominent external speakers to discuss global issues and what students can do to address them, building on our relationship with the One Young World summit for young leaders.
“The breadth and depth of discussion across the day clearly demonstrated the experience, enthusiasm and expertise of staff and students across the University regarding key global political, social and environmental issues.
“I would like to thank the student and staff organisers for their time, energy and hard work, and I look forward to the seeing this become a regular annual event as part of our continued and close relationship with One Young World.”
Find out more about the event in Bath last weekend here.
Applications for current students from the Departments of Economic, Education, Health, Politics, Languages & International Studies, Psychology; and Social & Policy Sciences to attend this year’s Summit in Bogota are now open.
Follow our One Young World blog here.
