Last year we had the honor of attending the One Young World Summit in Bangkok with Unilever. From the moment we arrived in Thailand we were immediately greeted with incredible warmth and energy of the city and the Summit. The feeling of being surrounded by so many inspiring change-makers from all over the world was a moment of the first day we will never forget.
The stories and discussions about the impact and changes being made in communities throughout the week far outlast the few days there. The epiphanies, perspective and network from the conference leaves lasting relationships and creates a brighter future for all.
The conference last year happened just several days after the attacks in Paris and Lebanon. While we were there, the attacks in Mali occurred. The next morning, 2,000 people from 200 countries held hands together in hope for better future despite the turmoil. It was the most beautiful moment: the world coming together as one. Now, one year later, we’ve watched our fellow Ambassadors making incredible strides with the refugee crisis, education, counter-terrorism, human rights… and the list goes on and on.
We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet all of these incredible people and are so looking forward to meeting amazing people in Ottawa!
Over the four days, we encourage everyone to be open to whatever experiences come their way and embrace all that you are about to learn! Taking this motivation and inspiration home, and using it to connect with others from the conference and your community, will then create incredible impact and make a difference.
Lauren Wittig and Donte McCrary-McClain are returning delegates participating in Ottawa summit, both sponsored by Unilever USA. Lauren is passionate about making sustainability relevant in daily life and Donte´s passion is around balancing doing good with good business, combining the morals of a social mission with the scalability of global business.