After my recent experience at One Young World 2023, I can say for certain that you get an absolute powerhouse of inspiration, innovation, and world-changing potential.

One Young World is a global leadership summit that unites young individuals from 190+ countries, providing them with a platform to share their ideas, insights, and experiences. This transformative event brings together bright minds, passionate activists, and change-makers who are committed to addressing and solving the most pressing issues facing our planet. One Young World empowers these young leaders to drive positive change in their communities and beyond by equipping them with the necessary skills, knowledge, and networks.

This year's summit was hosted Belfast, Northern Ireland. This would serve as a symbol for peace and reconciliation throughout the week, being a main topic for the summit alongside the food crisis, education, the climate emergency, and mental health.

Two Nobel Peace Prize Laurates, Professor Muhammad Yunus and Former President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, where amongst the renowned speakers of the week. Others global figures included business leader Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Olympic Champion Swimmer Mark Tewksbury, and actress Lucy Hale to name a few.

However, the most intriguing and thought-provoking presence on the main stage was brought by all young change makers speaking about their impactful work and experiences. From improving soil quality with algae, to developing innovating bio-nanotechnology in the refrigeration space and leveraging AI to accelerate social good - they all inspired us to take bolder steps towards creating positive change in our communities and beyond.

This year's summit has reminded me that youth are not just the leaders of tomorrow but are already bringing significant change today. They are sitting in local governments, driving innovation in the business sector and leading impactful advocacy in their communities. Seeing all this transformational change being spearheaded by peers from all corners of the world, it becomes clear that age is no barrier to leaving a purposeful mark on the world.

All in all, attending One Young World has been an incredible experience for me. Engaging with the other attendees allowed me to broaden my perspectives, further my understanding of global issues and foster a deeper sense of global empathy. Being actively involved in the sustainability practise at Deloitte Switzerland, first as part of our internal sustainability programme WorldClimate and now as a strategy consultant dedicated to sustainability topics, One Young World has also given me a lot of motivation to continue driving sustainability in my day-to-day work. From connecting with people internally to enhance knowledge sharing and collaboration to supporting our clients on their sustainability journey with a "think global, act local" mentality, I look forward to bringing back my learnings from One Young World to a larger audience. And, if I ever get stuck or need some inspiration, it feels great knowing that I have a world-wide community of young leaders to reach out to.

I am very thankful that Deloitte Switzerland gave me the opportunity to attend the summit. It showcases our continued investment in sustainability leadership, learning and eco system building. By continuing to collaborate across industries and societal sectors, I am looking forward to exploring how we can continue to foster collective impact and propel positive change.