How One Young World are finding the leaders of the future Viewpoint careers advice blog

How One Young World are finding the leaders of the future In each issue of the Hays Journal, we invite someone to discuss a life-changing moment. Kate Robertson had already enjoyed a successful career in advertising when she co-founded One Young World, which stages an annual Summit where young leaders address the world’s most pressing problems. In this article, taken from the latest Hays Journal, she explains how it came about: One Young World is a non-profit organisation that brings bright people aged 18-30 together with world leaders and thinkers. It’s a forum for young leaders to drive change, take action and tackle today’s most pressing issues in areas such as health, education, the environment and sustainable development. The first One Young World Summit took place in London in 2010, and since then, we’ve built a network of over 9,000 Ambassadors â€" young leaders whose work projects have affected 17.5 million people worldwide. Our Counsellors have included Kofi Annan, Sir Bob Geldof, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Mary Robinson, Justin Trudeau, Emma Watson and Meghan Markle. Shaped by experience I grew up in apartheid-era South Africa, which definitely affected my view of the world. It left me alert to the way that governments can do great wrong when maintaining systems through totalitarian controls, and of course you can still see that now in many countries. I fell into advertising after graduation and came to the UK in 1986. I joined Havas in 2003 and became UK Group Chairman in 2006. The origins of One Young World go back to an argument I was having with someone at Havas about setting up a conference business. I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t think it would be profitable, and I said, “Anyway, if we were going to have a conference business, it would have to be true to our brand; we’re the youngest network, so it would all be about young people.” The person I was talking to said that was rubbish, but afterwards I realised it would be a really good idea and I  set about selling it to my CEO, David Jones. Changing generations In my head, coming from a marketing and advertising background, organising a conference was going to be easy. You’d get a couple of sponsors and off you’d go. But I soon discovered that smart young people say, “No, I won’t stand on a stage with your logo behind my head.” They don’t want to be told what they can and cannot say. That helped to shape our thinking. I also realised that when I looked around the world, there are lots of youth conferences that no one’s ever heard of. So, we would have to use our marketing skills to make our conference famous. For that you need mainstream media, and to attract them you need big names. The first time, it was a nightmare: it took 11 months to get Desmond Tutu and 13 to get Bob Geldof. David will say now that he never believed that they were going to show up or that it was going to happen. But what these people eventually buy into is that young people are driven to a higher ethical standard, because they have time to meet that standard. This young generation is the most connected and educated in human history. Before we started, we didn’t know how fantastic it is to work with youngsters. There’s so much energy, enthusiasm, self-belief and hope â€" you don’t have to bring any of that, the kids drive it themselves. What I did know, though â€" because I’m an Olympics fan â€" was that when people from around the world come together, the magic comes into the room. The people become a human family, and that’s an incredible thing. I left Havas in 2015 to devote myself entirely to One Young World. My ambition is that by the time it reaches its tenth anniversary, it will be as important as the World Economic Forum. It will become the place where you go to find the brightest, the fastest, the smartest â€" the next group of inspirational leaders. Did you enjoy this blog? Here are some more Hays Journal blogs that you may be interested in: Should more organisations be celebrating failure?   Diversity in the Finance sector: Starling Bank make a flying start How does the CEO of two companies strike a work-life balance?