One Young World: A summit meeting for the young leaders at L’Oréal who want to change the world
Every year, One Young World brings together the leaders of tomorrow to find solutions to the most pressing issues facing our world. From October 17-20, 45 talented representatives of the L’Oréal Group will be taking part in the 9th edition of the OYW summit, organized this year in The Hague. The objective – to spark positive change.
Welcome to “the Young Davos”
The One Young World summit has been bringing together talented individuals from the young generation since 2010. Often called “the Young Davos”, the aim of the meeting is to provide a response to the major challenges facing the world, from global warming to gender inequality to the assimilation of refugees.
In total, nearly 1,600 young leaders from companies and NGOs will attend the summit, taking part in conferences, discussions, brainstorming sessions and the creation of relevant projects. Driven by a sense of solidarity, the aim of the various initiatives is to change companies from within, and to help the world economy have a more positive influence. Delegates can draw inspiration from some of the high-profile speakers who have addressed the summit over the years, such as Muhammad Yunus (Nobel Peace Prize winner), Jack Dorsey (founder of Twitter), Bill Clinton and Kofi Annan.
Change from within
L’Oréal has been taking an active part in the summit for the past seven years. This year, the Group will again send a delegation of 45 talented young people – chosen for their desire to take action, to challenge the status quo, and to take the lead in driving change. They have been drawn from every department in the Group – Human Resources, Sales, Marketing, Digital, Research & Innovation, etc. – and have committed themselves to leading internal transformation projects for at least one year after the meeting.
During the previous editions, the delegations sent to the summit carried out a series humanitarian projects, reflected that desire to show solidarity. The Interngration program, for example, enabled 21 refugee students to spend six months as interns at L’Oréal. The refugees, who came from Syria, Sudan, Ivory Coast, Iran, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Tibet, were assigned to the IT, communications, finance and chemistry divisions within the Group.
Becoming ambassadors for change
In total, the Group has sent more than 260 young leaders to the summits since 2012. Their mission, according to Jean-Paul Agon, Chief Executive Officer of L’Oréal and a counsellor for the 2011 One Young World program, is to play “a decisive role in accelerating the Group’s sustainability efforts.” Clearly, the responsibilities of delegates do not end after three days of meetings.
Following the summit, delegates become ‘ambassadors’ and commit to pursuing their efforts to change the world. And there is tangible proof of those efforts and the importance of this unique event. Since 2010, the initiatives led by the 9,000 ambassadors have improved the daily lives of 17 million people around the world*.
Stay tuned!
> Follow the key moments of the summit at The Hague on the Twitter accounts of the L’Oréal Group and One Young World.
> See the highlights of the 2018 edition of One Young World as soon as the summit ends, on L’Oréal’s website.
*Source: One Young World Digital Impact Report, 2017