The most important youth event in the world, which brought together 1,300 young people from 196 countries and world leaders, was held in Bogotá from October 4 to 7, thanks to the nomination by the Greater Bogotá Conventions Bureau with the CCB’s support. Follow us on social networks: #JóvenesPorElFuturo
Paris, Belgrade and The Hague competed with Bogotá, but thanks to the management carried out as part of the city’s marketing strategy to attract world-class events, the Colombian capital will bring together these young people who aim to analyze and drive global change on topics such as peace and security, environment, education, leadership and government, and the reduction of poverty.
The counsellors and speakers who will attend OYW include: Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the UN; Tawakkul Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate; Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize laureate; Bob Geldof, musician and activist; Doutzen Kroes, supermodel and activist; Ron Garan, former astronaut and founder of Fragile Oasis; Stephen Daldry, film director; Juanpa Zurita, comedic digital content creator and actor; Hope Solo, Olympic gold medal winning soccer player; and Mark Tewksbury, swimmer and Canadian Olympic champion.
A total of 176 young leaders comprised the Colombian delegation at OYW Bogotá 2017.
Our country’s representatives are now the new ambassadors of Bogotá, the first Latin American city to host this event.
The young people received a card identifying them as ambassadors at a preparation meeting organized by the CCB and the Greater Bogotá and Cundinamarca Convention Bureau.
The group of volunteers who will support the event’s implementation from October 4 to 7, 2017, gets ready to support the 1,300 young leaders and the counsellors in Bogotá.
On September 23, the volunteers received an orientation session at the CCB and committed to be hosts of the event.
Alongside Mónica de Greiff, CEO of the CCB and chair of the event’s advisory board, was Miguel Uribe, Government Secretary of the City Hall, and Kate Robertson, co-founder of OYW.
More than 150 young people attended the launch, which was held on May 25 at the CCB, carrying the OYW flag. Miguel Uribe, Government Secretary of the City Hall, Kate Robertson, co-founder of OYW and the OYW advisory board led by Mónica de Greiff, CEO of the CCB, participated in the event.
The event aims to keep positioning Bogotá as a hub of large world-class events. In that respect, the Government Secretary, Miguel Uribe, highlighted that, "OYW is an opportunity to make visible Bogotá’s transformation; the city we are building and the city it will be in the future. It will also be an arena to promote and empower our city’s new leaders”.
OYW aims to leave a great legacy that serves as a path for society to commit to a better future. Kate Robertson, co-founder of OYW, highlighted the context in which the summit comes to Bogotá, “The young people of today believe in a different way of doing things. They are more concerned about the environment, education and well-being of society, as well as seeking alternative solutions to these problems. In Colombia’s case, the hope of building peace adds to this, which leads young people to seek innovative ideas for society’s reconciliation. The current situation in Colombia has empowered young people, who now feel inspired to act for change”.
One Young World has a cabinet of advisors in Colombia led by Mónica de Greiff, in the company of business people, such as Alfonso Gómez, Telefónica CEO; Carlos Arturo Londoño, Valorem CEO; Roberto Pombo, Editor of El Tiempo Newspaper, Henry Bradford, Dean of CESA; and Andrés Gómez, Country Manager of FTI Consulting, as well as other company managers and CEOs. These people strategically support this summit so that it can leave a legacy for other countries, institutions and young people that help to change the world
One Young World was born in 2009 to create an area where young people’s messages are heard and amplified to generate a real change in the world. This idea arose when Kate Robertson and David Jones, who were part of Kofi Annan’s campaign to generate awareness about climate change, noticed that the world’s most important decisions were being made without the representation of young people.
Eight years later, OYW is the most important event in terms of internationalization coming to Latin America after the Olympic Games. Last year, the summit in Ottawa generated more than 100 hours of content. Since 2009, more than 591,980 people in the world have received training for projects implemented by ambassadors and the initiatives of the OYW ambassadors have had a positive impact on 8.9 million people. Currently, OYW is the NGO that brings together the most companies in the world.
