One Young World partnered with Allen & Overy to host a reunion event for One Young World Ambassadors and guests at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. The event celebrated impact and action, as well as inclusive leadership, and proved to be a huge success after two years of online engagements.
Over 70 people from across the Ambassador Community and the legal profession met to discuss key issues, develop new partnerships and rekindle old ones. The event aimed to bring together experts and activists to have meaningful dialogue, share solutions and amplify young voices.
One Young World Co-Founder, Kate Robertson, began the evening with a powerful opening address, encouraging young leaders in attendance and elsewhere to drive action irrespective of their backgrounds or professional sectors. Touching on recent tragedies in the United States, Kate pointed out that young people have led the movement for stricter gun control in that country, and that young leaders are responsible for pushing for legislative successes in that space.
The opening address was followed by a panel discussion with Brechje van der Velden, Senior Partner at Allen & Overy Netherlands; Alex Bellotti, Managing Director at One Young World; and One Young World Ambassador and Co-Founder of DreamSpace Academy, Aravinth Panch. The panel was moderated by Coordinating Ambassador for the Benelux and Germany, Dyonne Niehof and One Young World Ambassador, Baris Koca.
I would say to the young stars, if you really want the corporation or the company to bend its ear and action to where you want that action to go, you also need to have a thorough understanding of the company's needs and the needs of the director or partner to whom you are addressing yourself
Kate Robertson, One Young World Co-Founder
The panel focused on the theme of inclusive leadership, with each panellist offering thought-provoking comments on the nature of leadership and how best to develop as a young leader. Aravinth discussed at length the devastating economic crisis that has hit his home country of Sri Lanka and the challenges of providing relief to those worst-affected, while Brechje and Alex emphasised the importance of intrapreneurship and making space for young leaders.
The panel was followed by a networking session where old friends reunited and new connections were made. It was fantastic to see the Ambassador Community in attendance engaging deeply with the topics at hand and getting to know one another.
Despite the very dire situation in Sri Lanka, we have still had resilience as a social enterprise because we take ownership of our own challenges and we have to keep fighting for that. That is what inclusive leadership is all about.
Aravinth Panch, One Young World Ambassador and Co-Founder of DreamSpace Academy
Thank you to the Allen & Overy team for helping to make this event happen, and to Dyonne and Baris for moderating the panel and working tirelessly behind the scenes.
If you missed this event we hope to see you at the next one!
Interested in hosting a OYW Caucus? Contact [email protected]