Last week One Young World Counsellor Vinicio Cerezo was appointed as the new Secretary General of the Central American Integration System (SICA). SICA is the economic and political organization of Central American states established in February 1993.

At the SICA Presidential Summit held in Costa Rica, the ex-President of Guatemala was elected with considerable acclamation and will replace the Salvadoran Marina Velásquez de Avilé, who concluded her term.

This article originally appeared on El Tiempo and was translated from Spanish to English.

I have 8,000 reasons for feeling optimistic about 2017.

That might sound strange in a world gripped by 40 active conflicts and threatened by climate change.

But while the news is dominated by the strutting strong men in the White House and the Kremlin, I’m reassured by the knowledge that there’s a generation of young leaders waiting in the wings, ready to build a better future for us all.

This article was originally published by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation.

Last night, BritishAmerican Business honoured One Young World cofounder, Kate Robertson, with the Corporate Citizenship Award for her “exceptional commitment and innovative approach to corporate responsibility.”

Brazilian Ambassadors of the Week Tabata Amaral De Pontes and Renan Ferreirinha Carneiro find it difficult not to engage with issues that shape their country’s future. They launched Movimento Mapa Educação in 2014,  a movement with the mission of bringing education to the center of the Brazilian political debate. Engaging thousands of Brazilian youth, educators and officials, they launched a successful manifesto which was adopted by government officials.