Annual Impact Report 2024/25

One Young World Ambassadors created substantial social impact and continued to set global standards for active, committed leadership throughout 2024 and beyond. Our emphasis is on their work and on the action they take to improve the world, proving that great leadership for the greater good can come from young leaders.

 

The Ambassadors featured in this report have impacted 8.15 million people so far, and generate, on average, $16 of social return for every $1 invested in their work. It is important to note that they represent only a small but mighty example of our 18,700+ strong Community of leaders. Added to those featured in all our reports since 2010, this representative sample of Ambassadors has impacted 58.57 million people, and we know that the thousands of Ambassadors not featured impact countless more.

 

Hosted by the city of Montréal/Tiohtià:ke, we acknowledge that our annual Summit took place within the traditional unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka peoples, part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. To celebrate the exceptional leadership shown by Indigenous leaders around the world, we ran our inaugural Indigenous Youth Day. We were personally inspired by attending the event along with Indigenous Delegates, Counsellors, and attendees from 30+ countries. Our appreciation and respect go to the 11 young leaders in our Indigenous Council who collaborated with our team to organise the event.

 

The Summit’s content focused on five plenary challenges selected by our global Community, with speeches by young leaders delivering solutions to those challenges. Speeches and discussions also explored ongoing global conflicts and challenges, with contributions from world leaders including Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Sir Bob Geldof, Nobel Peace Laureates Maria Ressa and Tawakkol Karman, planetary guardians David Suzuki and Johan Rockstrom, and activists Jane Goodall and Cher.

Although our Summit was the cornerstone of 2024, the journey for the new Ambassadors began six-months earlier with the Global Leadership Programme. This series of online seminars prepared Delegates to maximise the impact of their experience, and was built upon after the Summit by the Action Accelerator, a six-month course designed to turn their ideas into action.

 

Funding the work of young leaders remains a priority for us. Last year, our Lead2030 programme, with support from our corporate partners, distributed $300,000 in cash to seven young leaders, along with tailored mentorship from industry experts. However, it is not just funding. We have run various programmes and 112+ events with the support of our Global Volunteer Team, to inspire, develop and build the capacity of 5,400+ young leaders.

 

In 2024, the One Young World Academy continued to deliver unique access to experts in various fields in partnership with the Gates Foundation. Participants learned from world-leading experts such as Former President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, David McNair the Executive Director at ONE.org, and Joanne Driels, Adviser to the Managing Director in Global Policy and Advocacy at the Gates Foundation.

 

However, despite the tireless efforts and ground-breaking impact of our Ambassadors, our mission to empower young leaders grows more and more urgent. New conflicts emerge, uncertainty grows, and the consequences of global crises are all around us. In the face of this difficulty, our Community is growing stronger, and delivers impact in the present, and offers hope for the future. 

 

The work of One Young World Ambassadors has genuine real-world impact and we could not continue to identify, connect and support them driving positive change without our staff, our partners and everyone who shares our vision of tackling the world’s biggest challenges head-on. Our heartfelt gratitude to everyone in this thriving, inspiring Community