The ramblings of a hopeless optimist

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The end of one journey and the beginning of another

Tomorrow, after an amazing two week journey, I leave Dublin. To be honest, I'm ready to go. It's not because I haven't absolutely loved it here. This is an absolutely wonderful city. It is full of life, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. The people are friendly and genuine, the streets are full of culture and history, and there are stories everywhere. It's a city that owns it's past and wears it's scars, sometimes proudly, but always honestly. There's a sense of discontented hopefulness. I sincerely hope I get to return one day, because I've loved my time here. But nevertheless, I'm ready to go home. In the past two weeks I've learnt a lot, and now I'm excited to head home and put some of that in to practice. I still feel inspired by the people I met and heard from here, and I want to use that inspiration well. I feel privileged to already have ways in which I'll be able to channel that inspiration, and use those ideas. I think I'll be able to make a greater contribution to all of the work which I'm involved in as a result of being here, both in my actual job and in the other things I'm involved with outside of work. That's an exciting feeling, and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in. Two days I posted a photo on Facebook of me working in an Irish pub, a beer in one hand and my iPad in the other. A friend who knows me well commented that I am terrible at taking holidays. Perhaps she's right! But this was never just a holiday. Don't get me wrong, I have had an absolutely amazing time here, and I've really enjoyed being able to sightsee, to meet new people, and to have a break from the day to day demands of work back home. But this was always intended to be an opportunity to find new ideas, new inspirations, new experiences and new friendships. And all of those hopes have been fulfilled. So then, time to head home. This afternoon I'll do some last minute shopping, and tonight I'll head out for one last pint with Irish friends. But after that, the long journey home will begin. And with that also begins the even longer journey to put what I learnt these past two weeks in to practice, to action the inspiration I felt here, and to hold on that sense of inspiration once the rubber hits the road. That's the journey I'm most excited about. The real adventure starts tomorrow.

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On thinking big (and why you're an important part of that)

It's now a couple of days since One Young World finished, and I've really appreciated being able to have a bit of time to reflect on the conference, figure out how I think and feel about it all, and come up with plans and ideas for how I might apply all the things I've learnt. The more time passes the more I realise how affecting One Young World might end up being. Because the event was so extremely dense I perhaps didn't realise that at the time, or didn't realise it to this extent. I think it might have felt overwhelming to have had to go back to work on Monday morning. If any of you reading this are people I met at One Young World who did exactly that, please know that I am very impressed! Some of the substantial issues discussed at One Young World have me thinking and considering how I should best respond. I have more of an appreciation of (and desire to something about) issues like climate change, disability and accessibility needs, and conflicts in areas of the world I previously didn't have much of an awareness of. How I respond to those things which have piqued my conscience will be something I have to figure out over the next few days, weeks, months and maybe even years. But I wonder whether the even more substantial effect of One Young World for me will be how I see myself and my place in the world. It was truly humbling to be among so many people doing amazing things around the globe. But it was also quite incredible to think that I might have the ability to be one of those people myself one day. More so than this time last week, I see value in cultivating ideas which have the potential for global reach. More so than this time last week, I have an awareness of how privileged I am to live where I do, and to use that privilege responsibly. More so than last week I have an inkling that I might be capable of achieving something significant. I have every certainty that I will never ever be in a position to change the world on my own. Ever. There are people far more skilled than I am, not just globally but also at home in Wellington. There are people far more singularly passionate about particular issues than I am and those people will always have more of an ability to have an impact in those issues than I will. But the more I attend these kinds of things the more I wonder whether my role might be one of a facilitator of change, and whether I might actually be quite good at that one day. More and more, I am developing a passion for empowering other people to do great things. If I'm successful in that, those people I help equip, empower or inspire will do far greater things than I ever could. And if I could have a role in that, even just a small one, that would be incredible. I'm increasingly passionate about finding ways to do that, and this week has helped with that. It's quite an awesome feeling. I had some hesitance in publishing this post publicly. I don't want to give the impression that this week has helped me figure everything out. I'll never figure everything out, that's about the only thing I'm sure of. But I wanted the blog to be an honest reflection of where I'm at, how I'm thinking, and how I'm feeling. And today, I feel like I might have started a process of figuring out how I might actually be able to have an impact on the world. Maybe I'm wrong, and even if I'm right I know I'll have hell of a lot more to learn before I'm able to do that, but nevertheless, that's how I feel today. And I wanted to share that. While this blog is technically public (and I don't mind you sharing it), it's mostly written for an audience that I feel knows me well enough to take it all with a grain of salt. Keep me honest, keep me humble, and knock me down a peg or two when I need that. Whatever happens, I'm grateful that so many people have been able to be a part of my journey so far. I hope that you're all part of the next part of the journey as well, whatever that may look like.

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The rest of day four (a belated reflection)

There were some great things about day four aside from hearing Yeonmi Park speak. Her talk was by far the most moving of the day, but that's a pretty high bar to set and there were several others that were great as well. One highlight was hearing Jimmy Wales speak, the founder of Wikipedia. His session was mostly just questions and answers from the audience, but that was actually really good. He talked about the Wikipedia philosophy, about the future of the organisation, and about creating projects with global scale and reach. One person asked when Wikipedia will be able to be cited as an academic source, and he said that he hopes the answer is never. They don't see that as their role, rather they see speed and accessibility of information as their role. As an example he spoke about the current Ebola crisis and the amount of misinformation in some of the western media. He convincingly argued that if journalists were routinely checking Wikipedia this wouldn't be happening. Aside from hearing all about the conceptual foundations of Wikipedia, I was really interested in hearing about their funding strategy. Wikipedia still receive almost all of their funding from donations of less than $20, which is pretty remarkable for such an enormous and influential organisation. He explained that it's because organisationally they want to be able to prioritise their users in developing countries as much as they prioritise their users in Silicon Valley, and they don't believe they'd be able to do this if they were funded by major donors, even if they tried. Muhammad Yunus also spoke on social business. He was incredible, and spoke a lot about we need to stop creating businesses which have financial profit as their main aim, and start creating businesses with social objectives as their driving force. For anyone who doesn't know, Yunus is the co-founder of Grameen Bank, which has brought millions of people out of people out of poverty through Microfinance, which is the provision of very small loans in developing countries. He talked about how everything the Grameen bank did defied the conventions of the traditional banks. Where they would lend mostly to men, he would lend mostly to women. Where they would lend to those with substantial capital, he would lend to those with none. Where they would put financial profit at the centre of what they would do, he would put social profit at the centre. Where they would operate in cities, he would operate almost entirely in rural communities. He has single handedly changed the way lending works in developing communities, and has won the Nobel peace prize for his work. He comes across as extremely humble, and his speech will be one of the many highlights of the conference for me. Another highlight was hearing from a panel of delegates from conflict zones, who the day before had been part of a workshop on peace and reconciliation led by participants in and experts on the Northern Ireland conflict. There were delegates from South Sudan, Indian Kashmir, Montenegro, Sri Lanka, Albania, 'Outside of Jerusalem' (in her own words), Colombia, Kurdistan, Northern Ireland, Pakistani Kashmir, Mali, Palestine, and many other countries. Their reflections and observations were really insightful, and quite powerful given the context. After the closing ceremony all of the delegates went to a bar in town and ended the conference with a bang. Over several pints we talked about our plans for the future and about the ways that our attendance at One Young World might change us. I would guess that that's going to be a conversation and a thought process that I keep having for a very long time. I'm very glad I've got the next few days to sit and reflect and think and plan, because the conference itself was extremely dense and didn't give much time for that. But already there are things I think I could do and change as a result of my time here. This has been an insightful and powerfully affecting experience and I feel like I now have a responsibility to use that well. I guess that's an opportunity to once again thank everyone who helped me be here. It was a privilege to have so many people be a part of helping me get here, and I am very grateful for your support. I'll most likely post a couple more reflections here in the next few days, but I've learnt and experience far more this week than I could possibly put in to words, so please ask me about all of this if you're interested. This week won't be the end of my One Young World journey, it will just be a part of it. I'm excited about what the next steps will be.

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And then I ran out of words

I've taken a little longer to write this one. I just didn't feel I had the words to describe what happened yesterday. I still don't, but here is my attempt. This might be brief. Yesterday we heard from Yeonmi Park, a 21 year old North Korean defector and escapee. Hers was the most profoundly moving and tragic story I have ever heard. I think it will remain with me for the rest of my life. There were 1400 people listening to Yeonmi's story yesterday and every one of them was in tears. James Chau introduced Yeonmi to the delegates before she spoke and struggled to finish his introduction, having to pause several times to compose himself. She received a standing ovation before she began, and what felt like hours of applause afterwards. I think it was the most moving thing I have ever witnessed. Yeonmi watched her best friend's mother be publicly executed when she was nine years old, for possession of a South Korean film. Later, Yeonmi's father was arrested, which meant that under North Korean law the next three generations of their family would be marked as criminals and persecuted. Eventually, he bribed his way out of prison so that he could seek medical treatment for colon cancer. Out of fear, Yeonmi's older sister attempted to escape the country with a friend. They never saw her again. Yeonmi and her family decided to attempt to escape to China, but to do this her parents had to split up. When Yeonmi and her mother eventually made it in to China the Chinese official they had bribed to be allowed in to the country told Yeonmi gave her a choice between being raped, or being sent back to North Korea. She was 13. Instead, Yeonmi's mother offered herself instead, and Yeonmi had to watched as her mother was raped in front of her. They eventually found her father, but shortly afterwards he passed away from the cancer. Yeonmi and her mother were forced to bury her father in secret during the night, unable to grieve him for if they were detected they would be sent back home. Yeonmi and her mother escaped to Mongolia, but to get there they had to cross the Gobi desert on foot. Their they were found and arrested, but Yeonmi threatened suicide if they were to be sent back to North Korea. They were sent to South Korea instead, where they live today. Two months ago, Yeonmi decided that she would begin speaking out against the North Korean regime. This is an extreme risk, and the South Korean police advised her not to speak at One Young World for fear that it would once again threaten her and her mother. But she has decided that her story needs to be told, and that the risk is worth it if telling her story will help to shed some light on the North Korean regime. I wasn't sure whether to publish this, because I don't know if I will ever be able to convey how profoundly powerful yesterday was. My own words could never do justice to Yeonmi's courage. But I have decided to share this in the hope that Yeonmi's message is heard by as many people as possible. Please, watch your speech herself, her own words are greater than mine could ever be (http://youtu.be/ufhKWfPSQOw). Please share her story, and her message, it's the least we can do in response to the immense bravery she has shown. Yeonmi is by far the bravest person I've ever met. I'm sometimes asked who my biggest hero is, or who inspires me, or who I admire, and I've often struggled to find a good answer. I have an answer now.

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Solemnity and Irreverance - a summary of day three

We're now in to the final full day of One Young World. I'm exhausted, I can hardly hear my own voice, but the conference has gotten better and better as the week has gone on. The very first session yesterday morning was disappointing. The topic was education and employability, but it felt a bit self serving. I'd hoped to be talking about access to education for marginalised communities, but instead we were talking about our own employment prospects. It was less about social justice and more about how to create a good LinkedIn profile. But after that early disappointment, things improved dramatically. Next up was Paul Polman, the CEO of Unilever. If you read my blog post yesterday you might be very surprised to hear how much I enjoyed the CEO of a multinational corporation speak. At times my cynicism of big business knows no bounds, but Paul was superb. He spoke about the responsibility of businesses to create social good. How doing no harm is not enough. How 'corporate social responsibility' as a big business buzzword is no longer something to be proud of, it is something that we should expect as an absolute bare minimum. Most of all, he addressed privilege. He ended by saying that those of us who are here are part of the 2% of global population who get to decide what we want to do. His message was that we must dedicate ourselves to serving the other 98%. Then followed a session on human rights. Young leaders from Eritrea, Iraq, England, Oman, Ireland and Pakistan about their stories, hardships, passions and their visions for a better future. It was eye opening and often tragic, but very powerful. The sessions where it is the young people themselves speaking have been some of the most memorable. Some of the stories we've heard have been heartbreaking, and the courage of the speakers has been incredible. Going in to this I expected the stories of people my age to be more impactful than the stories of the keynote speakers, and that expectation has been met. Later in the day Kofi Annan spoke about the power of young people to lead the way in creating a better future, and his speech was great, but the lasting memory for me will be the stories told by the young people themselves. The next session was a focus on the Northern Ireland conflict resolution process. We heard from two former paramilitary leaders from each side of the conflict, who have since reconciled. The interesting thing for me was that this didn't mean they'd changed their views. They still believed in the ideas that they were fighting for, but what united them was a commitment to peace. Following this main session, they lead a breakout session with 30 young people from conflict regions, where they shared their stories and experience in the hope that it would be able to make a difference in those communities. That really hit home the real world application of these talks and these ideas. Those 30 people were brought here by One Young World with the express objective and hope that they would be able to use the experience to create change in their home countries. For people from the likes of Sudan and South Sudan, Kashmir, Kurdistan, Israel and Palestine, the Balkans, Colombia, Ukraine and Russia, that could be powerful. This week has been a beautiful mix of solemnity and irreverence. Just a few hours after hearing those powerful, impactful stories, we all spent the evening together at the Guinness storehouse. We laughed and yelled and danced and drank, and those moments will be memorable as well. It sounds a little contradictory, and maybe it is, but I think our ability to laugh together over a pint at the end of the day can be just as important as our ability to share the stories of our hopes and fears. I'm very glad I came here.

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Frustrations and inspirations - reflecting on day two

Day two of One Young World brought a mix of frustration and inspiration. Those who have heard me talk about the summit over the last six months will know how excited I was about attending. I had an expectation that it would be an inspiring, impactful, potentially life changing experience, and so far those expectations have been met. But there have also been frustrations. Please, here me out here, because there have been some powerfully positive moments as well, and after the next two paragraphs of ranting I'll get to those, I promise. But first... There are things we aren't talking about here which I think we should be. As I write this I'm sitting in a session about education and employment. I'd have assumed that this kind of topic in this kind of context would be about how we as leaders can ensure that the most vulnerable people and communities would have access to educational and employment opportunities. But that's not what we're talking about today. Rather, it's a panel discussion hosted by an employee of a mega corporation, discussing employment issues with three university graduates. They're not talking about the reasons why so many people don't have access to those kinds of opportunities, they're talking about how to create a good LinkedIn profile. Sorry, but I call bullshit. It's not that I'm against having that discussion at some point, but if we're doing that without acknowledging our privilege, or if we're labelling that an urgent social issue when it's clearly not, then that risks doing more harm than good. There is a time and a place for that discussion, this is not it. Phew. Rant over. Lol, just kidding, rant not over. Yesterday we talked about entrepreneurship and social good. I was really looking forward to that session as social entrepreneurship is something I've become quite interested in lately. But we weren't talking about social entrepreneurship, we were just talking about how to create a successful business, which you might also be able to use as a force for good. Again, maybe there's a place for that, but this is not it. At an absolute minimum we should be reframing that discussion so that it's about how to create positive social change, which may or may not be about business. Yes, the ability to generate revenue has enormous positive potential, but the moment we talk about profit before we talk about people we've got a serious problem. Immediately afterwards there was a session from someone who claimed to be making space travel "accessible for everyone". Again, bullshit. By "accessible to everyone" he was mostly referring to a group of about 300 people who can afford to fork out $100,000 each to take a trip. In the long term the benefits of commercial space travel could be extremely significant for humanity. That's great, and really important. But to label space travel as "accessible for everyone" right now is arrogant. Three meals a day is not accessible for everyone. Basic healthcare is not accessible to everyone. Primary education is not accessible for everyone. That needs to change, and that to me is a much higher priority than some billionaire taking a holiday to the fucking moon. Ok, rant actually over now. Because in between those frustrating moments there have been some incredible moments of inspiration. Here are a few highlights. Dame Ellen MacArthur began by speaking about the circular economy. Her passion and her goal is to transform the global economy, from one which has a linear consumption of resources to one which has a circular consumption of resources. She believes that if we don't switch to a method of resource use which is sustainable and reusable then the global economic system will eventually collapse. She was eloquent and convincing, but for me the most inspiring part of her session wasn't the content of what she was talking about, rather it was hearing from someone who has set herself such an enormous goal and truly believes that she can achieve it. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the value of the content as well. But her level of passion and self-belief was the most impactful thing for me, I really enjoyed that. Later in the day Kofi Annan and Mary Robinson spoke about their roles promoting climate change awareness and advocacy as part of The Elders. In terms of speakers, those two are why I'm here. To hear two people with such an immense level of global respect was really memorable. They spoke about how we're at a critical juncture for the future of the planet, with major decisions needing to be made by global leaders about climate change within the next fifteen months. Their address was a very personal one, imploring each individual to take action, and to take action now. But in a very different way, the speeches that followed were even more impactful. The following session was about leadership and government, and included several delegate speakers who are taking extreme risks in their home countries to promote and fight for democracy. The Thai delegate spoke about leading protests despite being receiving rape threats from police officers. The Turkish delegate spoke about demonstrating against the government in the face of tear gas and water cannons, even though some of her fellow demonstrators had been blinded, and others had been killed. The Afghanistan delegate told the story of young people in his country going to vote despite knowing that it would likely result in their fingers being cut off. Their defiant words were statements of extreme bravery. In between all of that I've had the pleasure of meeting some awesome delegates. A highlight yesterday was that a group of us who are all interested in youth justice managed to find each other on Twitter and meet up. I've met people who are passionate about healthcare, education, youth empowerment, environmental sustainability and a myriad of other topics. We've been able to share our frustrations and our inspirations, our dreams and our visions. We've talked about the things that are important, and then we've talked about the things that aren't important. Those moments of irreverence spent laughing with each other about the most ridiculous things have been great as well. I've valued the time spent within the sessions, but I've valued the time spent talking over coffees and beers just as much. I think those are the moments that will make my One Young World experience memorable. The cool thing is that the frustrations I have are shared. The dreams I have are shared as well. There's no sense of isolation here, there's a real sense of collaboration, and a recognition that if we're going to overcome these things that frustrate us we're going to have to do it together. There is power in collectivity. Those shared dreams and those yarns over coffee or beer are the most powerful moments for me. That's what I will remember most. There we go, that ended a lot more positively than it began, didn't it.

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Bob and Mary

"We created One Young World because we believe that your generation is truly unique. You understand more about the revolutions that are changing the world, and how to take those understandings and use them them to drive change. We simply ask that you do that."

Those were the introductory words from Kate Robertson, co-founder of One Young World. Her and co-founder David Jones talked about why the organisation was founded, and what the effects have been over the past four years. Around 5000 delegates have participated in the conferences since 2010, and their combined projects since then have had an estimated reach of 6.2 million people. It’s a pretty incredible reach, and I thought it was a great way to start the summit. It left me wanting to become a part of that five thousand strong group, and to add to that 6.2 million people. Even if my impact is just to make that number 6.2 million and one, I’m excited to be a part of that community and that movement.

The opening ceremony was an odd mix of powerful, challenging parts and drawn out ceremonial parts. A large section of the evening was the flag bearers ceremony. It was great to see delegates from all the different countries, but I was itching to get in to the detail of why we are here and what the next few days might involve.

That detail and substance came with the first counsellor speech of the evening, from Mary Robinson. As I mentioned in my post, I’m a huge fan of Mary Robinson so I was really excited to hear her speak, and she didn’t disappoint. She talked about how we’re at a critical juncture, and really need a new generation of leaders who will bring transformative leadership to global issues. Her speech had a real sense of urgency, and I enjoyed that. She’s due to speak a few more times in the few days and I’m really looking forward to it.

Bob Geldof’s speech similarly urgent, but had a very different tone. He was very direct, and spoke about how if young people don’t step up and change things, the world is in serious trouble. His speech was a dramatic one, but i really enjoyed it. Often these youth social change conferences are heavy on the feel-good ‘young people can change the world’ message. I think that’s true and a really important message, but it was actually refreshing to hear it balanced with a serious and significant call to action.

Bob Geldof’s speech finished with following:

"In west Africa they are not dying of a virus. They are dying because unlike in Madrid and in Texas, they are poor. I don’t like that. That cannot stand. We must think and we must find a way through the terrible situation we’ve blocked ourselves into. We need to be creative and intelligent. We are capable of that, but our time is gone. If you don’t do it, there’s a problem."

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This is a rather large convention centre

Just got to the conference centre, this place is enormous! The foyer area is full of stands, tables and exhibits all broadly related to young people and social impact. I've already talked to people from a couple of Irish NGOs working in the youth empowerment and leadership space, so there are some idea percolating already. Other than that I've been mostly keeping to myself and soaking it all in so far, but I have no doubt that will change soon enough. The first session kicks off in about half an hour, followed by dinner with the other delegates. Very excited that things are finally underway!

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Hope and Expectation

Tomorrow morning One Young World finally begins. For me this is the culmination of six months of planning, fundraising and dreaming, and it's a little surreal to realise that the time has finally come. Maybe that surreal feeling is just the jet lag. In any case, I'm excited. A little nervous, certainly a bit apprehensive, but really looking forward to what the week might bring. I've spent the last few days thinking about why I decided to apply to attend, but there's been no sudden revelation which answers that question. I don't think there was any single moment which led me here, just a feeling that it would leave me energised and inspired, and that hopefully it would also give me ways to channel that inspiration and enthusiasm. That initial feeling and hope is still what excites me about tomorrow. I don't know exactly what the week will bring, but I'm going in to the week with an expectation that it will be incredible. Every event like this that I've ever been to has left me feeling inspired, enthusiastic and motivated to do something positive, and I've never been to anything anywhere near as big as this, so I'm hoping that this will be even better. The first speaker tomorrow is one of my all time favourite humans, Mary Robinson. A year ago I read her autobiography and absolutely loved it. I remember really connecting with parts of her story, I must have chewed through the entire thing in about two days. The book is called 'Everybody Matters' (to be honest I was a fan by the time I'd finished reading the title) and it's a really good read if you're interested. I can't wait to hear her speak as she's someone I really respect and admire, so that should be an awesome beginning to the conference. Over the next week I'll try to blog my thoughts and other ramblings. For now, I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone that has helped to get me here. There are dozens of you who helped fundraise, donated and offered words of encouragement, and I'm hugely grateful for all of those contributions. They made a huge difference to me being able to be here, and whatever the next week brings, I'll always be very grateful for all the help I had in getting here. I'm off to bed, jet lag is a killer. Talk to you soon team!