Andy Swartz Personal Summit Debrief November 2016

2016 OYW Summit “.. A global forum of young leaders.. a summit gathering the brightest young leaders from around the world, empowering them to make lasting connections and develop solutions to the worlds most pressing issues.. together the most valuable young talent from global and national companies, universities joined are by world leaders”

The Diverse Common World 2105 Summit was held in Bangkok and 2017 Summit to be in Columbia, but this year, Canada hosted the 1200 brightest young global leaders summit, representing 198 different countries. Young leaders from global corporates, NGO’s, some were former refugees, former Boko Haram child soldiers, former Nazi, ISIS

Global Delegation

The renowned Summit surpassed all my expectations by a country mile. I never thought I would ever meet so many people from 198 different countries, all so different in culture, race, religion, upbringing and with lifestyles as contrasting as East is from West.

Yet in our diversity, we shared the common issues of gender and sexual inequality, poverty, extremism, rejection, racism, lack of education, terror and such ills of society that drive hardship, local hatred and divide.

These were such sad tiring topics that evidently inflicted immense pain and beaten-down emotion and tested faith, yet each delegate present possessed the biggest smile, seeing the potential of Our World, not as a trapped bonsai pot-plant, but rather as a bonsai seed not restricted by the limiting surrounds of ‘what is’, instead each of us personally affecting ‘what could be’.

We believe & Act

Unified in the recognition that we don't impact this world by mere hashtags and re-tweets, but through the driving of our initiatives on sustainability, over-and-above our day jobs, achieving scale and effectiveness. From every corner of the globe we proactively altering the course of destruction from likes of ISIS, Putin, Boko Haram or Trump… towards qualities of empathy, respect, reconciliation and equality.

ONE YOUNG WORLD 2016 Annual Summit | Canada, Ottawa

Andy Swartz, Tim Keaveny, Ryuata Higuchi (Barclays Africa, London, Tokyo)

Emma Watson

Andy Swartz Personal Summit Debrief November 2016

and other extremist organisations, whilst other delegates were victims of global warming, genocide or painful discrimination. We shared one thing in common though: each delegate is running/part-taking in massively impactful initiatives, within their own time, to change this world live we in, eradicating the global pains which many current & past leaders have inflicted on our young people today. I personally realised that My problems were Ours. The gang leaders in my home-township of Eldorado Park or Westbury &Cape Flats were no different to Boko Haram or other extremists, some just wear uniform but both negatively influence youth with drugs, propaganda & violence.

We Set Our Own AgendaOver 4 days, the themes and topics addressed were generated from the One Young World Community, interestingly evidencing what concerns youth globally now. These were: Countering Extremism; Unemployment & Education; Environment; Peace & Security; Poverty & Human Rights.

Countering Extremism

We firstly need to understand the history of an individual’s violence and those who have been previously hurt, who through their pain create a sense of anger and in turn hurt others. It is upon this vulnerability which individuals and groups in-turn use propaganda to sell a false utopia of correction, where those who fight to divide feed upon those who are alone, hurt or alienated.

Lack of Education and Exposure to Diversity is what drives DivisionIt’s those who lack early education and exposure that fall victim to drivers of hatred, discrimination, divide, and those who rather educate through propaganda for fear of losing cultural identity, as oppose to being taught to embrace differences.

Is the belief that women should be submissive to men, or white to black, or embedding the assumption that all moslems are extremists or police endowed with the honour ‘to protect and serve’ harnessing the vile ignorance that all blacks are criminals - that much different to extremist leaders thinking? Or that transgender, gay & lesbian individuals should be disgraced, denied dignity, human right and equality simply because they don't ‘fit’ into a world? Was and is Hitler, HF Verwoerd, Trump that much different in ideology? Was this not what tarnished Sierra Leone, South Africa and other communities today?

Refugees’ Comments

“Please see us as human and not a burden. We are rich in culture with skill and food… we just don't have opportunity and are stuck in camps”.

“.. think about about the toughest time in your life, now think about who was there for you.. please be that person to us”

Poverty

Why are we conditioned to think that there can only be one winner? that it takes some else to lose for another to win?

The top 62 ppl in world earn as much as bottom 50% of global population.

The ability of being born in the bottom 50% and moving up to the top 50% income bracket has decreased significantly.

Climate

“My mother now has to walk 15km further every day to get fresh water for our family..” - Delegate

This is the real effect of global warming, not just the ice berg melting in the North Pole, but in that too, islanders are literally losing their homelands.

Mental Illness

There is a youth suicide 1 in every 40 seconds globally. It is increasingly becoming more and more of a concern globally to our youth.

Kofi Annan

Andy Swartz Personal Summit Debrief November 2016

Learn, Leverage, Scale

The sentiment at the Summit was not about comparing magnitude of each others problems, but taking an interest, to appreciate our common differences and unified frustration - not for mere sympathy and evoking a new #hashtag idea, tweet or Facebook post, but simply to learn about how each of us deal with common issues. The most fascinating juncture to that dialogue, would always be the intersection where current circumstance is met with deployed initiative.

It is the realisation that: in our ability to learn together, we achieve together, for we don't see doing good and doing well as mutually exclusive.

As long as there is injustice somewhere - there will never be sustainability everywhere.

Andy Swartz CA(SA) Vice President, Relationship Executive

Barclays Africa - Corporate & Investment Bank

South Africa

Contact: +27 76 278 1341

Sir Bob Geldof, Kofi Annan, Mary Robinson (first female president of Ireland), Prof Muhammed Yunus (founder of micro-financing, Grameen Bank), Justin Trudeau (Canada Prime Minister), Emma Watson (actress & activist) Maajid Nawaz (Activist, Author, Columnist & Politician and former imprisoned radical islamist), Soren Lerche (former imprisoned radicalized left-wing militant extremist against neo-nazis), James Chau (television broadcaster, guest presenter BBC News CCTV), John Simpson ( most recognised journalist 50 yrs BBC news correspondent -interviewed Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela, Saddam Hussein), Lauren Bush (Founder & CEO Feed) Thuli Madonsela, MAiel von Schumman (Siemans Head), Bruce Dickinson, Carlos Brito (AB InBev CEO), Carl-Henric Svanberg (Chairman AB Volvo and BP), Jon Landau (Oscar Winning Producer for Titanic and Avatar), President Carlos Mesa (president of Guatemala), President Vinicio Cerezo (President of Bolivia), President Omar Torrijos (president of Panama), Gary White (CEO water.org), Dambisa Moyo (economist &author), Ronan Dunne (former CEO Telefonica & new Group President of Verizon Wireless), Cher (singer &activist), panel of former Chief of Staffs, former refugees, Lord Michael Hastings, Harley Finkelstein (COO Shopify) etc.

Andy Swartz; James Chau

Counsellors:

Andy Swartz; Thuli Madonsela

Prime Minister: Justin TrudeauSir Bob Geldof

I am truly appreciative and humbled to being One of 8, from a global employee base, that Barclays Plc selected to attend the summit (2 of us from Africa, Europe, America and Asia), where official today I am a One Young World Ambassador.