Tomorrow’s Leaders Meet in Geneva to Discuss Global Challenges and Future Impact of Technology

Maxwell Hall, Public Engagement, Tel.: +41 228 693 691 Email: maxwell.hall@weforum.org

• 800 leaders from the World Economic Forum’s communities of Young Global Leaders and Global Shapers are in Geneva for their respective annual meetings this week
• Agenda will focus on how technology can drive greater inclusivity in society and improve life
• The event coincides with International Youth Day on 12 August

Geneva, Switzerland, 11 August 2015 – The World Economic Forum is hosting a joint event with its Young Global Leader (YGL) and Global Shapers communities. The gathering at the Forum’s Geneva headquarters of 800 community members is designed to make sure the voice of young leaders and millennials is included in the debate on how to address a range of global challenges, including climate change, the future of the internet and social inclusion.

YGLs are aged between 30 and 40 and Global Shapers are between 20 and 30 years old. Members of both communities are already proven leaders, having achieved personal and professional success as well as having contributed to wider societal improvements. In keeping with other Forum meetings, participants come from across business, government, academia, media and civil society.

Some of the participants include:

• Ashish Goyal, the first blind trader on Wall Street; he received a national award from India for the empowerment of persons with disabilities
• Marieme Jamme, campaigner and technologist from Senegal who founded SpotOne Global Solutions and is best known for her role in promoting technology, good governance, transparency and education in Africa
• Marissa Mayer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yahoo, USA
• Lorenzo A. Mendoza, who runs one of Venezuela’s largest food companies, Empresas Polar, and also leads Fundación Empresas Polar, the largest private foundation in Latin America with programmes in education, health and community development
• Mark Pollock, an adventurer, athlete and rower who became the first blind man to reach the South Pole; he subsequently broke his spine in an accident and is now involved in a pioneering study in the hope of enabling victims of paralysis to walk again
• Lewis Pugh, ocean advocate, extreme swimmer and founder of Our Blue Future; he broke world records for long-distance swims in the freezing waters of the Artic and Antarctica
• Robyn Scott, social entrepreneur and author, known for her transformative work with violent criminals in one of South Africa’s most notorious jails
• Ashish J. Thakkar, leading African entrepreneur who lived out of a suitcase selling computers in Uganda at age 15; since then, Thakkar has built the continent’s largest pan-African conglomerates, employing 7,500 people across 21 countries

The YGLs are meeting for four days of workshops, plenary sessions and brainstorming. They will be joined by the Global Shapers on Friday for joint sessions, after which the Global Shapers community, represented by curators from 400 distinct city hubs, will continue their programme until 17 August.

In addition to a wide range of plenary sessions, workshops and other interactive engagements, the programme also includes “learning journeys” where participants get to meet leaders from well-known Geneva-based organizations. These include the International Committee of the Red Cross, Guillaume Barrazone, YGL and Vice-Mayor of Geneva, and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Notes to Editors:

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