First step towards the brighter future -Report on One Young World 2017-

“Make a better world.”

One Young World 2017 was kicked off with this sentence.

One Young World is a huge international summit to discuss and share innovative solutions for the most pressing issues the world faces. It is an annual conference that began in 2010, and this year, it was held in Bogota, Colombia. One Young World delegates are young people between 18-30 years old who have demonstrated leadership abilities in their communities, such as in school or at work, and have a commitment to affecting positive change.

Delegates should be attired in national costume

At the summit, it was not only young people who gathered, but also recognized leaders from around the world, called One Young World counselors, such as Kofi Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Muhammad Yunus, a nobel prize winner.

For the four-day long summit, six subjects were set for discussion, which were “Poverty Alleviation”,  “Economic Development”, “Environmental Protection”, “Leadership”, “Education”and“Peace”.  Among these subjects, counselors gave talks about the current global situation and various issues based on their own experiences in trying to solve them.

One of the highlights was a panel discussion dedicated to education, in which counselors debated the role of education in the future following recent developments in artificial intelligence.

Some delegates talk about their experiences to tackle issue in education field on the stage

Research produced by Oxford University in 2016 predicts that 40% of jobs around the world will be lost to automation in 15 years. There is also data that says that 65% of children entering primary school in 2017 will ultimately end up working in occupations that don’t yet exist.

What kind of person can adjust to an unexpectable future?

What is the role that education should play?

One of the counselors, Ana Hidalgo, a social entrepreneur, is seeking answers to these questions. In 2015, she founded the social enterprise, Young Potential Development Ecuador (YPDE). She previously worked as a middle school teacher. However, she did not feel right with the way the class was conducted, which, although, it met the school’s guidelines, there was a lack of interaction between the teacher and the students. However, she remained silent for many years and did not try to fix the problem. What made up her mind to change the class was the reality she faced in which students gradually lost their motivation for learning. She found the root of the problem in the delivery of the learning experience.

YPDE is a class consulting firm based in Ecuador. The enterprise gives teachers in Ecuador, working at advice various educational institutions about what to do in classes and how to deliver learning materials to students. For example, one idea is adding discussions and group work in class instead of students just listening to the teacher. Students are thus able to recognize the importance of working with others to solve problems and respecting different opinions.

Ms. Hidalgo said,“ the classroom should be a place to give students new findings and confidence through real experiences.”

Up to this year, YPDE has rebuilt the class content in more than 100 schools in South America, providing learning experiences for 4,000 students in both middle schools and high schools. It is obvious that they are making a great impact on society.

“Revising how to deliver the classes could be developing more and more in the future as society changes.” Ms. Hidalgo said.

Education is just part of the subjects left unsolved, such as war, poverty, inequality, the refugee crisis, and so on. Each person’s commitment to solving problems using creative ideas will lead us to a better and brighter world.

Next year, it will be held in Hague, in the Netherlands.

Written by Kaoruko Shimada