The 2019 Global Shapers Annual Summit will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from August 30, 2019 to September 1, 2019. More than 400 Global Shapers – young people under the age of 30, working together to create positive change – will meet to discuss the theme of “Leading for Impact” and to exchange ideas on driving dialogue and action to address local, regional and global challenges.The Shapers, representing about 150 countries, will share their experiences, their impact and the lessons learned in managing grassroots projects in their local Global Shaper Hubs and through regional and global collaborations. They will also participate in skills-building and leadership-development workshops.
“Young people are at the forefront of change around the world, from fighting to combat climate change to demanding economic and social justice,” said Wadia Ait Hamza, Head of the Global Shapers Community, World Economic Forum. “The Global Shapers Annual Summit brings the community together to exchange ideas and create powerful partnerships that are transforming local communities and inspiring global action to address the most pressing challenges of our time.”
The summit will focus on enhancing leadership in the community’s three main impact areas: standing up for equity and inclusion, protecting the planet, and shaping the future of education and employment.
In the past year, Shapers in 125 cities have developed grassroots projects to promote equity and inclusion, including awareness campaigns, education initiatives and skill-building efforts to reduce barriers to women in the workplace, increase civic engagement among minority groups and advocate for the rights of refugees.
With climate change and the destruction of nature the number one concern among young people in the latest Global Shapers Survey, Shapers have also implemented 160 environment-related projects in the past year, ranging from climate strikes to beach clean-ups, reforestation projects and advocacy campaigns.
To prepare for the future of work, Shapers are also leading projects that provide more accessible forms of training, education and employment, reaching more than 30,000 young people so far this year.
Here are a few ways Global Shapers are driving impact:
Fighting for the planet (Global): The Voice for the Planetcampaign is a global movement started by Shapers at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos this year to encourage individuals to pledge to take action to protect the planet. More than 165,000 people have made pledges so far.
Supporting refugees (Venezuela): The #ShapersforVenezuela initiative, led by the Caracas Hub and involving more than 16 hubs and more than 70 Shapers over 12 projects, provides refugees with access to healthcare, education and nutrition, supporting nearly 10,000 refugees to date.
Providing mental health counselling (Morocco): Global Shapers in the Casablanca Hub are leading a global initiative to train Shapers to provide mental health peer counselling in a model that adapts to local and linguistic contexts. Together, Shapers have reached 10,000 young people with mental health support in six languages.
Training young professionals (Greece): As part of a larger “Shaping the Future of Work” global initiative, the Athens Hub leads the largest job creation platform for youth nationally, which has so far connected 8,000 young people to paid internships in 300 companies.