Vice-Chancellor, it is my great honour to present Kate Robertson for the Award of Doctor of the University in recognition of her tireless work to drive the creation and success of One Young World – the global community of 20,000 young leaders based in 196 countries.
Along with co-founder with David Jones, Kate has transformed One Young World into the leading forum for young talent, bringing together young leaders from every country in the world to work on global challenges such as climate change, health equity, and human rights. The organisation’s values align closely with the University of Bath’s – to inspire, encourage, and support young people as leaders to make impactful change throughout their lives and careers.
Kate has an illustrious 35-year career in the advertising industry. Most recently she served as the Global President of the Havas group from 2013-15 and UK Chairman from 2006–2013. Kate studied law at the University of Cape Town and has Honorary Masters degrees from the University of Creative Arts and from the European Communications School. In 2014 she was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Lausanne Business School. In 2012 she was named Advertising Woman of the Year by Women In Marketing and in 2014 was similarly honoured by Advertising Week Europe.
Throughout her career, Kate has led several of the world’s most impactful campaigns: in 2009, Kate, together with David Jones, introduced the TckTckTck campaign in partnership with former UN Secretary-General, the late Kofi Annan. At the time, the campaign mobilised the largest petition in history, rallying millions of people worldwide to demand urgent action on climate change ahead of the COP15 summit.
Many people would have been rightly satisfied with the levels of success that Kate has achieved in the advertising sector. However, for Kate this is simply one element of her career, and through One Young World Kate and David have realised their vision to provide young leaders from every nation with the opportunity to unite and work towards a better, more equitable world.
Having grown up in apartheid South Africa, Kate’s worldview was shaped by witnessing both the injustices of the system and the profound leadership of figures like Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu in building a new, inclusive society. Inspired by the Olympic movement’s values, One Young World’s annual Summit has been dubbed by CNN as ‘the junior Davos’. The Summit is attended by 2,000+ delegates and is the most internationally attended global event beaten only by the Summer Olympic Games, in terms of the number of countries represented.
Many of the world's most prominent political, social, humanitarian and business leaders support the work of One Young World through this Summit, which has been held around the world from Bogota to Bangkok, Montreal to Munich. These include HM Queen Rania, the late Kofi Annan, Sir Bob Geldof, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Maria Ressa, President Mary Robinson and CEOs from the world’s biggest businesses, along with the hundreds of young leaders, grassroots activists, pioneers, and entrepreneurs whose achievements are celebrated and elevated through this unique community.
One Young World is not just an annual global summit; it’s a movement. Ambassador-led initiatives are improving access to global health and education, campaigning for equal opportunity in the workplace, developing innovative, responsible technology, and pushing forward the circular economy. Collectively, the network has generated more than $4 billion worth of social impact in the last three years alone, positively benefiting the lives of more than 60 million people worldwide.
Since 2013, the University’s partnership with One Young World has developed into a rich relationship, benefiting not only the student delegates who attend the summits, but the larger community through the establishment of the One Young World Bath Forum. Throughout, Kate has provided support and encouragement resulting in the longest-standing higher education partnership and the impressive 10th anniversary Bath Forum that we have seen today.
One Young World’s global success would not have been possible without Kate’s leadership, commitment, ambition, and absolute faith in the One Young World community. Her ability to provide unwavering support to committed individuals, persuasive reasoning to global figureheads, and rallying cries to thousands of summit attendees puts Kate at the heart of the movement and of all those who meet her.
Vice-Chancellor, I present to you Kate Robertson who is eminently worthy to receive the degree of Doctor of the University, honoris causa.