The University of Bath welcomed over 130 attendees to the One Young World Bath (OYWB) annual caucus earlier this month.

For the eighth year in a row, young people were given the opportunity to discuss major global challenges with leading experts and become a catalyst for change.

Centred around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), the event hosted three talks and workshops on Climate Justice, Peace & Reconciliation and Mental Health & Sports. These were attended by expert speakers from industry and academia, and the student community – who engaged with insightful and probing questions from the audience. Below are the speakers and panellists OYWB had the honour of hosting.

Climate Justice speakers:

  • Sophia Hatzisavvidou: Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Bath with a research focus on on ecological politics
  • Dave Hughes: a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and expert in agricultural technologies
  • Swati Murthy: Director of Sustainability at Tata Consultancy Services and winner of the Digital Transformation Leader of the Year award 2023
  • Faisal Sharif: UKRI-ESRC funded Doctoral researcher at the University of Bath and Director (Projects Appraisal) at PPIB, Ministry of Energy, Government of Pakistan

Peace and Reconciliation speakers:

  • Tiril Høye Rahn: peace advocate and doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford specialising in UN peacekeeping and civilian protection
  • Fernando Montaño: One Young World Counsellor, Royal Ballet star and patron of the 'Children Change Columbia' charity
  • Jason Hart: social anthropologist at the University of Bath whose work focuses on the experience of young people on the margins of society
  • Ahmad Alkuchikmulla, student at the University of Bath

Mental Health in Sports speakers:

  • Abbie Watkin: SU Sports Officer, Health & Exercise Science graduate and Personal Trainer
  • Luke Turley: professional swimmer and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist
  • Joe Choong: Olympic Gold Medallist in Modern Pentathlon and the first British athlete to win the European Under-16 title
  • Matthew Legg: founder of global mental health and sport brand: Psych Strength
  • Maria Crowfoot, Level 3 Rugby Coach working as Women and Girls Lead at Bath Rugby

This year’s event also welcomed special guest Ella Robertson McKay, the Managing Director of One Young World (OYW). In her opening and closing remarks, Ella reviewed the themes of the day and highlighted the intersectionality of the pressing global challenges we face.

Reminding attendees about a key message of OYW – “with great privilege comes great responsibility” – she inspired students to take the road less travelled and make a positive impact throughout their careers.

Speaking about OYWB 2024, she said1:

The University of Bath has continued to be a great One Young World partner for the last eight years, while also pioneering our university-focused events.

I was highly impressed at the level of student-staff-management synergy in organisation, quality of the conversations and how through One Young World, students at the University are taking genuine interest in being part of the solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Bath’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education & Global), Professor Julian Chaudhuri, also attended the caucus, where he announced the One Young World Bath delegate competition:

Today we’re launching the delegate competition for four University of Bath students to attend the global One Young World summit in Montreal in September, where young leaders from around the world confront some of the biggest issues and become part of a lasting community to tackle these challenges. This will be the first time that all students who are studying at Bath in the next academic year will be able to apply to attend.

Find out more about the delegate competition and apply. Applications close Sunday 14 April 2024.

[1]: Quote abridged from the Bath Times Magazine