Breakout session | Stage 3
Host: The Big 6 Youth Organizations
Big 6 Youth Organizations will host a youth-led discussion considering what it takes to mobilize young people at scale in the context of the Decade of Action. A mistake made by the development community is designing campaigns aimed at young people without actually engaging young people in the design. The truth is young people do want to achieve the SDGs, as they care deeply about social causes, but their insights and experiences must be heard if we are to achieve greater impact together. The Big 6 Youth Organizations have over a century of experience activating young people at the grassroots level. They exist in almost every corner of the world and have understood how to engage young people from many backgrounds and bring them into the conversation to form networks of local youth-led movements. This session will share insights on how to mobilize a generation of young people for the SDGs
Speakers
Willy is a strong believer in young peoples’ influence in addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time. In high school, he earned the highest award in Scouting in the United States and then went on to Harvard University for his Bachelors of Arts in Computer Science, where he also provided legal services to disprivileged individuals. Willy currently works in the tech industry, focusing on new-product development, software, and data analysis. For the past 7 years, Willy was part of the Dream Team, a youth advisory council to the executives of the 24th World Scout Jamboree, which brought over 45,000 young people from around the world to West Virginia, USA for 12 days packed with adventure, friendship, and leadership activities.
Activism, Partnerships, Youth
| Host: The Big 6 Youth Organizations |, Ana Clara Marti (World YMCA), Chamathya Fernando (WAGGGS), Melanie Tran (Youth Representative), Meti Gemechu (World YWCA), Willy Xiao (World Organization of the Scout Movement)