1. Andy Swartz Personal Summit Debrief November 2016
2016 OYW Summit
“.. A global forum of young leaders.. a summit gathering the
brightest young leaders from around the world,
empowering them to make lasting connections and develop
solutions to the worlds most pressing issues.. together the
most valuable young talent from global and national
companies, universities joined are by world leaders”
The Diverse Common World
2105 Summit was held in Bangkok and 2017 Summit to be in
Columbia, but this year, Canada hosted the 1200 brightest young
global leaders summit, representing 198 different countries.
Young leaders from global corporates, NGO’s, some were former
refugees, former Boko Haram child soldiers, former Nazi, ISIS
Global Delegation
The renowned Summit surpassed
all my expectations by a country
mile. I never thought I would ever
meet so many people from 198
different countries, all so different
in culture, race, religion,
upbringing and with lifestyles as
contrasting as East is from West.
Yet in our diversity, we shared the
common issues of gender and
sexual inequality, poverty,
extremism, rejection, racism, lack
of education, terror and such ills
of society that drive hardship,
local hatred and divide.
These were such sad tiring topics
that evidently inflicted immense
pain and beaten-down emotion
and tested faith, yet each
delegate present possessed the
biggest smile, seeing the
potential of Our World, not as a
trapped bonsai pot-plant, but
rather as a bonsai seed not
restricted by the limiting
surrounds of ‘what is’, instead
each of us personally affecting
‘what could be’.
We believe & Act
Unified in the recognition that we
don't impact this world by mere
hashtags and re-tweets, but
through the driving of our
initiatives on sustainability, over-
and-above our day jobs,
achieving scale and effectiveness.
From every corner of the globe
we proactively altering the course
of destruction from likes of ISIS,
Putin, Boko Haram or Trump…
towards qualities of empathy,
respect, reconciliation and
equality.
ONE YOUNG WORLD
2016 Annual Summit | Canada, Ottawa
Andy Swartz, Tim Keaveny, Ryuata Higuchi (Barclays Africa, London, Tokyo)
Emma Watson

2. Andy Swartz Personal Summit Debrief November 2016
and other extremist organisations, whilst other delegates
were victims of global warming, genocide or painful
discrimination. We shared one thing in common though:
each delegate is running/part-taking in massively impactful
initiatives, within their own time, to change this world live
we in, eradicating the global pains which many current &
past leaders have inflicted on our young people today. I
personally realised that My problems were Ours. The gang
leaders in my home-township of Eldorado Park or Westbury
&Cape Flats were no different to Boko Haram or other
extremists, some just wear uniform but both negatively
influence youth with drugs, propaganda & violence.
We Set Our OwnAgenda
Over 4 days, the themes and topics addressed were generated
from the One Young World Community, interestingly
evidencing what concerns youth globally now. These were:
Countering Extremism; Unemployment & Education;
Environment; Peace & Security; Poverty & Human Rights.
Countering Extremism
We firstly need to understand the history of an individual’s
violence and those who have been previously hurt, who
through their pain create a sense of anger and in turn hurt
others. It is upon this vulnerability which individuals and
groups in-turn use propaganda to sell a false utopia of
correction, where those who fight to divide feed upon those
who are alone, hurt or alienated.
Lack of Education and Exposure to Diversity is what
drives Division
It’s those who lack early education and exposure that fall victim
to drivers of hatred, discrimination, divide, and those who
rather educate through propaganda for fear of losing cultural
identity, as oppose to being taught to embrace differences.
Is the belief that women should be submissive to men, or white
to black, or embedding the assumption that all moslems are
extremists or police endowed with the honour ‘to protect and
serve’ harnessing the vile ignorance that all blacks are criminals -
that much different to extremist leaders thinking? Or that
transgender, gay & lesbian individuals should be disgraced,
denied dignity, human right and equality simply because they
don't ‘fit’ into a world? Was and is Hitler, HF Verwoerd, Trump
that much different in ideology? Was this not what tarnished
Sierra Leone, South Africa and other communities today?
Refugees’ Comments
“Please see us as human and not a burden.
We are rich in culture with skill and food…
we just don't have opportunity and are
stuck in camps”.
“.. think about about the toughest time in
your life, now think about who was there
for you.. please be that person to us”
Poverty
Why are we conditioned to think
that there can only be one winner?
that it takes some else to lose for
another to win?
The top 62 ppl in world earn as
much as bottom 50% of global
population.
The ability of being born in the
bottom 50% and moving up to the
top 50% income bracket has
decreased significantly.
Climate
“My mother now has to walk 15km
further every day to get fresh water for
our family..” - Delegate
This is the real effect of global
warming, not just the ice berg
melting in the North Pole, but in that
too, islanders are literally losing
their homelands.
Mental Illness
There is a youth suicide 1 in every 40
seconds globally. It is increasingly
becoming more and more of a
concern globally to our youth.
Kofi Annan

3. Andy Swartz Personal Summit Debrief November 2016
Learn, Leverage, Scale
The sentiment at the Summit was not about
comparing magnitude of each others problems, but
taking an interest, to appreciate our common
differences and unified frustration - not for mere
sympathy and evoking a new #hashtag idea, tweet
or Facebook post, but simply to learn about how
each of us deal with common issues. The most
fascinating juncture to that dialogue, would always
be the intersection where current circumstance is
met with deployed initiative.
It is the realisation that: in our ability to learn
together, we achieve together, for we don't see
doing good and doing well as mutually exclusive.
As long as there is injustice somewhere - there will never be sustainability everywhere.
Andy Swartz CA(SA)
Vice President, Relationship Executive
Barclays Africa - Corporate & Investment Bank
South Africa
Contact: +27 76 278 1341
Sir Bob Geldof, Kofi Annan, Mary Robinson (first female president of Ireland), Prof Muhammed Yunus (founder of micro-
financing, Grameen Bank), Justin Trudeau (Canada Prime Minister), Emma Watson (actress & activist) Maajid Nawaz (Activist,
Author, Columnist & Politician and former imprisoned radical islamist), Soren Lerche (former imprisoned radicalized left-wing
militant extremist against neo-nazis), James Chau (television broadcaster, guest presenter BBC News CCTV), John Simpson (
most recognised journalist 50 yrs BBC news correspondent -interviewed Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela, Saddam
Hussein), Lauren Bush (Founder & CEO Feed) Thuli Madonsela, MAiel von Schumman (Siemans Head), Bruce Dickinson,
Carlos Brito (AB InBev CEO), Carl-Henric Svanberg (Chairman AB Volvo and BP), Jon Landau (Oscar Winning Producer for
Titanic and Avatar), President Carlos Mesa (president of Guatemala), President Vinicio Cerezo (President of Bolivia),
President Omar Torrijos (president of Panama), Gary White (CEO water.org), Dambisa Moyo (economist &author), Ronan
Dunne (former CEO Telefonica & new Group President of Verizon Wireless), Cher (singer &activist), panel of former Chief of
Staffs, former refugees, Lord Michael Hastings, Harley Finkelstein (COO Shopify) etc.
Andy Swartz; James Chau
Counsellors:
Andy Swartz; Thuli Madonsela
Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau
Sir Bob Geldof
I am truly appreciative and humbled to being One of 8, from a global employee base, that Barclays Plc
selected to attend the summit (2 of us from Africa, Europe, America and Asia), where official today I am a One
Young World Ambassador.