One Young World Summit
One Young World 2014 was hailed by organisers as the most successful in its five-year history, attracting 2,000 delegates aged 18-30 from 196 countries and high profile speakers such as UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan and Sir Bob Geldof.
Delegates: 2,000
Client: One Young World
Event: One Young World Summit 2014
Type: Conference
Date: 15-18 October 2014
Days: 4
Brief
One Young World is a not-for-profit organisation that connects and guides young leaders from around the world who are driving real change in their countries, communities and companies. The fifth One Young World Summit took place in Dublin in October 2014 and was unique in giving its delegates and ambassadors the opportunity to interact directly with high profile leaders.
Solution
The Dublin bid to host the One Young World Summit was submitted by Bob Coggins, Clara Kelleher and Valerie McGrane, a group of Dublin based youth leaders, and was supported by Fáilte Ireland, through Dublin Convention Bureau. The team overcame strong competition from Hong Kong and Edinburgh and won the bid based on Dublin’s experience hosting top international events and its world renowned hospitality, youth, creativity and innovation.
The local organising committee engaged Conference Partners as the professional conference organiser for the event, and selected The CCD to host the 2014 summit due to its large conference facilities, central location and excellent transport links. Bob Coggins commented, "The CCD was really the only choice to host the One Young World summit in Dublin, with the best facilities and location, combined with a proactive approach to assisting us win the bid at the outset. Few buildings in Ireland come close to The CCD for flexibility and state of the art technology, making it an industry standard bearer for summits and conferences in Western Europe".
The four-day summit opened in the Auditorium with a welcome address from An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny T.D., followed by the symbolic flag-laying ceremony which included 196 members, each bearing the national flag of their country. The session also featured inspiring keynote speeches from Sir Bob Geldof and former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson.
Topics on the agenda included human rights, education, global business, health, sustainable development and leadership and government. The key theme for the 2014 summit was peace and conflict resolution, using Ireland’s legacy and relatively recent reconciliation as an example to guide discussion.
Plenary sessions were held over the four days and served to give the young delegates a unique opportunity to hear and be heard by global leaders such as the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, activist Ali Hewson and global sports star Boris Becker. Delegates also attended external breakout sessions which were organised to deliver a wide range of topics in more than 30 venues throughout the city including Google HQ, Facebook HQ, Trinity College and the Guinness Storehouse.
Dublin truly embraced the One Young World Summit, with delegates receiving a ‘One Thousand Welcomes’ tour from young Dubliners which took in the real sights and sounds of the city. Attendees also stepped off the plane in Dublin to be greeted by welcome posters at the airport, and the branding continued throughout the city on busses, bus stops, lamp posts, billboards and the exterior and interior of The CCD.
There were a number of first time experiences for The CCD during the summit. A scale model of Richard Branson’s space shuttle arrived the day before opening and was on display beside The CCD throughout the event. CCD Security played an integral role in supporting the installation of the shuttle and monitoring the manning of the area each day.
Health and Safety and CCD Security also liaised with Dublin Fire Brigade to obtain approval for a full blackout in the Auditorium during a special session on disability to challenge people’s perceptions. They also worked with the Garda traffic unit on a plan to stop traffic during the final day of the summit when thousands of white balloons were released by delegates who lined up along the River Liffey to mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Results
One Young World was arguably one of the most exciting, inspiring and enjoyable events hosted in Dublin in 2014. 2,000 delegates aged 18-30 from 196 countries attended the four-day summit with Fáilte Ireland estimating its worth at around €2 million in direct economic impact for the local economy. Organisers David Jones and Kate Robertson hailed the Dublin event as “the most successful in its five-year history”.
The CCD was really the only choice to host the One Young World summit in Dublin, with the best facilities and location, combined with a proactive approach to assisting us win the bid at the outset. Few buildings in Ireland come close to The CCD for flexibility and state of the art technology, making it an industry standard bearer for summits and conferences in Western Europe. Bob Coggins, Organiser of the One Young World Summit 2014