One Young World volunteers shine in London

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One Young World celebrated its 10th Anniversary Summit in the heart of London in October, bringing together more than 2,000 young leaders and over 300 volunteers to be part of its transformative event.

As the chosen events agency partner, MCI UK and MCI The Netherlands provided full event management services, including the instrumental role of volunteer management.

Every year, the summit recruits volunteers from the host country to assist with the operations of running the event. For the 2019 summit, 80% of volunteers came from London whilst the remainder travelled from other regions in the UK and internationally.

Volunteers supported the summit at every given touchpoint of the delegate’s journey from their rousing volunteer welcome upon arrival in the UK to hotel check-in. Donning hoodies in One Young World’s trademark blue, volunteers played a crucial part in the summit and became recognisable points of contact for delegates, providing key events information, local city knowledge and most importantly a friendly face.

For some delegates attending One Young World’s Summit was their first experience of travelling abroad or visiting London. Each volunteer’s job was to ensure that every delegate felt welcome and comfortable in the city, empowering delegates to make real change in the world.

Volunteers supported the summit in many roles including VIP hosts, accessibility champions, stage assistants, directional support at venues, registration helpers, opening ceremony flag team assistants, press support, news writers and photographers.

James Hampton, One Young World volunteer management lead, said,“What a remarkable experience! It’s been incredibly rewarding for MCI to manage the entire volunteer piece at One Young World, from application selection through to meeting each volunteer in person and working alongside them onsite. We took heart hearing each applicant’s motivations for volunteering and their personal stories. The 10th One Young World Summit would not have been possible without the 300+ volunteers who dedicated their time, energy and enthusiasm to this remarkable event. Thank you!”

During the week, MCI took charge of running several stages including BP’s Advancing Energy and Jaguar-Landrover’s I-Pace Stages. MCI’s event professionals were joined by a group of keen student volunteers from UWC Atlantic College in Wales. The students were encouraged to volunteer at One Young World because Atlantic College shares many of the same values: it was designed to promote international understanding through education, to break down national barriers in education, and to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

Molly Hookings
Author: Molly Hookings

Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com