This past September, United Way Centraide Canada was thrilled to collaborate with United Way Worldwide to send a delegation of 10 young leaders to the 2024 One Young World Summit in Montreal.

The delegation included six individuals from across Canada and five from across the globe—all deeply connected to the United Way movement and eager to engage with their peers at one of the world’s leading forums for emerging leaders.

Held annually in a different city each year, the One Young World Summit brings together young people representing over 250 organizations and more than 190 countries to network, share ideas on accelerating social impact, and learn from influential political, business, and humanitarian leaders.

President & CEO Dan Clement recently met with the six attendees from across Canada—Emily Slasynski (United Way of the Alberta Capital Region), Fahim Haque (Centraide of Greater Montreal), Jennifer McEathron (United Way Central New Brunswick), Link Kabadyundi (Findhelp Information Services | 211), and Moronkeji (Keji) Banjok (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation)—to hear about their experiences at the summit and how we can leverage those experiences to strengthen the movement.

Here, we’re sharing key insights and takeaways from that conversation.

No shortage of new ideas and inspiration

 From learning about equity in artificial intelligence to centring Indigenous voices and beyond, delegates found tremendous value in diverse perspectives and ideas and the chance to connect with peers from all over the world.

Link was inspired by a workshop on AI that emphasized the need to build equity and representation into algorithms from the very beginning of the development journey.

Keji noted that many of the other attendees came from the corporate world and were learning about social impact in a focused way for the first time, offering the United Way Centraide delegates a unique opportunity to step forward as leaders in the space.

And Jennifer returned home feeling motivated to implement positive changes. As she shared, “I feel like I went in as a sponge, and now I’m squeezing out my sponge.” 

Leveraging learnings to strengthen our work and impact 

As representatives of the United Way Centraide movement, the delegates noticed significant interest in their work from other attendees—the majority of whom, as previously mentioned, come from the corporate world.

Fahim recommended that United Way Centraides leverage their role as social impact experts by hosting workshops for local corporate partners.

Inspired by the opportunity to connect with and learn from young leaders working at United Way offices around the world, the delegates also suggested creating more ways for staff to engage with the international United Way community and build our culture of knowledge sharing. 

Fostering youth leadership across the network

 Asked for their thoughts on how the United Way Centraide network can more effectively foster the development of young leaders within the movement, the delegates were full of ideas.

Emily emphasized the need to actively promote young voices and include young leaders in decision making.

All of the delegates felt there would be value in creating opportunities for young leaders from across the national network to connect with one another, share ideas, and support each other, including through a virtual peer group that meets regularly. The group also discussed the importance of creating a formalized mentorship program for young leaders across the United Way Centraide network.

Moving into the future inspired to lead  

As the conversation wrapped up, Dan Clement emphasized that investing in young leaders is a key priority for United Way Centraide Canada and the entire United Way Centraide network.

“We want to hear your voices, we want to listen, and we want to foster an environment that truly allows new generations of young leaders to shine,” he said.

The delegates, all of whom work at United Way Centraides in communities across Canada or with organizations aligned with the network’s mission, agreed that listening is crucial when it comes to engaging young people with the movement.

As Keji shared, “To know my local United Way is interested in young leaders, to know they’ll listen and create an environment where young people can grow their careers long term is a recipe for success.”