Forum of Young Global Leaders, or Young Global Leaders (YGL) is a non-profit organization. The organization was created by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum and is managed from Geneva, Switzerland, under the supervision of the Swiss government. It is run by the World Economic Forum.
The program was founded by Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum in 1992 under the name “Global Leaders for Tomorrow” and was renamed to Young Global Leaders in 2003. [1] Schwab created the group with $1 million won from the Dan David Prize, [2] and the inaugural 2005 class comprised 237 young leaders. Since then, a total of some 1400 individuals have been inducted into the YGL community.
BusinessWeek's Bruce Nussbaum describes the Young Global Leaders as "the most exclusive private social network in the world" and "perhaps the paramount networking network in the globe", [3] while the organization bills the group of selected leaders as representing "the voice for the future and the hopes of the next generation". It has elsewhere also been described as a grouping that is "leading the charge in nurturing a special community of leaders committed to addressing the world's most urgent challenges." [4]
Skeptics suggest that the grouping is "instrumental in shaping policy around the world, undermining democratic principles, and creating obedient and compliant servants" [5] In dispelling such conspiracy theories of the influence of the organisation, Michelle Rempel, a Canadian Conservative politician who found out she had been selected as a Young Global Leader in 2016 with an email that she initially had assumed was spam, noted that the 2017 meeting was "no different in feel from an academic conference, if a bit more global in nature and with more high-profile politicians and CEOs in attendance." [6] One academic, having studied the grouping, pointed out that while such social networks provides "privileged access to a network of elites" and represents "a concentration of cultural and social as well as symbolic capital", it would be simplistic to conclude that membership would "deterministically imply that the actors will obey its values." [7] Another has suggested that the platform effectively selects already prominent and influential individuals, noting that "Young Global Leaders are not “put in power” like many believe. You cannot become a YGL unless you are already in a powerful position." [8]
Representing 70 nations, Young Global Leaders are nominated by alumni to serve six-year terms and are subject to veto during the selection process. Candidates must be younger than 38 when accepted (so active YGLs are 44 and younger), and highly accomplished in their fields. [9] [10] [11] There have been many hundreds of honorees, including several popular celebrities, alongside recognized high achievers and innovators in politics, business, academia, media, and the arts. [12] The group presently comprises some 1400 individuals, many of whom head numerous governments and Fortune 500 companies, have won Nobel Peace Prizes and Grammy Awards, and are UN Goodwill Ambassadors. [13]
The selection process includes a screening and an interview. [14] Roughly 100 YGL are selected every year. The selection criteria is strict, requiring that individuals at start-ups be founders, chief executive officers or chairs of boards (especially of series C start-ups and unicorns), individuals in the public sector be ministers, parliament members, mayors of capital cities or highly populated cities, governors, or heads of political parties and for civil society leaders to be founders and chief executive officers of consequential civil society organizations or social enterprises, or hold a senior leadership role in a large global NGO. [15] These individuals cannot apply to join but instead are identified and proposed through a qualified nomination process, which is then vetted by Heidrick and Struggles, and subsequently vetted by a selection committee chaired by Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan. [16]
Young Global Leaders straddle various fields, and are often highly accomplished leaders in their respective fields, including leading politicians, royalty, very senior members of Government, social activists and those in the business and finance world. As of 2022, the eight most prominent countries for Young Global Leaders are China, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the USA, with these being the only countries globally who have more than 30 Young Global Leaders. [17]
Some prominent individuals who have been elected as Young Global Leaders include the following:
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer Klaus Schwab.
Klaus Martin Schwab is a German mechanical engineer, economist, and founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He has acted as the WEF's chairman since founding the organisation in 1971. In May 2024, WEF announced that Schwab will move from his role as Executive Chairman to chairman of the Board of Trustees by January 2025. No successor has been named.
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a Swiss not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 that provides platforms at regional, national, and global levels to promote social entrepreneurship. The foundation is under the legal supervision of the Swiss Federal Government. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Each year, it selects 20–25 social entrepreneurs through a global "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" competition.
Manuela Kasper-Claridge is a German journalist.
Sanjaasuren Oyun, also transcribed S. Oyun, is a Mongolian politician and geologist. She is the leader of the Civil Will Party, is the former Minister of Environment and Green Development, and has been a Member of Parliament of Mongolia since 1998. She is also a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and is the current head of the Zorig Foundation. Now she is new head of Global Water Partnership GWP. In 2003, Eisenhower Fellowships awarded Oyun a fellowship program in the United States. In 2006, Oyun was selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF). She has been an active member of the YGL community since. On June 24, 2014, Oyun was elected the first president of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).
Linda Rottenberg is an American businesswoman and author. She is the author of Crazy Is a Compliment: The Power of Zigging When Everyone Else Zags. She is the CEO and Co-founder of Endeavor, a non-profit organization that encourages the power of entrepreneurship.
Patrick Jérôme Achi is an Ivorian politician who served as Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from March 2021 to October 2023 in President Alassane Ouattara's government. He is a member of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR). He studied at Supélec and Stanford University and specialises in engineering and infrastructure. He has also worked as the government spokesman for President Alassane Ouattara.
Eli Beer is the founder of United Hatzalah of Israel, and President of the U.S.-based organization Friends of United Hatzalah. United Hatzalah of Israel is an independent, non-profit, fully-volunteer emergency medical services organization that provides fast and free emergency medical first response throughout Israel.
Kamal Quadir is a Bangladeshi American entrepreneur and artist best known for introducing e-commerce in Bangladesh by founding CellBazaar, an electronic marketplace which, after reaching 4 million users, was acquired by Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor in 2010. CellBazaar later was rebranded as ekhanei.com. He is the brother of Iqbal Quadir, who is an entrepreneur and promoter of the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in creating prosperity in low-income countries.
Rajeeb Dey MBE is a British entrepreneur. He was the winner of the O2 X Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 Award and has been referred to as "among the most high profile" young entrepreneurs by the Financial Times. In 2012, Rajeeb Dey was named the world's Youngest Young Global Leader in the 2012 cohort by the World Economic Forum.
Michelle L. Rempel Garner is a Canadian politician who sits in the House of Commons as the member of Parliament (MP) for the Alberta riding of Calgary Nose Hill. A member of the Conservative Party, she was initially elected to represent Calgary Centre-North in the 2011 federal election and served as a minister during Stephen Harper's premiership.
Jane Marie Chen is the co-founder of Embrace, a social enterprise that invented and distributes a low-cost infant warmer, that gives premature and low-birth-weight infants a better chance at survival. The Embrace infant warmers / incubators have now helped to save over 700,000 babies in 25 countries. Jane served as the first CEO of Embrace, the non-profit arm of the organization, before stepping into the chief executive officer (CEO) role of Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise that was spun off in 2012.
Andrea Pasinetti is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is the co-founder and CEO of Kira Learning, an Education Technology company. Pasinetti is also a Co-founder of VIAVIA, a video-first e-commerce platform. Previously he founded and was CEO of Teach For China, one of the most influential nonprofit organizations in China.
Kate Garvey is an English public relations executive and a former aide to British prime minister Tony Blair. She is a co-founder of Project Everyone, a communications and campaigning agency promoting the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
Mike Moradi is an American biochemist, entrepreneur and diabetes advocate. Mike is a co-founder / CEO of Sensulin, a company that strives to provide a once-a-day solution for type I/II diabetics. He has founded or helped establish more than a dozen nanotechnology and biotechnology companies. He was selected as a 2017 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He is frequently invited as speaker at technology and business conferences and workshops worldwide, on topics such as innovation, entrepreneurship and the future of diabetes.
Kennedy Odede is a Kenyan social entrepreneur and author. Odede is the co-founder and CEO of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a movement based in Nairobi, Kenya, and New York, USA.
Kanchan Amatya is a Nepalese women's rights advocate, climate justice activist and social entrepreneur. She is the Founder and executive director of Sustainable Fish Farming Initiative (SFFI), a female-owned social enterprise working to fight hunger and poverty in Nepal by empowering women farmers in Nepalese rural villages through sustainable fish farming practices. She also currently serves as the UN Women's Global Champion for Women's Economic Empowerment and UN Zero Hunger Champion
Ilona Szabó de Carvalho is a Brazilian political scientist, civic entrepreneur. She is a co-founder and president of the Igarapé Institute, an independent think-and-do tank focused on human, digital and climate security.
Emon Shakoor is a neuroscience researcher turned a technology entrepreneur.
The Great Reset Initiative is an economic recovery plan drawn up by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was launched in June 2020, and a video featuring the then-Prince of Wales Charles was released to mark its launch. The initiative's stated aim is to facilitate rebuilding from the global COVID-19 crisis in a way that prioritizes sustainable development.