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From September 18 to 21, 2024, the Palais des congrès de Montréal hosted the One Young World Summit, one of the largest gatherings of young leaders from around the world. This annual event brought to Montréal some 2,000 young leaders between the ages of 18 and 35—from 190 countries and more than 250 organizations—who are passionately working to drive social impact in their respective fields.
The Palais’ team had the opportunity to talk with Gitanjali Rao, Scott Wabano and Ritika Saraswat, three participants with different profiles. Their testimonials help to better measure the societal impact of this type of event and to better understand the motivations that prompt these young leaders to innovate for the wellbeing of their community and the planet.
Watch the interviews to discover their actions and vision, as well as the key role the One Young World Summit plays in building a more inclusive and sustainable future.
Gitanjali Rao is a young prodigy recognized around the world for her scientific innovations. She is an inventor, scientist and a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) advocate in the United States. From a young age, she was interested in societal issues, in particular the wage gap between men and women. In 2017, at the age of 12, she won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge award for inventing Tethys, a device to detect lead in water using carbon nanotubes and a Bluetooth connection. This invention earned her international recognition.
Born into a family of scientists, and driven by a passion for genetics and epidemiology, she also developed Kindly, an application and web extension designed to prevent cyberbullying by identifying abusive behaviour.
Gitanjali Rao is also an active speaker, having participated in several TEDx events, and has received various prestigious awards, including the Environmental Youth Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ignite Innovation Student Challenge award for her research on opioid addiction. In 2020, she was Time magazine’s first-ever Kid of the Year, chosen from among 5,000 candidates between the ages of 8 and 16. In addition to her scientific projects, she is a pianist and a member of the Scouts. She is currently studying at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Scott Wabano is a stylist and award-winning fashion designer, creative director, content creator and panelist at the One Young World Summit 2024. Their two-fold objective is to promote Indigenous fashion by pairing their traditional knowledge with modern and sustainable techniques, and advocating for the rights of Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ people.
Cri 2Spirit from Mushkegowuk territories (Ontario) and Eeyou Istchee (Québec), Scott Wabano launched an Indigenous-owned sustainable fashion brand and works to raise awareness of the impact of colonization on Indigenous communities. They are also one of the co-founders of the non-profit organization Two Spirits of Eeyou Istchee, which supports the 2SLGBTQ+ community. In 2023, they figured on Forbes’ list of 30 young leaders under 30 for Toronto.
Scott Wabano notably led the team of stylists for the Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto 2020 campaign, Sephora Canada’s National Indigenous History Month 2021 campaign, Lululemon’s International Day of Yoga 2022 and Lululemon Canada’s U.S. Open 2022. Scott Wabano is the first 2Spirit person to feature in an IKEA national campaign.
Ritika Saraswat is a creator, conference founder, author, consultant, and ambassador for the Cool the Globe app. Originally from India, she is a first-generation immigrant to Canada, and holds a kinesiology degree from University of British Columbia. At the age of 20, she founded Re-Defined, a non-profit association that seeks to facilitate access to education and leadership skills for people from marginalized communities in four countries: India, Canada, Nigeria and Ghana.
A member of the board of directors of two non-profit organizations (the United Nations’ GirlUp and Teenvisor) that promote the development and leadership of young people, Ritika Saraswat won the Women Creating a Better World Award from the Women’s Economic Forum, as well as the Business Leadership Award and the Indian Achiever Award.
Chosen as one of the three best people in Canada to be an ambassador at the One Young World Summit in 2023 in Belfast, she participated in more than 30 events and talks (including TEDx) as a speaker and career mentor for international students from non-traditional backgrounds.