We have launched a new campaign: #wakeupcall. Inspired by Bob Geldof’s speech during the Opening Ceremony of One Young World, my good friend Sizwe (Africa) had an idea -- and together with Parker (Europe), Michael (Asia), Chris (Australasia), Daniel (Colombia), Ayah (Middle East), and the support of Cat (Africa), Kwadwo (Africa), Erik (Africa), Ajarat (Africa), and many other OYW Ambassadors and Delegates, we have now created a campaign!

We officially launched #wakeupcall with a short presentation during the OYW Closing Ceremony and it is already taking the world by storm. The hashtag #wakeupcall trended globally on twitter within minutes of my announcement for people to type in “#wakeupcall.” SO EXCITING FOR US!

This is a movement for change, for people to step up and demand action... beginning now and culminating on 212121 (February 21, 2012) with a mass global call for realization of, and action upon, the desperate need for collaborative global efforts to affect good. Watch these videos and read the articles describing the project’s idea generation, development, launch, and bright future.

The project in the works... sharing about #wakeupcall with OYW co-founders Kate and David.

Video of us introducing #wakeupcall

The official #wakeupcall announcement at the OYW Closing Ceremony!

#Wakeupcall TRENDING ON TWITTER GLOBALLY!

One Young World 2011 Report: Geldof Speech Moves Delegates into Action

by OneYoungNewsroom | on September 2nd, 2011 | ORIGINAL

 

Yesterday in Zurich, Sir Bob Geldof delivered a somber and funny and heartening speech to 1,300 One Young World participants.  “I’m here to see what you guys do,” he said, urging delegates and ambassadors to cooperate and collaborate.  “You’ve got to get us out of this mess because we have failed.” Reminding everyone that One Young World is more about the impact you make than about how you talk about it, he added, “If you are going to say something than you better do something.”

 

Perhaps not even Geldof could have guessed how effective the presentation would be. South African ambassador Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh emerged from the speech looking grave and determined.  He was unshaven and visibly jet lagged, but emanated a kind of centeredness that has already won him fans and followers throughout South Africa; at One Young World, other delegates and ambassadors look to him for guidance.  He is the sort of person who makes you understand why people used to hand their babies to presidents; being around him makes you nostalgic for a time when people were proud of their leaders.

 

“When I visited Cape Town, I would walk around [the University of Cape Town] campus, and the way that people talked about Sizwe…I’ve never heard anyone talk about another human being like that,” said Erin Schrode, one of the United States ambassadors for One Young World.  “There was just so much respect and awe.”

 

But if Sizwe was known as a force even before yesterday’s opening ceremony, Geldof’s afternoon speech galvanized him into a force to be reckoned with.  “I feel inspired,” he said softly after exiting the auditorium.  “There’s no way I’m not going to dedicate my life to making the world a better place.”  It was the sort of thing that might have sounded cliché or naïve from someone else. But spoken in Sizwe’s at once determined and thoughtful tone, it was clear that something very real and significant was happening.

 

“I’m tired,” Sizwe said, staring off at the empty podium where Geldof had just stood.  “I’m tired of the level I’m at.  I’m tired of the level the world is at.”   He shook his head.  “What Geldof said about something bigger than what we’re doing…a collaboration.  Parker [Liautaud, French-American ambassador] and I were just talking about a larger project.  If we could organize a protest or demonstration in every country on the same day, that would be something. The issues are there.  We’ve got to do it.”

 

And Sizwe was not about to sit around and wait; less than fifteen minutes later, he and Parker were sitting shoulder to shoulder with Nigerian ambassador Ajarat Bada and Malaysian ambassador Michael Teoh, discussing strategies for implementation.

 

“We need to find common ground,” Parker said.  “We have to involve every single delegate, and we have to figure out what’s an issue in every single country if this is going to work.”

 

“‘Wake Up Call’,” Sizwe said.  “Imagine a campaign that bends to what people want rather than the other way around.  A million people go out on the same day and say, ‘This is a wake-up call. This is your wake-up call.’  It means different things for different people—it goes as deep as an individual message to yourself.”

 

Michael cleared his throat.  “We need to agree and to believe that we can do this,” he said, trying to smile, sounding exhausted.  “I’ve been trying to get people to volunteer, and they just say ‘I have exams, I have a life.’”

 

Sizwe nodded.  “I have seen the same thing.  But we figure out what we’re going to do in Zurich; that’s what Zurich is for.  A call to action.”

 

“So how are we going to do this?” Michael asked.

 

“It starts here, now,” said Ajarat.  “I’m the kind of person who won’t be able to sleep if I don’t do something about this.”

 

“Welcome to the club,” Sizwe said.  “Let’s build it up tonight. Too many people are ready to change the country but don’t know how.  People are ready.”

 

Everyone murmured agreements.

 

“It’s time we started reflecting how tired we really are,” he muttered.

 

So far, the message is spreading fast; this morning, the auditorium is buzzing with the same refrain; between speakers, delegates and ambassadors whisper across aisles, “Wake up call, wake up call.”  The speakers themselves have started ending their speeches with, “This is a wake up call.”  The rumor is that the worldwide demonstration will occur in early 2012.  Ajarat says that they will not be stopped; they are obsessed—that with Sizwe involved, there is no way this will not happen.

 

You can bet that even Bob Geldof is smiling right now.

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One Young World 2011 Ends With a “Wakeup Call.”

by OneYoungNewsroom | on September 3rd, 2011 | ORIGINAL

The final song had been sung, the 2012 and 2013 host cities had been announced. It appeared that One Young World 2011 was driving along the inevitable path of all closing ceremonies: the declarations of hope for the coming future, the long list of thank yous, the slow shuffling out of the conference hall for the last time.

 

And then something happened, something that couldn’t have happened at another summit. Seven One Young World delegates—representing North America, South America, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia—were invited by One Young World co-founder David Jones to rush the stage.

 

They burst up the steps and stood front-and-center, as the counselors on stage—warriors for change like Oscar Morales—slipped to the background. Shouts of “Get them a mic! Get them a mic!” boomed through the crowd. Co-founder Kate Robertson ran and grabbed a mic from the podium and handed it to 17-year-old UK delegate Parker Liautaud, well known at One Young World for the two trips he took to the North Pole to raise awareness about climate change.

 

Liautaud looked out at the crowd of fellow delegates. “After Bob Geldof’s message that we’ve all done great individual projects but haven’t done anything collectively yet, we started talking about a new, massive global campaign.”

 

Parker handed the microphone to South African delegate Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, a 22 year old famous among the crowd for his riveting speeches on leadership and his work to unite student leaders in his home country. “Imagine a thousand people that are sitting right here getting a thousand other people to do one thing on one day at the same time,” Sizwe instructed. “In case you don’t study mathematics, that’s a million people.”

 

“But what do we do? In my country, I have different issues than in your country,” Sizwe said. “What’s that one issue that we rally around? Well, the way global movements are going today, instead of trying to impose an issue, we can create something that you can put your hopes and dreams into. And that’s a statement and an image that we all rally around. And that statement is one simple thing: the world needs a wakeup call.”

 

Sizwe continued, “On the 21st of February, 2012—2-1-2-1-2— … outside every government building in the world, to every corporation, to every individual and every community, let us as One Young World send one message: World, this is a wakeup call!”

 

“Africa, this is a wakeup call!” Mpofu-Walsh yelled before handing the mic down the line of delegates.

 

“North America, this is a wakeup call!”

 

“Austrilasia, this is a wakeup call!”

 

“Middle East, this is a wakeup call!”

 

“South America, this is a wakeup call!”

 

“Asia, this is a wakeup call!”

 

“Europe, this is a wakeup call!”

 

“World, this is a wakeup call!”

 

A URL flashed on the screen overhead—www.ourwakeupcall.org.

 

Delegate Erin Schrode, the 20-year-old founder of Teens Turning Green, a student-led eco-organization that has used social media to turn into a powerhouse, grabbed the mic. “So everyone I want you to type it in right now, #wakeupcall on Twitter. Just type it in; don’t hit send.”

 

The crowd scrambled to take out their phones, iPads and laptops. Erin urged the thousands, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, watching through the livestream, to do the same.

 

The countdown began: 3. 2. 1. Send.

 

Minutes later, #wakeupcall was trending on Twitter. World, this is your wakeup call.

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UPDATE: New #wakeupcall Video From Socialistic!