One Young World - My visit to Johannesburg

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the Arctic Ride 2014 blog. In May/June of 2014 I'll be riding my motorbike 6,000 miles in 3 weeks to the Arctic Circle and back to raise money for brain-injury charity Cerebra, and to raise awareness for brain-injuries and disability rights in general.

The Suzuki I will take to the Arctic in 2014

People with a disability are in a very unique situation when it comes to prejudice and discrimination which a lot of people often forget and something I am very keen to raise awareness for. So why is having a disability unique when it comes to prejudice and discrimination I hear you ask... well let me explain. I'm a white male. Chances are I'll always be a white male therefore, in the future, no one is going to treat me differently for being black, for being Asian, or for being a woman. I don't consider myself disabled... but there is a chance that I could become disabled in the future and thus suffer prejudice and discrimination. That's how its different and I feel most people don't think about this but I want people to START thinking about this. I am against all prejudice and discrimination and I try to treat everyone equally. However, disability rights hold a special place in my heart as my little brother Robbie is disabled and he isn't able to stand up for himself. And that's why I'm here to stand up for Robbie and all other disabled people who can't stand up for themselves.

The man himself, Robbie

Ok... that is quite a heavy opening but this is what was going through my mind the whole 5 days I was in South Africa at the One Young World Summit. I remember sitting in the audience listening to one of the speakers and I started questioning why I'm doing my trip. Yes - Its to raise money for Cerebra who can do amazing things for children with brain injuries and enhance their quality of life.... but its more than that. Its more than just money. Money is a great thing and for my trip to be a success I need my followers and readers to donate so I can hit my target and change those lives. But often people forget that money is just a tool. A very useful and valuable tool. But its just a tool. And there are plenty of other very useful tools out there than can be put to good use. Kindness is a tool. Understanding is a tool. And speaking out against what is wrong is a tool. and the great thing about these tools is that we don't need money to use them, we were given them when we first landed on this giant spaceship flying around the universe we call earth.

Right... you want to know about what One Young World is right? One Young World is a not-for-profit organization which provides opportunities for young adults to join in a global network of socially committed individuals with leadership potential. Its primary activity is an annual One Young World Summit which is what I attended in Johannesburg at the start of this month. The idea of the summit is to bring together over 1300 young leaders from varying companies, organisations, and governments  from 190 countries to discuss world issue and start taking tangible action. I was lucky enough to be nominated by my company HP who paid my way and flew me out to the South Africa. I was also very proud to be selected to be the flag bearer for the United Kingdom the opening ceremony (check out the video of that here).

Me handing the Union Jack to Richard Branson at the opening ceremony,

In attendance were also some world and business leaders including Kofi Annan,Bob Geldof, Richard Branson, and Arianna Huffington to name a few. But the most amazing people I met where the other attendees. I met a chap Roberto from Mexico who is trying to solve his countries blood shortage problem. Pradiip from Venezuela who was telling the world of the horrible situation in his country. I met Bert from Belgium... well Bert works for HP like me and was just a general legend. 

Hanging out with Roberto

Doing an interview with Gabon's national TV station

Check out this video below of the highlights from the summit. You'll see a rather dapper chap on 14
seconds :)




That's it for this week folks. Please connect with me for any questions or comments you have about my trip or the One Young World event!

Keep sharing, re-tweeting and liking!

Also you can donate to my ride at my Virgin Giving site. I've had no donations since August so even a small one this week will keep my head up!

Ride safe!

Gordon