One Young World: Audi’s contribution to the future

The One Young World Summit will bring young people together in Belfast from October 2 to 5 to find solutions to the great challenges of our time. Among them are representatives from Audi, Bentley, Elli, and the Audi Environmental Foundation.

How can the global community master the present and future issues we face? What creative approaches and innovations can help? These and similar questions will be discussed by over 2,000 young people at this year’s One Young World Summit in Belfast. Representatives from Audi, Bentley, Elli, and the Audi Environmental Foundation will also be there. Thirty-four employees and scholars from around the world will travel to Northern Ireland.

Xavier Ros, Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources at AUDI AG, sees curiosity and openness to impulses from outside, along with never ceasing to learn, as fundamental tasks of our time and part of Audi’s DNA. “We believe in technology. However, we are not concerned with mere ‘higher, faster, further’ technology. Instead, we value targeted solutions that make a valuable contribution to society and the future,” said Ros, summarizing Audi’s commitment to One Young World. Ros will use his keynote speech at the beginning of the conference to personally encourage young talents to pursue sustainable innovations and business models. It is important for Audi to remain an attractive employer for a possible career, Ros adds.

A wide range of topics will be discussed at the conference. This year’s Summit will focus especially on peace, the climate crisis, food insecurity, education, and mental health. More than 2,000 young participants from almost every country in the world are expected to attend, including prominent guests from politics, business, and culture alongside representatives of humanitarian organizations. Among them are activist and musician Sir Bob Geldof, Nobel Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, and actress Kat Graham.

The delegation consists of eleven selected Audi employees from all production sites and individual brands, four Bentley and four Elli employees, as well as 15 external scholars whose participation is supported by the Audi Environmental Foundation. “The goal our foundation’s scholarships is to contribute to a better and fairer future by enabling young people to get involved. Ideally, this will also result in new project partnerships with us,” explains Rüdiger Recknagel, Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation.

By bringing together young, independent founders and employees, Audi is encouraging the active exchange of ideas promoting the dissemination of knowledge both inside and outside the company. All representatives in the delegation are between 19 and 35 years old and are involved in projects aimed at sustainability, environmental protection, and social justice. Here is a selection of projects by Audi delegates and scholars:

The first One Young World Summit took place in 2009, and Audi has attended every year since 2016. The diverse approaches of the One Young World participants are all united by one overarching goal: a commitment to the ESG criteria (environmental, social, and governance). They all show what environmentally conscious, sustainable action looks like in practice – at Audi as a company and for each individual.