NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 500 next-gen inheritors and social entrepreneurs convened July 24-25 at the 4th annual Nexus Global Youth Summit, held at the United Nations. Nexus, the world’s largest network of millennial philanthropists, is led by Co-founders Jonah Wittkamper and Rachel Cohen Gerrol.
This year’s participants represented an estimated $750 billion, were as young as 15 years old, and arrived from approximately 41 countries and 6 continents (click here for an infographic).
Ruma Bose, a serial entrepreneur and Nexus member, had this to say about the summit: “Nexus is a family of like-minded, next generation influencers – be they social entrepreneurs, impact investors, or philanthropists from all around the world. The combined energy is contagious and makes you believe that the world you want is possible and that your contribution is valuable, heard and supported.”
Bose, co-author of Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership, went on to note, “I have learned to care about and contribute towards social issues I previously didn’t know about – be it the eradication of child soldiers and destruction of illegal assault rifles in Africa, the 780 million people who lack access to clean water, or the $150 billion per year human trafficking industry. The Nexus family makes the world a very small place and makes you want to make every place better. This community has made me a better, more thoughtful person and for that I am very grateful.”
During the four-day event, over 60 unique sessions were held — Wittkamper said one of his goals was to encourage different interests and create a wide variety of content so that inspiration could happen effortlessly. “Our members are incredible. Every year, I walk away more inspired, more optimistic, and more excited for the future they are building.”
For Gerrol, inspiration is meaningless without results. Fortunately, she says, Nexus summits are not lacking in that category, having spurred the creation of Satisfeito, the PVBLIC Foundation, Constellation, and numerous other projects. All of these and more were developed to serve as action points for the Nexus network.
Most importantly, Wittkamper and Gerrol set the stage for the facilitation of global change, giving a voice to people like 19 year-old Georgetown sophomore Patrick Gage, whose Carlson family has a history of fighting human trafficking.
“Our ‘developed’ world is home to more than 20 million slaves,” says the Nexus Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Working Group Co-Chair. “Human beings are not chattel; they are individuals worthy of dignity and love. It is our job to make sure their lives are defined not by evil, but by good.”
For Nexus, the 2014 Global Youth Summit was a stepping-stone. After hosting 3 regional summits earlier this year – Africa, Europe, and Singapore – and an event at the White House, the group plans to convene at least 4 more times – Australia, Thailand, China, and the United States – in the next 5 months and expand into the Caribbean, Mexico, the Middle East, and India by the end of 2015.
About Nexus
Nexus is a global movement of 2500+ young investors, social entrepreneurs and allies who work to increase and improve philanthropy and social impact investing. The network collaborates to advance the potential of next generation leadership across nations and sectors as well as to bridge communities of wealth and social entrepreneurship for dialogue, education and collaborative problem solving. The membership includes people from more than 70 countries and hundreds of the world’s most influential families.
Founded in 2011, Nexus has convened its summits in partnership with the United Nations and other governments.. The summits have helped scale projects globally, helped generate millions of dollars in new giving, and helped to inspire the creation of various social businesses and non-profits.