Youth forum attracts a star-studded array of activists

Kofi Annan, former Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. He was co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

Bob Geldof, Irish singer-songwriter formerly with chart-topping Dublin band the Boomtown Rats and activist, is widely recognised for his anti-poverty efforts concerning Africa. He was co-founder of the Live Aid concerts in 1985 and 2005.

Prof Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concept of microcredit and microfinance to create economic and social development from below.

Ron Garan, a former Nasa astronaut.

Paul Polman, Dutch businessman and CEO of the British-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever since 2009.

James Chau, a Chinese journalist, television presenter and UN Goodwill Ambassador.
Ronan Dunne, Irish-born CEO of O2 (United Kingdom), the trading name of Telefonica UK Limited.

Paul Lindley, the founder and CEO of organic baby and children’s food under the Ella’s Kitchen and Earth’s Best brands.

Lord Michael Hastings, KPMG International’s global head of corporate citizenship.

Hans Reitz, founder and managing director of Grameen Creative Lab

Carole Stone, British-born chairman of YouGov-Cambridge, a new kind of think tank that puts together research about what’s happening in the world and recruits experts to discuss what the research has revealed.

William Heinecke, CEO and chairman of Minor Corporation, one of the largest hospitality and leisure companies in the Asia Pacific region, which operates 130 hotels and resorts, 1,700 restaurants and 290 retail trading outlets.

John Corbett, American actor and country music singer.

Gary White, CEO and co-founder of Water.org, a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering people in the developing world to gain |access to safe water and sanitation.

Bo Derek, American film and television actress, movie producer and model, and advocate for animal welfare who serves as a Wild Aid International Trustee.

Ed Husain, the British author of “The Islamist”, a book about political Islamism.

Jon Landau, American film producer, best known for the Hollywood films “Titanic” and “Avatar”, which won him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, respectively.

Carl-Hendric Svanberg, Swedish businessman and current chairman of BP and Volvo.

Ivonne A-Baki, a politician and artist from Peru who was named Unesco Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of her commitment to projects aimed at strengthening dialogue between cultures.

Fatima Bhutto, Pakistani author, poet and activist.

John Simpson, World Affairs Editor who has worked for the BBC for more than 40 years.
Father Mussie Zerai, a Catholic priest known for his work with migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe during the European migrant crisis.

Victoria Pendleton, record-breaking cyclist.

Li Xiaopeng, Chinese record-holding gymnast.

Steve Waugh, a former Australian cricketer.

Emmanual Jal, a South Sudanese musician, former child soldier and political activist.

Angelica Cheung, the editor-in-chief of Vogue China.

Ken Kragen, an author, speaker, TV and film producer, and music manager.

Supachai Chearavanont, the current president and CEO of True Corporation, one of Asia’s leading telecommunications conglomerates.

Elio Leoni-Sceti, an Italian businessman and investor.

Manny Pacquiao, boxer from the Philippines with 10 world titles. He was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives at the age of 32.
Uma Thurman, American actress and model who has played lead roles in films of various genres, with nominations and wins for Best Actress in the Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards.

Jorge Quiroga, a former politician, serving as vice president and then president of Bolivia at a very young age. He received the World Leader of Tomorrow Award from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Alexandre Mars, French-born businessman and philanthropist. He is founder of the Epic Foundation, a New York-based charity set up to help children and youth through links |with wealthy young entrepreneurs.

Ricardo Tadeu, Brazilian-born and Harvard-educated CEO of Mexican brewery Grupo Modelo, a unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Hope Solo, star goalkeeper of the US women’s soccer team who won two Olympic gold and World Cup winners’ medals.

Anand Panyarachun, a career diplomat and businessman, who served as Thailand’s prime minister twice, in 1991 and 1992, and was instrumental in the drafting of Thailand’s “Peoples Constitution” of 1997. A Ramon Magsaysay prize winner, |Anand is widely respected for his reform initiatives and championing the rights of children as Unicef Ambassador for Thailand.

Fidel Valdez Ramos, the former president of the Philippines is widely credited with revitalising international confidence in the Philippine economy, bringing about a period of political stability and rapid economic growth.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, a Mauritian biodiversity scientist who became president of her country in June 2015.

Aniela Unguresan, co-founder of the Edge Certified Foundation, a Swiss-based organisation that assesses gender equality in the workplace.

Liya Kebede, an Ethiopian-born model, clothing designer, actress and maternal health advocate. In 2005, she was appointed |the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and |Child Health, subsequently founding the Liya Kebede Foundation to reduce child mortality in Ethiopia and |around the world.

Mary Robinson, first female president of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002.

Dame Ellen Macarthur, British-born solo long-distance sailor who broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in 2005.

Anthony Jenkins, former Group CEO of Barclays Bank.

Jimmy Wales, the man behind Wikipedia, the world’s largest encyclopaedia.

Ali Hewson, wife of Irish singer-songwriter Bono from U2, Alison “Ali” is co-founder of two ethical businesses, the EDUN fashion line – intended to promote Fair Trade with Africa – and Nude skinwear products.

Dr Martin McAleese, a former member of Seanad Eireann (Irish Senate) and husband of Mary McAleese, former president of Ireland, was previously involved in the peace talks in Ireland.

Vicente Fox, Mexican businessman and former president of Mexico from 2000-2006.
He is now a public speaker covering a spectrum of topics from democracy to the fight against corruption.