Emma Watson – One Young World
Emma Watson’s speech on the 2016 Ottawa Summit for One Young world; gave the audience a view of her last two years as an activist. In those years she found herself surrounded by standing ovations but also critiques. For her it was just like “a baptism by fire” that made even more shocking when she started reading the applications for The One Young World Scholarship.
One Young World is a not-for-profit organization based in the UK that unites young leaders around the world. Their goal is to look for solutions for current global issues. They stage annual summits in different parts of the world where delegates of charities, NGOs and universities join world leaders to work as One Young World counselors.
She explained how amazed she was when realizing the overlap with her thinking and the thinking of others. The notes, themes, struggles. She explained “the truth is, it had never been about being an activist; it was about the choice to make myself visible and the choices that you made to do that too.”
Her speech continued with a remark on how in two years many significant advances have been made towards a world with gender equality. One where both feminine and masculine forces work together, and forget about individualities. Building together an “unstoppable current, for which we need ripples of hope from every age, race, ability, walk of life, every human experience.”
After this she made seven statements:
I am willing to be seen.
I am willing to speak up.
I am willing to keep going.
I am willing to listen to what others have to say.
I am willing to go forward even when I feel alone.
I am willing to go to bed each night, at peace with myself.
I am willing to be my biggest, best-est, most powerful self.
These as she explained “scare the absolute shit out of me. But I know that they are at the crux of it all.” These are her foundation to live her life.
Emma Watson is a British actress, model and activist. Mostly known for her work in the Harry Potter franchise, The perks of being a Wall Flower, and The Beauty and the Beast. Between 2011 and 2014 she put a pause on her career to continue her education earning a bachelor’s degree in Brown university for English literature. In 2014 she was appointed as an UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and participated in the launch for the campaign HeForShe, calling men to advocate for gender equality.