The inaugural 2023 Global Changemakers Workshop was organized by The Aspen Institute and The Aspen Institute Germany in Berlin, Germany. It brought together 40 young global leaders from 20 countries and included our young global leaders from India – Swati Sinha, Programme Executive, IR, Ananta Centre and Ashweetha S, Consultant, World Bank as part of this fantastic cohort of global changemakers.
The four-day workshop, which comprised seminar sessions through classical readings to shape the collective understanding of democracy helped the young leaders to exchange their views, and deliberate on the challenges facing democracy, towards restoring a sustainable democracy worldwide.
Through the geopolitical simulation of the November 2024 G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the young leaders got to practice inclusive leadership and how best to take action on the most pressing challenges to democracy.
During the workshop, participants had key conversations with emerging leader Cara Seeberg, Former President of Volt Berlin and Dr Tobias Lindner, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office and discussed with him the democratic challenges like extremism and populism. The young leaders also got to interact with Bobi Wine, President of the National Unity Platform (Ugandan political party) who shared his efforts in fighting for democracy under an oppressive regime.
The equally moving and thought-provoking discussions were followed by a dinner at the Bundestag and a trip to Stasi Prison.
At the end of the workshop, the young leaders were motivated and reflected on how best they were going to take steps towards sustaining democracy worldwide.
We would like to thank The Aspen Institute and Aspen Institute Germany for organizing the workshop and hosting them.
