Havas Worldwide Digital launches first ever multi-platform digital debate at One Young World

Thousands of young leaders from across the world will this week be able to take part in a multi-platform debate as the world's premier youth forum One Young World takes place in Johannesburg.

The Great Debate, which has been launched by Havas Worldwide Digital, will connect social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook with MXit and standard SMS services, ensuring all young people have an opportunity to take part in the One Young World Summit 2013.

It creates an opportunity for every person in South Africa to participate in some of the most important conversations of our time, which has the potential to be the most inclusive discussion ever held - on ground or online.

"This means that a school girl with a standard feature cell phone in Soweto can now interact with the head of Barclays Bank, tweeting from his iPad, for example. South African NGOs will be able to use the platform to profile themselves and their initiatives to an immensely influential audience of global thought-leaders, as well as gain invaluable insights into the global youth market," explains Lynn Madeley, CEO of Havas Southern Africa.

The City of Johannesburg will play host to 1200 exceptional young minds from around the world for the One Young World 2013 Summit between 2 - 5 October. These young delegates will converge in the City to find solutions to local, regional and global challenges with a special focus on education, global business, sustainable development, youth unemployment, human rights and leadership.

The official URL for The Great Debate is: http://www.oneyoungworld.com/summit-chat

To join the general One Young World conversation stream, end your post, tweet or SMS with #OYW. To join smaller conversations on specific topics, use #OYW as well as one or more of the following hash tags:

Conversation channel hash tags

Education - #Education
Youth Unemployment - #Jobs
Global Business - #Business
Sustainable Development - #SusDev
Leadership & Government - #Leadership
Human Rights - #Equality

Special Sessions

#Youth
#Entrepreneur
#PressFreedom
#KofiAnnanLive - Kofi Annan Dialogues: LIVE
#Protest
#EdTech
#StartUp
#Africa
#Green

For Facebook, simply install the One Young World application and join the conversation. Remember to use the relevant hash tags so your post appears in the right conversation stream. For those wanting to join the conversation through MXit, locate the One Young World app from the Mxit App Store (to be allocated in the Social category). Sign up so the team can keep track of your conversations, and start making your voice heard. Remember to use the relevant hash tags.

Users on MixIt can also link their accounts to their Twitter Accounts so anything posted on MixIt is picked up on Twitter.

You can also join the Great Debate straight from the One Young World website or mobi site. All you have to do is visit www.oneyoungworld.com and sign up. Remember to use the relevant hash tags.

Even if you're not online, you can still contribute to the conversation. Simply SMS your message to 32403 and use the relevant hash tags.

"The One Young World Summit has the potential to bring about solutions for some of the important challenges faced by Africa and the world. We feel that this platform furthers the reach of the summit by giving everybody the chance to participate and have their opinions heard, which is important because the more ideas we have, the more likely we are to find solutions that work," concludes Madeley.