The One Young World (OYW) Summit is a global forum experience that has been bringing young leaders from around the world together for a decade to develop new ideas for social change.

Founded in 2009 by David Jones and Kate Robertson, this year's summit will be held in London - the city where it all began - on 22-25 October 2019 in honour of its 10-year anniversary.

Each year Chartered Accountants ANZ sends two aspiring business leaders to the summit to hear from global leaders on the big issues, collaborate with other young leaders and act as a representative for the organisation.

This year, Torrens University commerce, accounting and finance student Lontya Kalililo is one of the two CA delegates attending the forum, alongside Christian Bien.

A passion for education

Lontya was raised in the U.S. to parents of Zambian descent. Keen to learn more about her culture, she completed her final two years of high school in Zambia. It was during this time she discovered her interest in accounting.

"In Zambia, you've got the option to either choose the arts or sciences. I opted for arts which included accounting, business studies and literature. That's when I found out I was really good at accounting, which I had never done before but really thrived at, and decided that's what I wanted to do," she says.

While she studied overseas, Lontya also developed a passion for education and helping others, as the reality that some weren't as fortunate as her hit home.

"After I finished high school, I took a gap year in Zambia and ended up volunteering and teaching kids how to read because some communities don't have the same access to education as we do," Lontya says.

"When I came to Australia, I started sending textbooks and novels to Eastern Province, Zambia. It's a small gesture but I really do hope to help educate people who don't get the same opportunities as me, and help them to see that education can be a stepping stone out of poverty."

Pursuing her passion

Lontya is in her final year of study and is currently a CA student rep and graduate accountant at William Buck. Next year, she plans to start the CA Program in an effort to continue working towards her goal of making a difference in the world through the power of education.

"The CA Program really stood out to me once I became a student rep. What I really like about the CA designation is that it's globally recognised, so you can live and work in different countries. Since I'd like the chance to try to help disadvantaged communities in other countries, it will be really helpful," she says.

Lontya is excited to develop her skill set further and become well-versed in a variety of topics so that she can better help others over the course of her career.

"I'm really looking forward to exploring the different components of the Program. I'll have the chance to learn audit and management accounting among other topics. It has a broad spectrum of topic areas I could explore, so it'll give me the chance to just become really knowledgeable and thrive in my career," she says.

An opportunity to create change through connections

Ahead of the One Young World Summit taking place in October, Lontya is looking forward to hearing from established and future leaders from around the world. She's hoping the summit will give her the chance to grow her network and share experiences with a view to creating social impact.

"There is so much power in coming together. It is important to give young people opportunities to work together for a better future, because we are the next generation. It is the kind of networking experience where simple connections could create so much good in the world," she says.

Lontya sees attending the One Young World Summit as not only an opportunity to learn from other like-minded individuals, but the chance to drive real change by implementing her learnings back home.

"When I go to the summit, I'm not taking anything back just for myself. I'm taking it for other people who need my help. The experience and the education that I'm going to receive from the summit is not going to end with me. I will be able to gift it to the next person I meet and so on, and I think that's powerful."

"There is so much power in coming together. It is important to give young people opportunities to work together for a better future, because we are the next generation. It is the kind of networking experience where simple connections could create so much good in the world."

An opportunity to create change through connections

Ahead of the One Young World Summit taking place in October, Lontya is looking forward to hearing from established and future leaders from around the world. She's hoping the summit will give her the chance to grow her network and share experiences with a view to creating social impact.

"There is so much power in coming together. It is important to give young people opportunities to work together for a better future, because we are the next generation. It is the kind of networking experience where simple connections could create so much good in the world," she says.

Lontya sees attending the One Young World Summit as not only an opportunity to learn from other like-minded individuals, but the chance to drive real change by implementing her learnings back home.

"When I go to the summit, I'm not taking anything back just for myself. I'm taking it for other people who need my help. The experience and the education that I'm going to receive from the summit is not going to end with me. I will be able to gift it to the next person I meet and so on, and I think that's powerful."