Waves to Home had an extraordinary experience at the One Young World Summit 2024 in Montreal, Canada, where the team delivered powerful workshops “Stories We Tell Ourselves: A Journey Through Storytelling.” The session brought together international delegates to explore the transformative power of shared human stories and the connections they create across cultures, backgrounds, and lived realities.

The workshops offered participants a reflective space to express how they were feeling, share personal concerns about the present and future, and engage in meaningful conversations within diverse breakout groups. Delegates found comfort, recognition, and solidarity in each other’s stories. What began as simple exercises quickly turned into moments of empowerment, unity, and collective understanding.

For Ahmad Jaafil, who joined the Waves to Home team for the first time, the summit left a lasting impression. He reflected:

“Attending One Young World 2024 in Montreal was an unforgettable experience that will echo in my mind forever. I had the privilege of meeting and learning from young brilliant speakers from all countries around the world. The highlight for me had to be the two workshops we gave on the final day of the summit. They included gathering participants from different countries and backgrounds and people from Indigenous communities to express how they were feeling at the start, and then break out groups were formed so each group’s members expressed their concerns for the present and future.”

“It might seem simple, but that activity actually gave empowerment to everyone because they realized that everyone has a struggle, we’re all in this together, and we can pull through by believing in ourselves. We created magic in those workshops, and everyone left the room with smiles beaming on their faces and hope shining brightly within them.”

“The post-summit depression afterwards hit me really hard, but I was really grateful for that wonderful opportunity as I created many beautiful memories with my friends and the people I met there.”

The Waves to Home team leaves Montreal inspired and energized reminded once again of the power of human stories to connect people, heal, and spark change.
Here’s to continuing that magic, one story at a time.