Thousands of young leaders attend One Young World Summit in Montreal

Thousands of young leaders are in Montreal for the One Young World Summit.

The summit is a four-day event at the Palais des Congres aimed at confronting the biggest challenges facing the world, such as the climate crisis, access to health care and inequality.

"Together we can always do more," said ambassador Yixuan Ma. "I really want to be part of this global representation to tackle the most pressing issues together hand in hand."

The event gathers young leaders from over 190 countries.

"It's a great place to bring the summit," said co-founder David Jones. "It's a city that fundamentally believes in sustainability. It's a city that places high value on diversity and inclusion."

Jones said in setting the tone for the event, Indigenous voices had to be front and centre.

"We've been giving Indigenous leaders a platform since 2016, but it's the first time we've had a full day of that, and it's really one of the key themes," he said.

Ambassador Lina Khalifeh said that tackling violence faced by women was a key topic.

"I grew up in Jordan, so I saw women have scenarios where they tell themselves that we can't do anything about it," said Khalifeh, who launched Jordan's first self-defence studio for women in 2012.

They said attending the summit in 2015 boosted their business, allowing them to help more women.

"I felt I had the community; I had the people that believed in my idea and my dreams," said Khalifeh.

From networking to building a community of like-minded leaders, Ma said she's ready to make a global impact.

"There are so many challenges locally, nationally and also on a global scale, and all of them are intertwined," said Ma. "None of them can be solved in silos, and none of them really live in silos; these challenges impact us all."

Speakers such as David Suzuki, Margaret Atwood and Rupi Kaur will give addresses at the summit.