NEXUS Global 2024 Summit: where ‘Bold Voices, Brave Ideas’ flowed

Lucy Steggles, Executive Officer of NEXUS Australia, and the Chair of its Volunteer Committee Bella Wiggs, hosted a delegation of 17 next gens from across Australia to the NEXUS Global Summit in New York in June. Lucy shares her insights, and says that NEXUS created an incredible space that brought together 650 young leaders from more than 20 countries around the world for collaborative problem-solving and connection.

The summit was a chance for Australian next gen family members to connect, learn and share with global leaders. Bella Conyngham, who manages Philanthropy Australia’s New Gen Network, also attended. As always, the event was inspiring and uplifting, and left me hopeful for the future. I came away energised by the members I met and the incredible young leaders who were showcased at the event. The theme was Brave Voices, Bold Ideas, and across three days, the impressive line-up of speakers showcased just that.

Convened in conjunction with the United Nations, the mission of NEXUS is to connect, inspire and activate exceptional social innovators and the next generation of influential families around the world, many of whom are committed to leveraging their resources and influence to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

The topics and speakers were many and varied, but I drew out some key themes that were touched upon across the summit programming. We were excited to have three Australian speakers represent our region, including Tishiko King, Kulkalaig woman of the Torres Strait islands, a passionate ocean and climate advocate who joined a plenary discussing indigenous leadership in building climate resilience.

There was also Adam McCurdie, Co-Founder and Co-Ceo of Humanitix, speaking about Business for Good. And myself, who joined a mental health panel looking at how we can unite to accelerate solutions to the global mental health crisis.   

By far the most present topic that seemed to re-emerge across many of the sessions was around the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data. We learned about the latest trends in AI from international leaders, such as the Global Manager for Social Good at Google, Karla Palmer, and Microsoft Global tech leader, Marc Spiotta.

Discussions centred around how we can balance being both bold and responsible at the same time, the importance of ethics in the evolution of AI, and the role of government and regulation for the responsible and safe application of AI. Google shared some fascinating facts that included: Google’s grantees have the ability to achieve their impact goals in a third of the time at half the cost when supported to leverage AI. We saw samples of the utilisation of AI by NFP leaders in health diagnosis, disability support, deforestation monitoring, language aids and translation, and farming, to name just a few.

We also learned about the effective use of AI by grantmakers, including in grant portfolio management, mission impact analysis and grant enablement.

Another key theme, given the global nature of the summit, was that of geopolitical stability, populism and polarisation. We learned about how the rise of technology has led to increases in the spread of misinformation and the subsequent rise of populism. Historian and author Rutger Bregman and APCO’s executive James Robinson (an independent global public affairs and strategic communications consultancy) eloquently laid out the threats to democracy across the globe and how philanthropists and activists can respond.

As expected, the broad areas of environment, climate and conservation were covered at length during the summit. In particular, we were reminded of the interconnectedness of global social and environmental issues when addressing climate change. We heard from Jaha Dukureh, UN Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, who shared that by investing in women through regenerative farming jobs at scale in Gambia, she is lifting entire communities out of poverty as well as addressing the climate crisis.

We also heard from Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of the famed Jacques Cousteau who is continuing her grandfather’s legacy by working to save the ocean. The CEO of the Amazon Coalition spoke on how critical it is that we not just protect but nurture the Amazon – “the lungs of the earth”. Lastly, we heard from DAI Capital about nature-based solutions, climate capital and how approaches to financing and protecting nature can be both rewarding and profitable.

The fourth key area I wanted to highlight was that of mental health. We heard from Jonatha Haidt, renowned social psychologist and author of bestselling book, The Anxious Generation, which takes a deep dive into the effects of social media on teenagers, citing the correlation between the emergence of social media, with the sharp increase in youth mental illness. He proposed key norms we can implement to reverse this, including bans on smartphones in schools and bans on social media based on age.

As someone who works in mental health, I am anxious (excuse the pun) to understand if these proposed solutions were ideated together with the teenagers who they are intended to serve, and whether they have yet been researched to form an evidence base to ensure they will be the most effective solution to what indeed is an undeniable but complex problem.

One of the summit’s most popular feature speakers was artist, actor and philanthropist Selena Gomez. With one of the largest numbers of social media followers on the planet (more than 400 million) Selena is using her platform to advocate for mental health promotion and stigma reduction through the sharing of her personal journey with bipolar disorder. And through the creation of her Rare Impact Fund, the philanthropic arm of her Rare Beauty Brand. The fund has a bold ambition to raise more US$100M in 10 years to finance effective, impact-focused mental health charities working in prevention, early intervention and stigma reduction. How good!?

But it wasn’t all education and plenaries, we came together for dinners including an exclusive Australian delegation meal on the summit eve. We enjoyed a special boat cruise on the Hudson River where we took in the views of the Statue of Liberty while connecting with new friends. We enjoyed site visits to the Financial Times, Microsoft headquarters and the National Arts Club, and cultural experiences exploring Manhattan.

It was an inspiring week of learning, networking and sharing our expertise with like-minded individuals from across the globe. It was incredible to share the experience with a cohort of budding Australian next gen philanthropists, several of which are only at the start of their philanthropic journey. I hope that we can connect with more families in the next 12 months, so we can bring other younger members along in 2025 to share in this incredible experience.

We’re looking forward to fostering the connections that came from this special week, and taking the learnings into our programming for NEXUS Australia, including our NEXUS Australia Summit due to take place in early 2025. Stay tuned for more on that soon, and please join the NEXUS Australia mailing list on our website to learn more about upcoming events for NEXUS in Australia and globally.