For the Global Shapers, the first official day of the Forum’s Special Meeting on Economic Growth and Job Creation kicked off with an electric interaction with the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs. The Shapers from the Doha Hub declared that they have struck an agreement that leads to the first official collaboration between the Global Shapers and the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneurs.

The rest of the Global Shapers were on fire: Ahmad from the Amman Hub says that four weeks ago he had a lot to say about what was wrong in the region and what was needed to fix it. However, now that he is a Global Shaper, now that he has a podium, now that people are listening, he feels a greater responsibility to make sure that the solutions that he proposes are actually good solutions. He asked another Social Entrepreneur who has been part of the Forum’s community for a decade for advice about how to use his newly acquired influence.

It was good that he reflected on this question, as Ahmad was the very first Global Shaper to speak in the public programme. Ahmad joined the Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority (and others) in a session called Trust through Accountability. Discussion centred on how improvements in transparency and accountability can be achieved across sectors. Ahmad very quickly became a reference and was mentioned quite often in a sign that his comments were appreciated by both his fellow discussion leaders as well as the participants in the audience.

Our star Global Shaper at this event was Yasmin Galal, as she is also one of the Meeting’s official Co-Chairs. She spoke in a plenary session called Renewing Partnerships for Development. She was alongside former US Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and Muhtar A. Kent, who is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. The session was moderated by the BBC’s Nik Gowing. Yasmin held her own and the whispers of, “she’s good” at the back of the room foretold the mobbing that followed at the end of the session as other participants congratulated her.