We are very excited to announce that applications to join the London Hub of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community will open on Monday 8th of February, 2021.
We will share the link to the application form on that day, with the deadline for applications being Sunday 21st March 2021, 9pm, GMT.
Please reserve the evening of Thursday 18th February and Friday 5th of March 2021 for the recruitment events at a location in Central London. This will be a great event for you to meet current hub members and learn more about what being a Global Shaper involves. It will be a fun evening.
More information about the application process can be found on the Apply page on our website, which includes a form for you to leave your email address and receive updates about recruitment.
Read on for What is Global Shapers?; Who are we?; How to apply; What we’re looking for…and most importantly, why you should apply!
What is the Global Shapers Community?
The Global Shapers Community is a global movement of extraordinary & inspiring young people, working together to address local, regional and global challenges through dialogue, action and change. Shapers all over the world are united by a common desire to channel the members’ energy and enthusiasm into building a more peaceful and inclusive world.
The community is an initiative of the World Economic Forum, perhaps best known for running the annual Davos conference. In each city, teams of Shapers (hubs) self-organize to create projects that address the needs of their community. In the community, there are 400+ hubs across 153 countries with a total of 9000+ Shapers..
The London Hub is one of the most established hubs in the network and we benefit from having many Shapers who’ve moved here from abroad and travel through the city. Our hub is part of a global community with local, national and regional events, allowing young social impact leaders to meet, build friendships and work together on hub projects and topics that matter most to them.
With the largest youth population in history, there is an unprecedented opportunity for young people to take an active role in shaping the future. Our generation has inherited enormous global challenges, but we have the ability to confront the status quo and offer youth-led solutions for change.
Find out more on the About Us page of our website.
Who are we?
There is no one one-size-fits-all “Shapers type”. The London hub is a group of over 30 individuals who encompass a wide
range of backgrounds, careers and interests. By our WEF charter, the hub can grow to up to 50 members total, for each city.
Our members include writers, artists, entrepreneurs, investors, doctors, lawyers, academics, activists, policymakers and many others. (You can read about some of us here).
What unites us is our ambition, leadership and a desire to use our skills and opportunities to make a difference to our communities in London and the wider world. We are also committed to enacting hub projects benefiting those beyond the Global Shapers’ community.
We warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly encourage individuals from underrepresented groups to apply.
Why apply?
When you ask London Shapers about the benefits of membership, the first answer is invariably about the other people involved. We are proud of the diversity, quality and intimacy of membership of the London hub. Whatever your passions and ambitions, there will be members of the hub who share and complement your interests. Shapers is not about superficial networking; real friendship is the foundation of what we do and why it works.
As Shapers, we have the unique opportunity to launch and participate in projects with support from the community and WEF. You can see examples of the types of projects hubs from around the world have participated in here.
Examples of some recent London Hub projects can be found at the Projects page of our website.
Aside from projects, the extraordinary convening power of both WEF and our own members allows us access to organise and attend events with world-class speakers and other participants. Moreover, membership of the hub provides access to engage with the broader World Economic Forum community, including the opportunity to apply to attend the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos and other major events.
As Shapers we attend regional SHAPE events which are run by Global Shapers for Global Shapers. This year, members of our hub attended the Europe & Eurasia SHAPE event, here’s a flavour of what it is like to be at a SHAPE.
London Hub 2021 Recruitment Process
We have tried to make the application as straightforward as possible. The application form consists of 6 short answer questions (200 words maximum) and your CV. The link to the application form will become available on the 8th February 2021 on the Apply page. Please do not submit the application through the official Global Shapers website, we have our own application process.
Once applications close, all hub members will be involved with shortlisting candidates for the interview day. On interview day, as a hub, we decide who will be invited to join the Hub.
At the London Hub, we have designed our recruitment process with the following objectives in mind:
have a diverse & inclusive hub membership: we review our hub diversity & demographics each year, prior to recruitment and during the recruitment process
represent as many demographics of London as possible
very transparent and balanced application review process: every London hub member is involved in reviewing applications and contributes to deciding who is invited to join.
Recruitment Timeline
Please save these dates in your calendar, especially the open evening, application deadline and the interview day.
Applications open: Monday 8th February 2021, link to the application form will become available on this date.
Recruitment social event: Thursday 18th February and Friday 5th of March 2021 at a location in Central London (or virtual if need be).
This will be a great event for you to meet current Hub members and learn more about what being a Global Shaper involves. We really enjoy this event as it is fun and we always meet some very interesting people!
Applications close: Sunday 21st March, 9pm.
We encourage you not to leave the application to the last minute as some of the questions are quite reflective in nature and it is best if you give yourself some time to think about them.
Interview Day: Saturday 24th April (please block the day in your calendar)
What are we looking for?
There are two basic eligibility criteria: you must be aged 18 to 27 (inclusive) at the time of nomination, which is the 1st of July each year, for the London Hub; and you must live or work in London or have sufficiently strong ties to London to be able to fully participate in the hub’s activities.
Beyond this, we assess applications on four criteria:
· Impact motivation: A key part of the Shapers’ mission is to be a community that cares about having a positive social and environmental impact in our communities and the world. We believe this can be manifested in many different ways, but we expect candidates to be able to articulate what they care about and how they make a difference (whether in their jobs or otherwise).
· Commitment & Community Mindset An active membership is the lifeblood of the London hub. We require a minimum of 1–2 hours per week of time for the hub, additional commitment in terms of attending local and regional events, and active leadership and/or participation in hub projects. Please be mindful of your ability to commit and contribute to the hub — if you don’t have enough time or bandwidth, please be honest about this. Every year we struggle with more amazing applicants than available spaces and it’s important that every hub member contributes to our community.
· Achievement: What this looks like will vary by age and sector. We’re looking for candidates who have established a track record of leadership/recognition and demonstrated impact in their field.
· Leadership Potential: Again, we calibrate potential depending on age and sector. We’re seeking people who can demonstrate potential to be leaders in their fields.
If you have any questions, please email the hub at ldnshapers 'AT' gmail 'dot' com.