Events & Conferencing News South Africa

Global CEOs to reskill, redefine and recycle in Cape Town with YPO

YPO is hosting the world's largest gathering of chief executives, its Global Leadership Conference and YPO Edge, right here in Cape Town on 6 and 7 March 2019, with the theme, 'Life of Re'. YPO member Julia Raphaely, also CEO of Associated Media Publishing, shares what to expect.

In just a few weeks' time YPO Edge 2019, YPO’s largest flagship event, will see in excess of 2,000 business leaders, innovators and visionaries from around the world tackle this year’s theme, ‘Introducing the Life of Re’ in Cape Town. As meta as they come, the theme is intended to change the way attendees think about thinking, and the need to live a life of constant upgrade and improvement.

Featuring such speakers as food waste-fighting top chef Massimo Bottura; as well as comedian and The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, attendees are in for a treat.

Life of Re

Julia Raphaely, CEO of Associated Media Publishing, loves the choice of 'Life of Re' as the overriding theme for YPO Edge this year. Not only is it applicable across all spheres of life at present, but it also fits perfectly into the theme chosen for their YPO Gold learning year, which is, co-incidentally, Reinvention.

On what 'Life of Re' means to her personally, Raphaely says, "Constant iteration, movement from A to B, development, adaptability, fluidity, constant reshaping, infinite evolution, staying ahead of the curve and changing to remain relevant."

So rather than simply repeating what’s been said and done before, Beverley Schäfer, minister of economic opportunities in the Western Cape, clarifies that a ‘Life of Re: ‘Living la vida beta’ is instead about re-tooling, re-booting, and re-inventing.

We are delighted to be hosting the YPO Edge delegates in Cape Town this year. The conference will give us an opportunity to showcase Cape Town and the rest of our province as a tourism, events and investment destination to a network of chief executives and thought leaders from around the globe. As a province, our focus has been on growing an economy for the future with a focus on tech, innovation and the green economy. This year’s theme of the Life of Re is perfectly aligned to our focus on reskilling, redefining and recycling.
YPO will also take things a step further by creating a real-world example of the Life of Re, in repurposing structural elements from the event to be donated to community projects in Langa.

Repurposing, reinvesting in Langa

YPO Edge chair Ravi Naidoo explains: “We are purposefully reinvesting in the local community as a way to thank our host city. We hope this important initiative will have both a positive impact and a lasting legacy on Langa, long after the grateful leaders of YPO have left our shores.”

Julia Raphaely, CEO of Associated Media Publishing and YPO member.
Julia Raphaely, CEO of Associated Media Publishing and YPO member.

Here Julia Raphaely, CEO of Associated Media Publishing, explains her personal involvement in YPO as well as the expected impact of the event…

BizcommunityTalk us through your involvement in YPO.

Raphaely: I first joined YPO in January 2007 when I was travelling up and down to Johannesburg for work, and for that reason decided to join the Johannesburg chapter.
I joined a forum which was all male and I think gave them quite a fright as I brought an entirely different viewpoint into the group.
I then had my twins and moved chapters to Cape Town.

BizcommunityLove that. How does YPO tie into both your personal and business values?

Raphaely: The disciplined and entrenched focus of the organisation on the process; combined with the values of YPO such as confidentiality, integrity, family, personal growth and leadership; make it invaluable support throughout the different stages of one’s life.

Learning is also given huge importance in the YPO world, and therefore you have access to some incredible resources. Even though I’ve been in the organisation for a few years, I really got the most value from belonging to the organisation since I joined the mentoring programme, and subsequently took on the role of learning officer.

As is always the case, the more you put into anything, the more you get out!

BizcommunityWhat’s the biggest benefit of YPO’s GLC and Edge events – to members attending the live, as well as the impact post-event?

Raphaely: The GLC and The Edge are both events that shouldn’t be missed because they not only offer the chance to meet other YPO members and broaden your global network, but they also provide members with ‘only in YPO’ content and access to resources or speakers who are always current, relevant and exceptional.

Get ready to reap those rewards! Follow YPO’s ‏YPO Edge on Twitter and watch the hashtag for insights throughout the global gathering.

About Leigh Andrews

Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
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