One Young World
Bright young minds at the forefront of tackling one of the world’s biggest challenges tell us their ideas for transforming the energy system for the better as they gather at the One Young World conference in London
Meet some of the delegates attending One Young World 2019
A seismic impactor
Joanna Reynolds (United Kingdom)
Geophysicist
As a geophysicist, Joanna has spent most of her life studying the earth. She started her BP career working on the West of Shetland Schiehallion Field, building her technical skills. After a stint on China’s Sichuan shale gas project in BP’s exploration function, Joanna has changed roles to provide geophysical analysis in support BP of exploration teams in the eastern hemisphere.
Her love of the deep underground means she’s taken an interest in seeing how carbon sequestration - storing carbon in the subsurface - can help meet the Paris climate agreement.
"Geoscientists love the earth," she says. "They study the earth and want minimal impact on it – we care and have the skills to make a difference. One of the reasons I joined BP was because of the work they were doing in renewables and wanting to make a difference on that part – but there is still lots to do to speed up the transition to low carbon.
Of One Young World she says: “I hope that by listening to inspirational leaders and developing relationships with other attendees, One Young World will help spark new ideas that can be put back into action following the conference.”
Tolerance and transformation
Rza Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
Commercial and planning analyst
Thirty-one-year-old Rza Aliyev currently works in planning and commercial operations for BP’s recently-formed Mauritania and Senegal team. As a UN youth delegate, prior to joining BP, he worked on the resolution to combat human trafficking and the exploitation of children and he was part of the team in Washington DC that saw his native Azerbaijan elected to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. He was also part of the Schwarzman scholars program in Beijing, which BP supports.
Fluent in five languages, Rza wants to help build inclusive and tolerant societies through cultural understanding and inter-nation dialogue. As an Azerbaijani, he believes that the Caucasus region can serve as an international platform to resolve differences between the east and the west.
On One Young World: “I am hoping to get a wide range of inspiration and potential ideas on how to tackle climate change, while continuing to bring energy infrastructure to the world. Only by learning from each other, renewables continuing to play an ever increasing role and finding ways to constantly decrease carbon footprint will help us reach SDG7.”
Venturing to a cleaner future
Meredith Huang (China)
Supply analyst
Meredith is an asset planner in the China retail business, which has seen the opening of the first BP-branded retail site in Jinan, Shandong Province. This new site is also BP’s first in China offering fast charging for electric vehicles. In addition, Meredith’s team will be working to support the government's aim of providing cleaner ethanol-blend gasoline to consumers.
On One Young World, she says: “OYW provides a great opportunity for me to meet young leaders and discuss innovating ideas and initiatives for a low carbon future. Now working in China Retail, I am proud to see BP striving to lead the transition with real actions. I look forward to meeting fellow candidates to get more inspirations and ideas that I could bring back to our operations in China. Just as energy transition underpinned the last technological revolution, I think it will still be the key in the next. Being in the energy industry, I am excited to see how technology is going to revolutionize the way we provide energy and contribute to this meaningful cause.”
Engineering the future
Aldinal Rachman (Indonesia)
Project lead
Aldinal Rachman joined BP in 2014 and, after several engineering roles, he’s currently the youngest construction engineer for the projects and modifications group in his native Indonesia. In his career to date, he’s helped to deliver 18 projects to a total value 76 million USD. In 2018, Aldinal received the Certificate of Excellence from the Tallow Chandlers Company - an historic London guild which recognizes outstanding achievement in engineering and technology. Outside of work, Aldinal is a keen martial artist, guitar player and cook. He also helps to provide free education for less fortunate students in his home town.
On One Young World he says: “It’s our planet, our future, our action. As an energy business, BP has a significant role in providing affordable and clean energyOn my own role as a Project Lead, my job includes working on more efficient and low-carbon projects. Besides that, as I live in a developing country, I can also raise awareness about the environment. For example, I encourage people to bring their own bags instead of plastic bags for shopping.”
Funny, feminist and fighting for change
Farhana Muna (Australia)
Capability specialist
Some 1 million people have seen Farhana Muna’s online videos since her first one went viral in 2014. Using her unique sense of humour, she’s gathered a huge following on social media - but it’s not all online fun and games. She’s an activist that has worked with UN Women in her home country of Bangladesh and facilitated grass roots workshops that aim to empower women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Somehow she balances being a social media phenomenon and working mom to a two-year-old daughter with and a full-time career as a capability specialist for BP – and she heads up one of the organization’s global diversity and inclusion groups.
On the transition to low carbon, she says: “I feel that BP is walking the talk by taking action on low carbon but also investing in future talent in this space. I’m proud to work for a company that’s helping tackle climate change and leaving the world a better place for my daughter.”