GENEVA, July 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- World Youth Forum (WYF), an international nonprofit advancing challenge-based learning and youth development across more than 30 countries, today launched the Global AI Talent Compact at the AI for Good Global Summit 2026 in Geneva, where WYF served as an official session partner.
The summit, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in partnership with more than 50 UN agencies and co-convened with the Government of Switzerland, is the United Nations' leading platform on artificial intelligence.
The Compact establishes an open global action network built on five commitments: expanding access to AI literacy; defining the human capabilities that matter most in the AI era; scaling real-world, challenge- and project-based learning; safeguarding youth well-being; and recognizing ability through evidence of real work, not credentials alone.
"AI is changing not only how young people learn and create, but how talent is identified and recognized," said Houston Hou, Global Executive Convener of WYF. "Young people need pathways through which real ability can be seen, trusted and connected. The Compact is an open invitation to build those pathways together."
The launch convened leaders from across the UN system, academia and youth innovation, including Fabrizio Hochschild, former UN Under-Secretary-General; Frédéric Werner, Head of Strategic Engagement, AI for Good, ITU; and Ben Nelson, Chairman and CEO of Minerva Project. Alongside speakers from AI Singapore (AISG), the ASEAN Foundation, the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), the United Nations University (UNU), and student AI communities including the Imperial AI Group, the Oxford Guild, the University of Toronto Machine Intelligence Student Team (UTMIST) and the Global AI Alliance at Penn. The Global SDGs and Leadership Development Center served as supporting partner of the session.
Following the launch, WYF will convene founding supporters worldwide — universities, student AI societies, education and innovation organizations, and industry partners — to advance year-round, challenge-based AI learning, new forms of talent recognition, and pathways connecting young talent with real-world opportunities.
About World Youth Forum
WYF is an international nonprofit youth development platform. Through educational programmes, competitions, international conferences and youth-led initiatives, WYF engages more than 500,000 young people annually across more than 30 countries.
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
WYF Launches Global AI Talent Compact at AI for Good Global Summit 2026
The Winnipeg-born entrepreneur who pioneered an industry, championed opportunity and spent 75 years making the world a better place
TORONTO, July 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill Pollock, founder of Drake International, passed away July 7, 2026 in Monaco at the age of 97. A humble and private person, Bill's insatiable curiosity and global mindset was a recipe for success. Over 75 years, he co-founded an industry, created tens of millions of jobs, championed women in the workforce from the very beginning, and built a global enterprise now operating in 14 countries with partner relationships across 128 more — all starting with a conviction that meaningful work changes lives.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1928, the youngest of nine children of Austrian and Polish immigrants, Bill embodied the belief that opportunity, when given, multiplies. A scholarship to the University of Manitoba changed the course of his life. Decades later, he established the Drake Centre at the Asper School of Business to ensure countless others would be given that same chance. Through Drake International, he created jobs, expanded industries and generated economic progress across generations.
He didn't only build a company — he built for what comes next.
A Pioneer in Industry, Technology and Inclusion
Together with Drake International co-founder Jim Shore, Bill identified a gap in how businesses managed fluctuating workloads and launched Office Overload in Winnipeg — pioneering what would become the modern staffing industry. Drake International was born from that insight in 1951 and has since grown into a worldwide provider of staffing and recruitment, certification and assessment, health and wellbeing, and business-process outsourcing services.
Long before "digital transformation" entered everyday business language, Bill was investing in technologies that connected people across borders, among them PictureTalk, a pre-Zoom video platform, and The Coordinator, one of the first global business email systems. In the 1960s, he personally delivered a speech to Pope Paul VI introducing the theme "One Planet, One People, One Purpose," a belief that guided him throughout his life. As an early member of the Young Presidents' Organization, he helped expand its reach from North America to Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and beyond.
And decades before diversity became a business imperative, Bill actively championed women for leadership roles. Today, nearly 80 per cent of Drake International's global leadership team is comprised of women — a lasting reflection of his conviction that leadership should always be earned through talent, character and capability.
Quotes
"Bill saw potential in people before they saw it in themselves — and then he devoted himself to making sure they had every reason to prove him right. He led with high expectations and lifted people to achieve outcomes they didn't even know were possible. I feel privileged and grateful to have spent 33 years being influenced, taught and led by him."
— Karen Meredith, Global CEO and Trustee, Drake International
"He built Drake International to outlast any one person — including himself. It was the plan, pursued with the same clarity and discipline he brought to everything he created. The strength of this organization today is Bill's greatest achievement."
— Glenn Agro, Chair, Drake International Board of Trustees
A Thoughtful Succession
In July 2024, Bill transitioned to the role of Chairman Emeritus, with Karen Meredith assuming leadership of Drake International reporting to an independent Board of Trustees. In 2023, he wrote personally to all Drake International employees reaffirming his commitment to their future, on his own terms, in his own time: "I am working with my team to advance my legacy while ensuring your and Drake International's well-being and continued success for years to come."
When asked how he wished to be remembered, his answer was simple: "For making it a better world."
His friends, colleagues and the tens of millions of lives touched through Drake International remain his enduring legacy.
About Drake International
Drake International is a global talent management and workforce advisory partner with operations in 14 countries with a partner network spanning 128 more. Founded in Winnipeg in 1951, Drake supports organizations across the full talent lifecycle through Workforce Solutions (flexible staffing, permanent recruitment, on-site services), Certification, Assessment and Training, Health and Wellbeing, HR Advisory, and Drake Ventures. www.drakeinternational.com
Media Contacts: Louanne Buckley, louanne.buckley@drakeintl.com and Elizabeth Ortega, eco@ecostrats.com
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
Drake International Mourns the Passing of Founder Bill Pollock
