Who cares what young people think?
Friday, October 7 at 17:30 Lecture & Panel
Who cares what young people think?
When we were preparing for the Inaugural Summit of One Young World in February 2010many government leaders and business leaders paid us 'lip service' saying 'Yes young people are important. Yes we are keen to hear the views of young people.' But we knew we were often speaking to people whose very actions and practices showed, as with most incumbent leaders, that they were not acting as if they'd heard anything young people had to say. So we perceived the great gap between the rhetoric and the fact: most leaders, in whatever sector, don't do what young people want them to do because they don't share their concerns. For any number of reasons: too complex; too politically compromising; too expensive (for whom?) - too far into the future when the incumbent leaders won't be around anyway. But this is to ignore and deny that this generation of young people is more knowledgeable and has more access to power than any in human history.
Today, in late 2011, the role of young people in the Arab Spring has put all dispute about this to rest. We may not care what young people think and want - but we will all have to learn to listen and to engage.
Location: Kodak Hall
