Youths Are The Key To Creating A Better Future

Today's youth are coming of age in a world racked by difficulties. Even before the COVID-19 epidemic decimated lives and livelihoods around the world, previous socioeconomic systems jeopardized the planet's viability and degraded the route to healthy, happy, and full lives for far too many people.

The same prosperity that permitted world progress and democracy after WWII is now responsible for today's inequality, social unrest, and climatic change, as well as an increasing generational income gap and youth debt burden. For Millennials, the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession resulted in high unemployment, massive student debt, and a dearth of meaningful jobs. For Generation Z, COVID-19 has led school closures, rising unemployment, and mass protest Young people are entitled to be highly concerned and upset, viewing these issues as a betrayal of their future.

But we can't let these interconnected challenges suffocate us. We must be optimistic and act.

When it comes to our global future, the next generation is the most essential and affected stakeholder, and we owe them more than just that. The year 2021 marks the beginning of long-term planning and action to make intergenerational parity the norm, as well as to construct a society, economy, and international community that cares for all people. Young people are also well positioned to drive this transition. In the past ten years of working with the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community, a network of people aged 20 to 30 working to solve problems in over 450 cities around the world, I've seen firsthand that they have the most innovative ideas and energy to build a better society for tomorrow.

Over the last year, Global Shapers has hosted debates on the most critical issues confronting society, government, and industry in 146 locations, reaching over 2 million people. The outcome of this worldwide, multi stakeholder initiative, "Davos Labs: Youth Recovery Plan," is both a harsh reminder of our urgent need to act and compelling insights for building a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive world. One of the uniting elements of the conversations was young people's loss of trust in existing political, economic, and social structures. They are fed up with continuous concerns about corruption and ineffective political leadership, as well as the continual threat to physical safety posed by monitoring and militaristic policing of activists and people of race. Indeed, more young people believe in artificial intelligence-powered governance than in human-led governance.

Faced with an unstable labor market and a nearly bankrupt social security system, over half of those polled indicated they lacked the necessary skills for the current and future employment, while nearly a quarter said they would risk going into debt if faced with an unexpected medical expenditure. The fact that roughly half of the world's population still lacks internet access creates extra challenges. Waves of lockdowns, as well as the stress of finding or returning to work, have aggravated the existential and sometimes hidden mental health crises.

So, how would Millennials and Generation Z behave differently?

Currently, they are urging the international community to prioritize vaccine equity in response to COVID-19 and future health crises.

Young people are supporting a global wealth tax to help fund greater resilience safety nets and address the worrisome rise in wealth inequality. They advocate for increased funding in programs that help young progressive voices enter government and become policymakers. To prevent global warming, young people are calling for an end to coal, oil, and gas exploration, development, and funding, as well as the replacement of any corporate board directors who refuse to switch to cleaner energy sources.

They are advocating for an open internet and a $2 trillion digital access plan to connect the world and prevent internet outages, as well as innovative techniques to battle misinformation and deadly extremist beliefs. At the same time, they are raising awareness about mental health issues and advocating for investment to avoid and combat the stigma associated with them. Transparency, transparency, trust, and an emphasis on stakeholder capitalism will be critical in satisfying this generation's goals and expectations. We must also give them the authority to take the initiative and implement significant change.

I am motivated by the numerous examples of young people taking action collectively by uniting varied voices to care for their communities. Their experiences, from providing humanitarian aid to refugees to assisting those most hit by the epidemic to promoting local climate action, are the blueprints we need to build the more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable society and economy that the world requires in the post-COVID-19 era.

We live in a global village, and only by engaged discourse, mutual understanding, and respect can we build the climate for a peaceful and sustainable society.