Generation Uncertain

Summary

This discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos focused on the challenges and opportunities facing young people in a world characterized by multiple crises, including climate change, economic instability, and technological disruption. The panel, composed of young global shapers from various countries, shared their personal experiences and perspectives on the issues affecting youth worldwide.

Key themes included the impact of climate change, with panelists describing how it has directly affected their communities and the need for urgent action. Economic challenges were highlighted, particularly in countries like Venezuela, where young people face limited opportunities and widespread migration. The importance of education and human capital development was emphasized, especially in the Global South.

Despite these challenges, the panelists expressed optimism about the future and the potential for youth to drive positive change. They stressed the need for young people to have a seat at decision-making tables in politics, business, and international forums. The discussion also touched on the role of technology, particularly AI, in shaping the future and the importance of involving young scientists in its development.

The panelists called for greater investment in youth-led solutions and more collaboration between generations and sectors to address global challenges. They highlighted the impact of the Global Shapers community in driving social change and emphasized the importance of compassion and agency in motivating young people to take action.

The discussion concluded with a call to empower youth, fund their initiatives, and ensure their meaningful inclusion in decision-making processes across all sectors to create a more equitable and sustainable future.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The challenges and uncertainties facing young people globally, including climate change, economic instability, and technological disruption

– The need for youth inclusion in decision-making processes across sectors

– The importance of empowering and funding youth-led initiatives and solutions

– Reasons for optimism despite current global challenges

– Ways to bridge generational divides and foster collaboration

Overall purpose:

The goal of this discussion was to explore the realities facing young people in today’s world of multiple crises, while highlighting opportunities for youth to shape a better future through collaboration, innovation, and leadership.

Tone:

The overall tone was one of cautious optimism. While the speakers acknowledged the serious challenges facing youth globally, they maintained a hopeful outlook and emphasized the potential for positive change. The tone became more energized and inspiring towards the end as speakers discussed concrete ways to empower youth and include them in decision-making processes.

Speakers

– Olajumoke Adekeye

Role: Member of the Global Shapers Foundation Board

Area of expertise: Moderator

– Gyri Reiersen

Role: Co-founder and CPO of Tanzo Technologies

Area of expertise: Climate activism, AI, industrial decarbonization

– Tony Frangie Mawad

Role: Venezuelan journalist and editor at Caracas Chronicles

Area of expertise: Democracy, corruption, migration, and technology in Venezuela

– Shehrbano Jamali Niazi

Role: Public sector consultant, Curator of the Islamabad Hub

Area of expertise: Climate governance, career counseling

– Davy Deng

Role: Joint doctoral candidate at Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program

Area of expertise: Neuroscience, whole brain emulation

Additional speakers:

– Audience members (various unnamed individuals who asked questions)

The World Economic Forum in Davos hosted a panel discussion focusing on the challenges and opportunities facing young people in a world characterized by multiple crises. The panel, composed of young global shapers from various countries, shared their personal experiences and perspectives on issues affecting youth worldwide.

Key Challenges and Uncertainties

The panelists highlighted several significant challenges facing young people globally:

1. Climate Change: Gyri Reiersen, co-founder of Tanzo Technologies, emphasized the severity of climate change impacts, stating that by 2070, an estimated 1.2 billion climate refugees are expected.

2. Economic Instability: Tony Frangie Mawad, a Venezuelan journalist, described the economic collapse in Venezuela, citing a 75% GDP contraction, a migration crisis with 7 million people leaving the country, and severe food insecurity affecting 90% of the population.

3. Human Development Issues: Shehrbano Jamali Niazi, a public sector consultant from Pakistan, highlighted critical issues such as malnutrition (43% of children in Pakistan are stunted) and education (12 million girls out of school), potentially hindering their ability to contribute effectively to society in the future.

4. Technological Uncertainties: Davy Deng, a doctoral candidate at Harvard-MIT, expressed concerns about the uncertain future impacts of AI on society, emphasizing the need for young scientists to be involved in decision-making processes related to AI development and implementation.

These challenges were contextualized by moderator Olajumoke Adekeye, who cited a UNICEF survey showing that 38% of youth believe they will be economically worse off than their parents, with this figure doubling to 59% in high-income countries.

Reasons for Optimism

Despite these challenges, the panelists expressed several reasons for optimism:

1. Youth Agency: Davy Deng suggested that Global Shapers feel more optimistic because they have more agency and a seat at the table where they can influence change.

2. Historical Resilience: Tony Frangie Mawad pointed out that humanity has overcome major crises before, providing a historical perspective on our ability to address current challenges.

3. Youth-Led Initiatives: Shehrbano Jamali Niazi highlighted the positive impact of youth-led initiatives in creating change, citing the Global Shapers Impact Report, which shows that 83% of shapers see the world as full of opportunities and 75% feel empowered to act on social challenges.

4. Technological Solutions: Gyri Reiersen emphasized the potential of technology and innovation to help solve global problems.

Empowering Youth and Creating Positive Change

The panelists and audience members proposed several actions to empower youth and create positive change:

1. Inclusion in Decision-Making: Tony Frangie Mawad strongly advocated for including more young people in politics, government, company boards, and global forums such as Davos and COP summits.

2. Investment in Youth-Led Solutions: Shehrbano Jamali Niazi called for increased investment in and scaling up of youth-led solutions and initiatives, mentioning the Global Shapers Innovation Prize and encouraging hubs to apply.

3. Opportunities in Emerging Industries: An audience member suggested providing opportunities for youth in emerging industries like the space sector.

4. Support for Underprivileged Youth: Another audience member emphasized the importance of supporting and uplifting underprivileged youth who may lack access to opportunities.

5. Multi-stakeholder Collaboration: Shehrbano highlighted the need for a multi-stakeholder approach to address global challenges effectively.

The Global Shapers Community’s Impact

The discussion highlighted the significant impact of the Global Shapers community, with over 3,000 social impact projects in 500+ cities, impacting 20 million people. Specific examples included the “Shapers for Venezuela” project, which aims to help vulnerable communities affected by the country’s crisis.

Addressing Tokenism and Meaningful Inclusion

The panel touched on the issue of tokenism and stressed the importance of meaningful inclusion of young people in decision-making processes across all sectors.

Conclusion

The panel discussion concluded with a call to empower youth, fund their initiatives, and ensure their meaningful inclusion in decision-making processes across all sectors to create a more equitable and sustainable future. While acknowledging the serious challenges facing youth globally, including climate change, economic instability, and technological uncertainties, the overall tone was one of cautious optimism. The panelists emphasized the potential for positive change through collaboration, innovation, and youth leadership, highlighting the need to address both immediate human development issues and long-term global challenges.

Olajumoke Adekeye: All right. Good morning, everyone. I am delighted to welcome you to this livestream session from Davos. We are very delighted to have you here at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. A special shout out to our global shapers that are dialing in from around the world. Welcome to you. My name is Olajumoke Adekeye. I am a member of the global shapers foundation board and I’m joined by four phenomenal global shapers who I’ll have the privilege of introducing shortly. This year’s annual meeting is convening on the theme collaboration for the intelligent age. And our session aptly themed generation introduces the reality of a poly crisis world for young people in which conflict, climate degradation and unemployment are the order of the day. Yet we recognize tremendous opportunity to craft the world of tomorrow with the resources that we have today. Speaking of resources, people, human resources are the greatest assets we have in order to be able to drive transformational progress. Now half of the population of the world is under the age of 30. They have grown up in a world characterized by rapid social, economic and technological changes. But also unfortunately with dwindling hopes of steady employment and social mobility compared to their parents, their grandparents. And despite really if you think about it, ever increasing rates of higher education attainment, more contributions to social benefit systems that they may never really benefit from. Now the confluence of geopolitics and thankfully a now tapering global inflation have led to a cost of living crisis in so many parts. parts of the world where high house prices have really drastically outstripped wage growth and sometimes really eroding the possibility for so many young people of building into generational wealth, securing a higher quality of life. Now we are at an inflection point where the possibility of future crises loom large, but the centre cannot hold. Today we’re going to be looking at what collaborative effort is needed to restore optimism in the future for young people globally amid the present situation that is characterised by crises, conflict and climate change. So here with me to tackle this conversation is Davi on my left from Boston. We also have Gary from the Munich Hub. We have Sherbano from the Islamabad Hub and Tony from the Caracas Hub. Let me start with Gary. So Gary I’ll start with you. You are a co-founder and CPO of Tanzo Technologies, a decarbonisation platform for industrial manufacturers based in Munich, Germany. You are a climate activist who in 2021 was listed as one of the top women in artificial intelligence in Germany for your AI and climate research. In 2023 you also won the Ethics in Electronics Award by the electronics industry for your work on decarbonising the industrial sector. Quite impressive, but we’d like to know you a bit better. Could you tell us how has your personal background actually shaped the work that you do in climate and AI and the issues that you’re actively working on?

Gyri Reiersen: Yeah, I am originally Norwegian, even though I live in Germany, and I grew up on a farm quite remote on the coast of Norway, seeing how nature is so present and that we depend on nature. And when I was going to study, I wanted to study electrical engineering, seeing that the energy adventure and the energy transformation that Norway has had in the last 50 years, going, finding oil, being part of the climate problem. And for me, that was super exciting to be part of, wanted to become an engineer, became an electrical engineer, and then later realizing that the power of technology can actually also solve these problems, but also generate more and more opportunities. And being a region, I, of course, feel the responsibility for also being part of emitting those emissions that now has effect all over the globe, and seeing that we as young humans also have a role to play, both in the solutions, but also facing the consequences and experiencing that on our own bodies.

Olajumoke Adekeye: Thank you. Let me come over to Tony. Tony, you are a Venezuelan journalist and editor at Caracas Chronicles. You teach journalism at Montevideo University. You’ve contributed to leading media outlets, including Bloomberg, Politico, and The Economist. And you recently launched the Venezuela Weekly Podcast. You are known as a prominent youth voice on crises of democracy, corruption, migration, and technology in your country, Venezuela. Could you share about what has shaped you? How has your upbringing shaped you in the work that you do and the advocacy that you do today? Sure. Thank you very much. So I grew up in

Tony Frangie Mawad: a Venezuela that’s very different from the one of my parents. My parents grew up in a country that was considered the exemplary democracy of Latin America. It was one of the richest nations, not only of the region, but of the world. Well, I grew up in a country that in the last decade has seen a contraction of its GDP of 75%. We’re talking about three times the Great Depression. And that has led to over 25% of our population living and generating the biggest migration crisis in the Americas. Venezuelans are facing a humanitarian crisis caused after decades of institutional collapse and democratic backsliding, and it has brought a massive crisis to a country with the biggest oil reserves in the world. So growing up in Venezuela is growing up in a hotspot of political conflict, of economic collapse, and definitely of very challenging problems, both on the humanitarian side, but also on the institutional, the political, the economic, and of course, the environmental side. We’re talking about the seventh most biodiverse country in the world. So while Venezuelans are facing all these political and economic problems, we’re also seeing an average of seven oil spills per month. We’re seeing the destruction of our Amazonian rainforest, which we have 7% of it. So this exemplary, promising country of my parents is gone, and I’m growing up in something that is very different, that has really pushed me into getting into these areas and strive to get a better country

Olajumoke Adekeye: for me and for future Venezuelans too. Thank you for sharing your drive with us. Let me come to you, Shurbano. In Islamabad, you are a public sector consultant designing a climate governance program to support local governments in Pakistan to respond more effectively to climate emergencies. You’re also the curator of the Islamabad Hub, and you lead the volunteer initiative, Career Counseling for All, with support of the Ministry of Education. You’re providing guidance and counseling to students in Islamabad.

Shehrbano Jamali Niazi: What’s the driving force for you here? You know, Jumi, I am a firm believer that our stories and experiences inform a huge part of who we are, and I am someone who has always led with my heart. So I think what’s reflective for me is that in 2022, 33 million Pakistanis were found under the floods. One-sixth of Pakistan’s… Pakistan was submerged in the floods. And that is when I lost my ancestral home of 70 years. So what I mean to say is that climate is inherently a reality now. And that really impacted the way I perceive the future. But the most glaring for me during the flood in Pakistan was women and children. How do we ensure that women and children are not left behind? Especially in my village where 30% is our literacy rates. And it falls to a glaring 18% for women. But also in a district where we had 50% malnourished and stunted children. So how do we think about them? And I feel the best way for me was, okay, I need to ensure that communities are in the conversations that we have when we are designing interventions, which has led and informed the work that I now do in designing appropriate interventions that put communities at the

Olajumoke Adekeye: core of what we do. That’s excellent. Thank you. Because it’s really important for us to showcase that the work that our global shapers, and some of whom are on this panel, are doing is actually driven from the realities, the lived realities. I’d like to come to Davi. You were a joint doctoral candidate in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program. Your research focuses on collecting high-resolution neural activity data and computationally simulating the nervous system of small animals. Your mission in life is to prepare humanity for whole brain emulation in the future in a scientifically and ethically rigorous way. Your research has resulted in more than 17 publications and over 500 citations. What’s your driving force here?

Davy Deng: Thank you so much for that very kind introduction. I grew up near the Gobi Desert. And we lived in kind of a semi-nomadic lifestyle. And I had a lot of health challenges, both mentally and physically, as a kid. So I was actually really interested in going into medicine, especially neurology, to try to understand what are some of the things that happened to me as a kid. But after coming to the US, I realized that we really don’t know much about the brain to really go into neurology, to become a neurologist, to make so much of an impact. Because a lot of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, glioblastomas, we have had decades of research and without resulting any meaningful progress in clinical medicine. So I realized that. And in fact, this kind of struggle in trying to translating the research into medicine has resulted a decrease in investments in these fields, because investors are feeling discouraged from the current understanding of the brain. So that’s when I switched from medicine into neuroscience basic research. And I wanted to shoot for the star. And I basically got into whole brain emulation from a fundamentally understanding

Olajumoke Adekeye: how our brain process global information. Yeah, thank you. The reality of the world that we live in, the staggering statistics really demonstrate that there is no other way, there’s no other step that we must take other than action. And I’m really privileged to have you on this panel to be able to talk about, maybe dig a little bit into some of the issues and the root causes of some of the issues that you’re working on. Here’s an interesting statistic. 38% of youth surveyed by UNICEF believe that they will be economically worse off than their parents. And we’ve seen the examples that Tony was sharing from Venezuela. But in high income countries, this number doubles, with 59 believing they will be worse off than their parents. So now, having shared with us. Some of the work that you’re doing. What’s your driving force? What are some of the uncertainties that you’re seeing in your work or in your communities that other young people are facing and are?

Tony Frangie Mawad: Grappling with it would be great to hear your perspectives on that. I’m Tony. Would you like to go next? Sure. Um, I Wouldn’t say optimism is dead in Venezuela, but it’s damaged and that’s really affecting all Venezuelans Especially especially young people when you see the population pyramid of Venezuela It’s it looks like a war-torn country You have a lot of old people a lot of children and the middle is empty people are leaving nobody wants to leave no Venezuela wanted to leave Venezuela, but they have been forced to because of the lack of situations because of Opportunities because of the human rights situation and because of the economic collapse So a recent study by a think-tank in Caracas found out that since the 1990s intergenerational Educational mobility has fallen by 41% in Venezuela So younger Venezuelans are less educated than their parents and it’s part of a wider collapse So you see it in the fact that our monthly salary our average our minimum wage a month is $3 So it’s a country that is getting extremely poor by now Venezuela has the second highest Insecurity food insecurity rate in the Americas after Haiti So you’re seeing all these different types of problem overlapping and feeding each other in a very toxic loop, which is clearly affecting the Integrity of the population and the opportunities of people. So I would say that when all of these overlaps it brings a very pessimistic scenario for most young Venezuelans and feeds a migration crisis and Forces to think about growing to other countries and to seek opportunities elsewhere because the country is becoming a ceiling for us There’s a moment in which we cannot grow anymore and in which we realize that at least in the current situation in the current economy, in the current institutional framework, achieving the lives and the opportunities our parents found in a formerly promising nation that once showed for 40 years the highest growth rate in the world is gone. So once that becomes a ceiling, you have to go elsewhere or, you know, submit yourself to a situation that is not the best. So that’s why I say that our optimism is damaged, but at least it’s not gone. And I do think that many Venezuelans and many young Venezuelans are not only staying, but are fighting and struggling for a best country, and they’re also doing it from abroad. So I wouldn’t say everything’s lost, but it’s definitely challenging for us. Yes, it sounds like you’re at the cusp

Olajumoke Adekeye: of making a case for intergenerational equity. Let me come to you, Gary. You live in Germany. What are some of the challenges that young people are facing and voicing out really vehemently?

Gyri Reiersen: I think we need to acknowledge that Europeans have a different life situation than many others in the rest of the world. Still, there is also challenges and more and more pessimism in Europe and amongst European youth. We see that our politics are lacking in leadership. We have heard here at Davos in many European-centric sessions that we need one Europe. We need to stand on our own feet. We need to build that type of leadership. But currently, a lot of countries, including Germany, is struggling to even put a government on its feet. And that comes on top of every crisis, like a global crisis. And one thing I want to highlight is that amongst the D50, so the 50 global shapers from 40 different countries this year as a delegation to Davos and to the World Economic Forum, three, Shabano being one of them, global shapers have lost their family homes in the last years on three different continents. So for us, climate change is an actual problem. In Germany, we had flooding. In Valencia, we had many, many people dying due to flooding. And what we see is that there are the uncertainties that comes with climate are not yet, there are no uncertainties anymore. They’re rather certain. Climate change is the most researched market trend in history. We know what’s happening. We know what’s going on. But the consequences of climate, we don’t know. And especially when it comes to migration, we’re talking about where youth find opportunities, they will go. But also where they can’t see any opportunities, they won’t stay. And it’s estimated that until I retire in 2017, there will be 1.2 billion climate refugees. Think about that for a second, 1.2 billion climate refugees. And that we had in 2015, 20 million coming to Europe, putting the entire continent into a right extremist, political instability situation. Is that really the future that we believe that we were gonna have? We have an already polarized world. We see that the global political powers in the world are already struggling to collaborate. There’s no collaboration happening at the moment, or there’s no outlook for it. And with the uncertainty coming with the climate crisis, the direct consequences of it, but also the indirect of migration and political instability and therefore also economic instability, no wonder that the youth is pessimistic about the future.

Olajumoke Adekeye: Can I press you a little bit more? You mentioned that, at least from what I thought I heard, that the climate migration then caused the polarization in Europe. Can you clarify that? I’m not a political scientist. I’m an AI engineer. So I’m not gonna pretend that I’m. I understand fully the causes and the causalities of what happened.

Gyri Reiersen: What we do see is that there is a lot of opinions against migration. I’m an immigrant. So when Germans, a right-wing German says the immigrants come to Germany to steal our jobs, I say I created 40. And still, thank you. Thank you. And my aim is to create even more and be part of this. Immigrants are often a larger, an unproportional large amount of founders are immigrants. And innovation often comes from diversity and collaboration across different perspectives. And therefore, I choose to be optimistic. I’m a technology optimist. I choose to be optimistic, even though as a researcher, former researcher, the science is very clear. And those uncertainty bars are so out of bounds that we don’t even know. We cannot even computationally figure out what happens after tipping points, even with the AI that we have today. Natural progression to you, Davi. She’s been speaking about computation and innovation. So just share your perspective on some of the uncertainties you’re seeing that young people are experiencing,

Olajumoke Adekeye: or even in your field specifically, that you think really should get a spotlight.

Davy Deng: Yeah, I think, actually, I would slightly disagree on that we know there is an uncertainty in climate change. I think there is still a lot of uncertainty in this generation. And I’m going to take it from a very technical and scientific perspective, since I am a scientist. I think that we are unsure where the AI is going next. And AI is impacting every part of our life, from climate, from job security, just every fiber of our society. And because we have such a poor understanding of how AI actually works, this is introducing. a lot of uncertainty here. And I think that, you know, because the young scientists are often not in the room, in the conversation, on the decision-making table, we’re really – but at the same time, we are the one who’s pushing the technology forward. I think this creates a really interesting dilemma, you know, where the technology is going, but also what the society actually wants. And I think that actually is maybe part of the reason why that you pointed out that in high-income country there’s more pessimism, because those are the people who are feeling the impact of the technology first, and then they feel like they have no control, no say in where the technology will go. So, yeah. Yeah, I hear you. No technological progress without the youth and young people. Let me

Olajumoke Adekeye: come to you in Islamabad. So, we’ve heard, you know, across the panel some of the uncertainties, issues you’ve spoken so eloquently and just heartfelt about the experiences you’ve had personally. Can you share with us, are there other concerns that young people in your part of the world are experiencing that really should get mentioned and are important to bring to this platform?

Shehrbano Jamali Niazi: You know, Jumi, I really believe that perspective is important. You know, the challenges that the Global North face are widely different than what the Global South face. And the Global South is majority of the world. So, while we can talk about AI and technology and it’s important, I understand, but I think when we look at the intelligent age, we’re also talking about human capital. And who are the human capital? And who are these youth? But I want to actually take a step back. I think when we talk about human potential, we look at children as well. In Pakistan, 43% of the children are stunted and malnourished. What does that mean? And what does that mean for the future? It means that 43%, which is almost 60 to 70 million of Pakistani children today are not going to fully develop. emotionally and physically and they will not be able to effectively contribute to the society in the future. And this is concerning. This is highly concerning. And then we move to the next phase. Currently in Pakistan, unfortunately, 60 million girls are – sorry, 12 million girls are out of school. And that means that they will never fully be able to contribute economically to the development of Pakistan. And I firmly believe that the challenge is today that unless and until we do not invest in our children, in our women, in our girls, and understand the challenges of the global south and ensure they’re not getting left behind while we move towards a digitized world and go towards advancements, we will firmly not move forward collaboratively as a world. So in Pakistan, our human capital is the biggest challenge. But secondly that I want to reflect on is also upward mobility. In the global south and in Pakistan specifically, many of our challengers are further compounded by challenges like climate. You know, it is not – we are living it right now. And what is – it is a vicious circle that today I am rebuilding my house but tomorrow I may not have it. But more than that, what about all these children who are perpetually getting left behind? And these inequities are deepening. And this is where we feel so pessimistic about the world. And I think this is something that we really need to have to think about, because as a youth leader, I want to live in this world and I just don’t want to exist, which makes

Olajumoke Adekeye: me a little bit pessimistic. There is pessimism among young people that is understood. Our global shapers impact report, which was published just earlier this week, is actually showing that global shapers, in spite of the staggering statistics on whether it’s maternal health, youth health, the economics that have been described, climate disasters, just the depressing forecasts we’re seeing, we’re seeing though that global shapers are optimistic. 83% see the world as full of opportunities, and 75% are feeling empowered to act on some of these social challenges that you’ve been kind enough to describe. So why should we remain optimistic? Why are shapers optimistic, despite how difficult the world that we live in is, the poly-crisis context in which young people are growing up in?

Davy Deng: Why should we remain optimistic? Davie? Yeah. So I think that’s a very interesting phenomenon and actually leads to my call for action. So I think the reason why we feel more optimistic than the general population is because we have more agencies. We have a place at the table where we feel like we can make changes, where we can guide the future of society into a direction that we think is positive. And I think that is critical in generating hope and generating motivations and courage for the future. And I think this is why I think we need to involve more young scientists, from my personal perspective, young scientists, into the boardroom, into a space like this to talk about what does science and technology mean if they cannot lift all boats?

Olajumoke Adekeye: And I’m quoting one of the sessions name from Davos today. Really appreciate that perspective. I’m hearing you say empower youth. I’m hearing you support their inclusion in decision-making and sciences, support their leadership. Why should we be optimistic? I mean, Tony, you said that hope isn’t lost, but it’s damaged. So why should we try to repair it? I mean, what are the hopes? Why should we be hopeful?

Tony Frangie Mawad: I’m a believer in humanity, and I know it sounds cheesy, but I feel that as a species, we have proven over and over again. our ability to rise over world wars, over environmental crisis, over disease and pandemics, and continue striving for civilization that despite undergoing, as you mentioned, a politic crisis, a moment of conflict, a moment of challenges, of economic problems, and of course environmental destruction, we’re actually, in most of the world, better off than a few decades ago. We’re a world that has managed to achieve more wealth, that has managed to achieve more democracy in most countries, and that really keeps me hopeful, despite the challenges that countries like Venezuela, like Palestine, like Sudan, show today. In the 1960s, it was expected that humanity was going to face, through the 70s and 80s, a demographic collapse, because there wouldn’t be enough food for everybody. And yet humanity managed to achieve the Green Revolution and increase the yields of the agriculture we were producing, and feed humanity, and avoid the maltuation trap everybody was expecting. I think we’re gonna do the same with climate change. I feel we’re gonna find a solution, and we’re gonna keep growing as a species that has already reached the moon, and I’m pretty sure will reach other places. Even in Venezuela, where things are actually worse than before, contrary to what’s happening in many countries in the world, I have optimism that keeps driving me and the people around me, and I feel that’s why, despite 25 years of backsliding, of crisis, we’re still fighting for a better place. I see it in everyday heroes, not only young people, but also people from other generations, and with everyday heroes, I mean college professors, I mean my friends who are working in such a complex environment, who are doing social innovation, who are working with the environment, who are in NGOs, and yes, Venezuela has gold, it has oil, it has diamonds, but I feel that it’s wealth, it’s its people in itself. Recently I met a European diplomat. in Caracas and she had come before in the year 2000 and then she came back in 2023 and I told her what shocked you the most thinking she was going to tell me that you know it was how the economy got so bad how everything is run down and she said I’m shocked by the amount of well-formed brilliant people that still lives in Venezuela and continue struggling for a better country despite everything that has happened and I have my hope in that wealth in our people and

Olajumoke Adekeye: the people of the world and humanity the power of youth young people someone some people may describe youthful idealism as continuing to feel lots of energy expenditure do we agree that it’s just is it just about youthful idealism is it just about hope what is driving the action we’re seeing on the ground I mean the global shapers community since inception has had more than 3,000 social impact projects in more than 500 cities across the world impacting the lives of more than 20 million people is it just youthful idealism I think Davi was talking about having agency do you have any other thoughts on what else is driving young people to create change at their own level I believe it’s compassion I think in a lot of the barriers that we have and the challenges

Shehrbano Jamali Niazi: that we had and in the multifaceted world that we live in there’s also opportunity and for me personally that opportunity is a 30,000 global shapers alumni and active shapers around the world which have impacted the life of 2.5 million people and if that’s not a success case and if that is not hope for the future then I don’t know what is it’s great so how can we bridge the generational divides I mean we’ve talked about the work that global shapers have

Olajumoke Adekeye: the opportunity to have made across the globe the impact we’ve been able to to achieve we’ve talked about the issues but This week is about collaboration for an intelligent age. So what sort of collaborations are needed to scale excellent ideas, excellent projects that we’re seeing that are making impact? What kinds of collaborations, what kind of collaborative efforts are required to actually move the world from this current trajectory to a better one that we want to see for young people today and tomorrow?

Shehrbano Jamali Niazi: I personally believe it’s a multi-stakeholder approach. And you know, we’ve talked a lot about it. I believe that everyone impacted and should be at the table, whether that’s the youth, the private sector, philanthropies, governments. But this is where I think I want to reflect our innovation prize. This year, I’m thrilled to share that Islamabad Hub was one of the innovation prize winners. And with the support of the Global Alliance for Youth, Accenture, and the Global Shapers community, we had a humble grant that we were able to scale up our project Career Counseling for All in Islamabad, which is we provide tailored guidance and counselor sessions to young youth members to thrive in the evolving job market, whether that’s AI, entrepreneurship, but also personal development. And last night, I think if you were at the Gaia Gala last night, we heard that only 1% of money is funded into youth innovations and grants are given to the youth, which I think is deeply concerning. Because I feel that the philanthropies and leaders of the world and businesses need to invest significantly in youth-led solutions. We are the eyes on the ground. We are the ones that are aware of the evolving ground realities. And we are the ones that are driving purposeful change. And I think the world, whether that’s the business, the government leaders, they need to invest in us. Through a top-down approach, yes, but also through a bottom-up perspective, and that’s where I think the Global Shapers community really does come in. But with that said, the edition of Innovation Prize is also coming on the February 1st, and I encourage every single Global Shaper and hubs around the world to please apply and amplify your impact.

Olajumoke Adekeye: Wonderful, thank you for making that pitch. So we’ve heard invest in youth-led solutions, we’ve heard have young people on boards, whether it’s in the scientific fields, maybe in companies, even in public sector. What other efforts are really needed to ensure that we can move again in the needle in the right direction and we can really create a world that is conducive for young people and future generations? We need to include young people in the places where

Tony Frangie Mawad: the decisions are being taken. As you said, people under 30 like us represent half of the world’s population. We are not just a minority, we’re half of humanity, and we’re actually the people who are going to leave the consequences of climate change in its worst, or of AI if it continues growing the way it is, or of the changes that are happening in the world so fast right now. We’re living in a world that we grew up hearing was going to be more united, more globalized, more free, and the world is fragmenting and falling apart into challenging rival blocks that are actually cutting off the opportunities to collaborate as a humanity. And I don’t think that’s the world we want to live in. We don’t want to go back to the world of the 1930s, where you had different blocks of different superpowers striving to divide the world in spheres of influence. We want a world where everybody has a stake in the table, and it’s young people. It’s people from the global south, like Sheherbano and me. It’s people from the global north, like Iri and Deng, that deserve a place to talk and collaborate and spread the exchange of ideas, but also to put our voice out there, because it’s the opportunity for us to actually influence and add our ideas and expectations of the stuff that is going to define the next years of our lives and of our future children too. So we need more young people in politics. We need more young people in government. We need more young people in companies boards. We need more young people in spaces like the Davos Forum and all the forums and the COPs and the summits all over the world. We’re tired of being treated like little children or being told what to do and what not to do because we actually deserve a place at the table and our voices must be heard. Because as I said, we’re not just a minority, we’re half of humanity.

Olajumoke Adekeye: Yes, on that note, speaking about vitality, passion, energy, experience, perspectives, diversity that the youth voice brings, would love to take some questions from the audience. Please raise your hand if you’re picked on. We’ll ask that you rise, that you stand up so that you are seen. I’d ask that if you’re asking a question that you please introduce yourself, your name, your hub if you’re a Global Shaper and to ask your question. All right, to my left. My name is Amit from Global Shapers. We spoke about that the young voices should be heard. And as current Global Shapers, we are trying our best what we can to make the right change or impact.

Audience: Do you think the coming generation, because we’re soon gonna become an alumni, do you think the coming generation carries the same interest, carries the same spark, which we are currently are having to create a better impact? Do you think that they’ll be able to take over the legacy or there’ll be some changes in the mindset because we can see the trends we have having the conversation about Gen Z’s or the coming generations. So do you think there will be a deflect or it’ll be, you know, they’ll be carry forwarding the legacy?

Tony Frangie Mawad: You want me to answer it or? If you want to, go ahead. Sure. I think that a fundamental part of being a global shaper is being optimistic, is believing in the legacy. We’re driven by the belief that we can change things, that we can shape things. So, yeah, I do believe I’m going to be an alumni in two years, but I have no doubt that the people who are younger than me who are coming have the same drive. As I said, I’m a believer in humanity and that also signifies believing in the people coming behind me. I’m pretty sure that just as we are doing our effort to shape and improve the world, the younger people than us also have that belief and are moved by the same drive and optimism that we have. And I’m pretty sure that my colleagues here also agree with that. So, yeah, I’m not pessimistic at all with the youth, and I’m pretty sure that they’ll bring amazing things to the world, too.

Audience: Hello, my name is Chiro. I’m from South Africa, the Johannesburg hub. So my question is, so with the rise of cancel culture and, you know, essentially corporations have realized that in order to be more politically correct and to toe the line with young people, they need to be more inclusive. But often in wanting to be more inclusive and include racial minorities, young people who are part of the LGBTQ community, women, it’s more of a token rather than including young people to make a substantial contribution. It’s more just being at the table rather than actually involving us at the table to have a voice. And so how do we overcome that?

Gyri Reiersen: I can jump in on this one. I often get invited because I’m a woman. I’m a woman in tech. I’m a female founder. It’s a perfect squeeze in. I’m not from the global south. unfortunately, but I am an immigrant, and what I have experienced is that those opportunities that come to you by that is also an opportunity to really prove yourself. It shouldn’t be like that, right? We should be taken for our achievements. All global shapers have massive achievements before they’re 30. You know, the new 30 under 30 should be global shapers only. No, but I’m serious. I think it’s an opportunity to take that space and really have courage to own up to that space, and I’m surprised, and I think all of the global shapers that have been here at Davos this week have noticed that switch in the leaders that we’ll talk to when they’re first like, hey, who are you? What are you? Okay, okay, okay. What a kid. And then you start asking the questions in the sessions. Global shapers this week have asked the most critical questions to the leaders. We have dared to be vulnerable. I think it’s collaboration also in the emotional intelligence age. We have dared to ask critical, but also inclusive questions. What about the global south? What about LGBTQ? We are there to take that space, and I believe that just like we know that we’re good, you know? We know that we have not only voices, but we also have great ideas and innovations to bring

Olajumoke Adekeye: up. So I would just encourage everyone who get that talk in to use it, but also to speak up when they say, hey, did you actually listen to what I said? Isn’t there perhaps also an opportunity for continued advocacy to ensure that you’re not just at the table, but making decisions? And I think that young people should not let up in ensuring that they’re not just brought to the table, but can actually make contributions and demonstrate that concretely by sharing thought leadership as well, and ensuring that whether you’re a global shaper or not, that we’re a voice for young people. think we have time for just, OK, here and over here, please. Wow.

Audience: What an amazing session. This is my 10th Davos, and out of all the sessions that I’ve sat through this week, this has been extraordinary. So I have more of a comment. My name’s Kimberly Washington. I’m the co-founder and CEO of Deep Space Biology and also the founder of Space for Girls. And space is a new industry. It’s an industrial revolution that’s happening, soon to be over $1.2 trillion. And young people are being left behind. And not only young people, I started working in the space sector, looked around, and I didn’t see many women either. I am so enthusiastic and excited to feel the energy in this room. And as a builder in the space sector, if any of you have an interest in participating internationally, this is a global industrial revolution that’s happening, please speak with me. I want to support you. Open up doors. And we need, you know, this is, space is for all of us. And space must be for Earth and for the benefit of humanity. And we need this type of energy and enthusiasm in the space sector.

Olajumoke Adekeye: So thank you. Thank you for inspiring me this morning. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Arno Ratzinger.

Audience: I’m from the Geneva Hub, also a fellow Global Shaper. And I was super inspired by your remarks and really the impressive impact that you’ve had. One question that I always ask myself, you know, we are so fortunate to, you know, get that seat at a table, get that invitation, even sometimes the incentive behind it might not be the most noble. But what is something… that you do in your hub or in your organizations that you’re leading and shaping to also uplift those who are less privileged, who maybe don’t have a university background, that, you know, maybe don’t have a stable family or other challenges that they’re grappling with? Thank

Tony Frangie Mawad: you. I can go with that one. So a project that we particularly cherish in our hub in Caracas is called Shapers for Venezuela. So Shapers for Venezuela has been around for a series of years and it’s in collaboration with other hubs in the region to actually provide help and aid to Venezuelan migrants and refugees through Latin America. But at the same time, a particularly beautiful side of it inside Venezuela is that the Shapers who are within Shapers for Venezuela work with families whose children or whose parents left for other countries on what we call duelo migratorio, that’s migration grief, the grief of losing your family, the grief of losing your parents because they went to Peru or to Colombia to send you remittance. So it’s really beautiful to see the Shapers work with, you know, vulnerable communities, low-income communities in the hillsides of Caracas and deal with the children and the communities there on the grief that it represents, losing your family and losing your community to an ever-increasing migration crisis. So that’s a project from my hub that I particularly cherish and the impact it’s doing in Caracas, in Venezuela and in Latin America.

Olajumoke Adekeye: Thank you all so much for your contributions. I’m afraid that’s all the time we have, but really excited of the prospects that we have for young people to continue to make impact. I think part of the call to action I’ve heard here today is to make sure that we empower young people who are already taking up leadership positions, who are already making impact in their communities. The intent is to ensure that they are included in decision-making, that they are funded, their initiatives are funded and scaled. So thank you all so much for your time. Thank you.

Agreement Points

Youth face significant challenges and uncertainties

speakers

– Gyri Reiersen
– Tony Frangie Mawad
– Shehrbano Jamali Niazi
– Davy Deng

arguments

Climate change impacts are already severe and causing displacement

Economic collapse and lack of opportunities in Venezuela

Malnutrition and lack of education for children in Pakistan

Uncertainty around AI’s future impacts on society

summary

All speakers agreed that young people globally face various challenges, including climate change impacts, economic instability, lack of opportunities, and uncertainties surrounding technological advancements.

Need for youth empowerment and inclusion in decision-making

speakers

– Shehrbano Jamali Niazi
– Tony Frangie Mawad
– Davy Deng

arguments

Invest in and scale up youth-led solutions

Include young people in decision-making bodies

Global Shapers have agency to drive change

summary

Speakers emphasized the importance of including young people in decision-making processes, investing in youth-led solutions, and empowering youth to drive change.

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers expressed optimism about the future, citing humanity’s ability to overcome challenges and the positive impact of youth-led initiatives.

speakers

– Tony Frangie Mawad
– Shehrbano Jamali Niazi

arguments

Humanity has overcome major crises before

Youth-led initiatives are creating positive impact

Unexpected Consensus

Importance of diverse participation in emerging industries

speakers

– Unknown speaker
– Gyri Reiersen

arguments

Provide opportunities for youth in emerging industries like space

Climate change impacts are already severe and causing displacement

explanation

While not directly related, both arguments highlight the need for diverse participation in addressing global challenges and emerging opportunities, whether in new industries like space or in tackling climate change impacts.

Overall Assessment

Summary

The main areas of agreement among speakers included the recognition of significant challenges facing youth globally, the need for youth empowerment and inclusion in decision-making processes, and a shared sense of optimism about the potential for positive change.

Consensus level

There was a high level of consensus among the speakers on the major issues discussed. This consensus implies a shared understanding of the challenges facing youth and a common vision for empowering young people to address these challenges. The agreement on the need for youth inclusion in decision-making processes across various sectors suggests a potential pathway for addressing global issues more effectively.

Different Viewpoints

Certainty of climate change impacts

speakers

– Gyri Reiersen
– Davy Deng

arguments

Climate change impacts are already severe and causing displacement

Uncertainty around AI’s future impacts on society

summary

While Gyri Reiersen argues that climate change impacts are certain and already severe, Davy Deng suggests there is still uncertainty, particularly regarding AI’s impact on climate and other aspects of society.

Unexpected Differences

Focus on global challenges

speakers

– Shehrbano Jamali Niazi
– Davy Deng

arguments

Malnutrition and lack of education for children in Pakistan

Uncertainty around AI’s future impacts on society

explanation

While both speakers discuss global challenges, there is an unexpected difference in their focus. Shehrbano Jamali Niazi emphasizes basic human development issues in the Global South, while Davy Deng focuses on technological uncertainties, highlighting the disparity in priorities between different regions.

Overall Assessment

summary

The main areas of disagreement revolve around the certainty of climate change impacts, the focus on different types of global challenges, and the sources of optimism for the future.

difference_level

The level of disagreement among the speakers is moderate. While there are some differences in perspective and focus, there is a general consensus on the need for youth empowerment and action to address global challenges. These differences reflect the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the speakers, which ultimately enriches the discussion and provides a more comprehensive view of the issues at hand.

Partial Agreements

Both speakers express optimism about the future, but they differ in their focus. Tony Frangie Mawad emphasizes humanity’s historical ability to overcome challenges, while Shehrbano Jamali Niazi highlights the specific impact of youth-led initiatives.

speakers

– Tony Frangie Mawad
– Shehrbano Jamali Niazi

arguments

Humanity has overcome major crises before

Youth-led initiatives are creating positive impact

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers expressed optimism about the future, citing humanity’s ability to overcome challenges and the positive impact of youth-led initiatives.

speakers

– Tony Frangie Mawad
– Shehrbano Jamali Niazi

arguments

Humanity has overcome major crises before

Youth-led initiatives are creating positive impact

Key Takeaways

Young people globally face significant challenges including climate change impacts, economic instability, lack of opportunities, and uncertainty around technological changes like AI

Despite challenges, there are reasons for optimism, including youth-led initiatives creating positive impact and the potential for technology/innovation to help solve problems

More efforts are needed to empower youth and include them in decision-making to address global challenges

Collaboration across generations and sectors is crucial to create positive change and restore optimism for young people’s futures

Resolutions and Action Items

Include more young people in politics, government, company boards, and global forums

Invest in and scale up youth-led solutions and initiatives

Provide opportunities for youth in emerging industries like the space sector

Support and uplift underprivileged youth who may lack access to opportunities

Unresolved Issues

How to effectively address climate change and its impacts on a global scale

How to create economic opportunities for youth in struggling economies

How to ensure ethical development and implementation of AI technologies

How to bridge generational divides and foster true collaboration across age groups

Suggested Compromises

None identified

38% of youth surveyed by UNICEF believe that they will be economically worse off than their parents. And we’ve seen the examples that Tony was sharing from Venezuela. But in high income countries, this number doubles, with 59 believing they will be worse off than their parents.

speaker

Olajumoke Adekeye

reason

This statistic provides concrete data on youth pessimism, highlighting an unexpected trend where pessimism is higher in high-income countries.

impact

This comment set the stage for the panelists to discuss specific challenges and uncertainties faced by youth in their respective regions, leading to a more nuanced exploration of global youth issues.

It’s estimated that until I retire in 2017, there will be 1.2 billion climate refugees. Think about that for a second, 1.2 billion climate refugees.

speaker

Gyri Reiersen

reason

This projection dramatically illustrates the potential scale of climate-induced displacement, emphasizing the urgency of addressing climate change.

impact

This comment shifted the conversation towards the interconnectedness of climate change, migration, and political instability, deepening the discussion on global challenges.

In Pakistan, 43% of the children are stunted and malnourished. What does that mean? And what does that mean for the future? It means that 43%, which is almost 60 to 70 million of Pakistani children today are not going to fully develop emotionally and physically and they will not be able to effectively contribute to the society in the future.

speaker

Shehrbano Jamali Niazi

reason

This comment brings attention to a critical issue often overlooked in discussions about future challenges, highlighting the long-term consequences of current health and nutrition problems.

impact

It broadened the conversation to include developmental challenges in the Global South, emphasizing the need for a more inclusive approach to global problem-solving.

So I think the reason why we feel more optimistic than the general population is because we have more agencies. We have a place at the table where we feel like we can make changes, where we can guide the future of society into a direction that we think is positive.

speaker

Davy Deng

reason

This insight provides a potential explanation for the optimism among Global Shapers despite global challenges, highlighting the importance of agency and inclusion in fostering hope.

impact

This comment shifted the discussion towards solutions, particularly the importance of including youth in decision-making processes across various sectors.

We need more young people in politics. We need more young people in government. We need more young people in companies boards. We need more young people in spaces like the Davos Forum and all the forums and the COPs and the summits all over the world.

speaker

Tony Frangie Mawad

reason

This statement forcefully articulates the need for greater youth representation across all sectors of society, not just as token participants but as decision-makers.

impact

This comment served as a call to action, prompting discussion on concrete ways to increase youth involvement in global decision-making processes.

Overall Assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by progressively moving from identifying global challenges faced by youth to exploring their root causes, and finally to proposing solutions centered around youth empowerment and inclusion. The conversation evolved from a potentially pessimistic outlook based on statistics to a more action-oriented dialogue about the importance of youth agency and representation in addressing global issues. The diverse perspectives of the panelists, representing different regions and fields, allowed for a multifaceted exploration of youth issues, emphasizing the interconnectedness of challenges like climate change, economic uncertainty, and political representation.

How can we ensure that women and children are not left behind in climate change interventions?

speaker

Shehrbano Jamali Niazi

explanation

This is important to address the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable populations and ensure inclusive solutions.

What are the potential consequences of 1.2 billion climate refugees by 2070?

speaker

Gyri Reiersen

explanation

This is crucial to understand and prepare for the massive social, economic, and political impacts of large-scale climate-induced migration.

How can we involve more young scientists in decision-making processes regarding science and technology?

speaker

Davy Deng

explanation

This is important to ensure that those developing new technologies have a voice in shaping their societal impact and implementation.

How can we increase investment in youth-led solutions and innovations?

speaker

Shehrbano Jamali Niazi

explanation

This is crucial to empower young people to address global challenges and drive positive change in their communities.

How can we ensure young people are not just brought to the table, but can actually make substantial contributions in decision-making processes?

speaker

Olajumoke Adekeye

explanation

This is important to move beyond tokenism and ensure meaningful youth participation in shaping policies and solutions.

How can we involve more young people in the emerging space sector?

speaker

Kimberly Washington (audience member)

explanation

This is important to ensure diverse perspectives and talents are included in shaping the future of space exploration and its benefits for humanity.

How can Global Shapers and similar organizations uplift and include less privileged youth who may not have access to the same opportunities?

speaker

Arno Ratzinger (audience member)

explanation

This is crucial to ensure that youth leadership and impact initiatives are inclusive and representative of diverse backgrounds and experiences.