Earlier this month, I joined 1,800 young people from 190 different countries and we descended on the International City for Peace and Justice (The Hague). A city that was created more than 100 years ago with the mission to combat Inter-state disputes by peaceful means, because if we know anything about war and violence we know those who will suffer the greatest, will be those who are the littlest and who have the least... often times, just to protect the egos of men. So it’s only fitting that leaders from the millennial generation (who some could consider the descendants of too much war and not enough peace) have arrived with similar hope and determination to ensure that future generations, won't have to survive the consequences of war, sexual violence, famine, homelessness, slavery, and oppression.
During my time at the summit, I was able to both meet some amazing youth leaders and interview David Sprouls (CEO, Deloitte North-West Europe, and the UK), where we addressed the role of the business community to create space and opportunities for young people to fully participate in society -- as active members and not simply bystanders. We also addressed what it meant for business to honor the lived experiences of young people without tokenizing or fetishizing their trauma. To see more from our session, watch the video below.
I can only hope, that through the stories of trauma and success shared by the delegates, politicians, business industry leaders, will understand that young people don’t need a voice. What we need is access to our rightful place in the process to make transformative change in our lives and communities. What we are demanding, is for governments, world leaders and businesses to put people, plant and social impact over profit.
We’re a long way from transforming the business community to value people more than profit but there is a shift happening, largely due to the fact that millennials and GenZs are requiring more from the people and entities that want to hire and sell to us. #OYW2018
