26 Jan 2012

“Advice from the young to the old”

Ben Verwaayen and WEF's Young Global Shaper Mohamed El-Haw

Ben Verwaayen and WEF's Young Global Shaper Mohamed El-Haw

Young global shapers are the latest addition to the WEF population.

Young people, with already a great track record.  They have a unique podium, a direct interaction with the global leaders.  No risk of getting lost in translation, they bring their message loud and clear. Their message is unusually positive.

A “can do” mentality and lots of evidence to prove their points.

If they want one thing: “Take us seriously. Give us a chance, let us do the things our way”.

No complex deliberation of policy and politics, but concrete action on issues that really matter: innovation, sustainability and new market approaches.

It is a further dimension to the unique platform that Klaus Schwab has built over the years, and is truly multistakeholder.

As expected, lots of the debate is going on the issues of the day.  But luckily I also spot serious debate on growth, on new opportunities and on building confidence.

The input from very different viewpoints into that debate is core to getting to solutions that work for real people.  From that perspective this is a good Davos. Confronted with doom and gloom it is clear we can’t stay there.

We need to move forward and decide what to do to create 300 million jobs+, because that is the number of people to come to the market worldwide in the coming 10 years. Add to that a number to reduce the present levels of unemployment, and it is clear that marginal steps will not do the job.

As a 24/7 connected world, we also cannot do it in isolation.

Protectionism will only bring more misery.

So the challenge is to move quickly into a creative mode, using the input from the young to teach the old.

Ben

 
 

One Response to “Advice from the young to the old”

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  1. Frits Devos says:
    January 26, 2012 at 10:54 AM

    A symbolic picture. All regions need to interact, but specifically Europe and the Arab world are very complementary, can learn a lot from each other, and have a lot to gain from intense communication and cooperation.

    Reply

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