By Anna Valmero
Photos by Heiko Seibel
The rise of 21st century jobs and discussions about a sustainable future require young leaders and students today to take on different skills as part of their education, both within the classroom and outside the traditional school setting.
Orange Magazine sat down with Oscar Boije, project executive at Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and project coordinator of the 7th Model ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) during a public speaking training for Filipino students at Far Eastern University in Manila, Philippines last June 2016 to discuss how organisations can empower the youth in a globalised, dynamic world.
Question: What is the biggest challenge and opportunity for the youth in terms of joining the global dialogue?
Oscar Boije: I think the opportunity is that there are so many channels to communication and interact with people than in the past. It is much easier to do it today. At the same time, the challenge is to take the step and be more open minded, to reach out to understand other culture and ideas as a way to promote peaceful co-existence and achieve progress.
Q: How would you assess the youth of today in terms of cross-border and inter-region Collaboration, Learning, and Action?
Young people are inspired to make a change and take action. Seeing local and global initiatives from young people inspire me. They care not only about the city or country where they live but in fact, they care about issues beyond their home, which they feel should be tackled globally.
For example, some former participants who attended ASEF trainings build a network of young people to collaborate and work on solutions for issues that matter to them. This shows that beyond attending trainings, the students have taken the next them to initiate action for advocacies they are passionate about.
Q: What are the questions that the youth should ask themselves and global leaders that require urgent action?
Future employment and career development are among the top concerns of Asian and European youths and students. The value of education in terms of being able to graduate from a program no longer guarantees someone can land a job that meets their qualifications and at the same time, provides fulfillment. But there are a lot of initiatives among the youth to address this in terms of entrepreneurship to diversify their options and create opportunities. And this is something that global leaders can look into.
In Europe, students have the opportunity to have mobility during learning. Visa requirements, however, remain a hinder for young people coming certain countries.
Q: How’s the youth using the tools and opportunities of today to educate themselves?
Young people are motivated to learn and be part of networks in order to gain experiences as much as they can. There is a big interest [among the youth] to participate. The youth takes different channels and methods so they can learn beyond the class curriculum and during their free time. People are motivated to be as good as they can be and that takes commitment to learning in order to improve skills and participation.
The interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
