2021 International Youth Day
Recent years have seen ample talk surrounding the digital world’s negative impact on emerging generations. However, while this is an important topic that we should continue to discuss, this International Youth Day, I thought I might take a moment to dwell on a positive by-product of this online world: youth activism.
Significant change is often led by the young, but the unprecedented rise in technology witnessed over the past few decades has brought global awareness to the fingertips of many. Social media platforms have removed the newsroom monopoly, and, for better or worse, our young people are receiving their world news from their peers on the ground. Videos of protest and words of power are being shared to millions with the touch of a smartphone, which has made today’s youth very aware of the injustices currently plaguing the world. However, the truly remarkable thing has not been this increased awareness but our youth’s response to it; our kids aren’t just recognizing injustice, they’re taking an active stance against it.
And, why shouldn’t they? The last ten years have demonstrated that they really can make a difference. Climate action. Gun control. Female education. All these ongoing global movements began with a teenager. Malala Yousafzai stood and fought for her education. She risked her life speaking out about every girl’s right to learn, and now her advocacy has grown into an international movement. Greta Thunberg sat alone outside Sweden’s Riksdag every day for three weeks with a sign that read ‘school strike for climate’. Now millions follow her lead.
If there’s something that the global youth have come to understand, maybe even better than the rest of us, it’s how quickly one voice can grow. Their message to the rest of the world, I think, is don’t underestimate the power of the individual, because one can become some, and some can become many.
Consider now the impact of the last year and a half. Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic certainly exacerbated inequality in some areas, it can be viewed as an equalizer in others. Quarantine impacted the globe. Everyone’s movements were restricted, and we all suffered the absence of family members and loved ones. The consequences of these events can be seen in the behavioral shift of much of the adult population. Many are now reassessing their value systems and prioritizing goals and traits that they hadn’t before. We have changed. We value transparency and compassion to a greater degree. We have become more aware and more in tune with the wellbeing of ourselves and others.
This change is undoubtedly also true of our children, and I imagine that the pre-existent tendencies towards empathy and reform that figures like Malala and Greta display have only been heightened by the experience of living through a global pandemic. Therefore, as these young people step up and become our leaders, I hope their strength and compassion will allow them to lead by the heart and push through necessary change.
As this relates to our own goals here at Lean In Energy, I believe that young people continually energize the conversation and instill hope for a safer and more inclusive future. Their advocacy surrounding the issues of gender inequality has produced immense noise in the system and created an environment in which the importance of global equality is not up for debate. For our young people, injustice is not hypothetical; it is an obstacle they mean to overcome. So, they march, they shout, and they dig their heels in. They sit outside the Swedish Riksdag. They stand up to the Taliban. In short, they continually demonstrate what a potent mix of self-belief and collective strength can achieve.
I believe that this power we are witnessing in our children is something that we should be carrying into our fight for gender equality within the energy sector and beyond. I joined Lean In Energy because I felt, and still feel, that meaningful change was needed yesterday. Yet, despite all the work I see my colleagues and peers putting in daily, I worry that this change won’t happen for a generation or two. Sometimes it can feel as though we’re still being told to make our case and prove the truths that we are living. Before we’re allowed to ask a room for help, we must convince it that help is needed. We’re forced to argue time and again that events such as the pandemic and the energy crisis are disproportionately impacting women, wasting energy that could be put towards taking meaningful action.
So, perhaps we can learn something from the conviction of the global youth. While I’m not suggesting that we take to the streets with our handmade signs, I think the unwavering self-belief that our young people routinely display is something we can incorporate into our own obstacles. The youth of today do not pause for questions. They demand the change they want to see and then hold the world to account. Perhaps we should start to do the same.
About the author- Linda Ibrahim
Linda is a Chief Accounting Officer and VP of Tax at Vantage Drilling. She is a Director, Secretary and Vice-President elect at Lean In Energy.
