The future is bright if young entrepreneurs achieve their vision
Progress Makers’ manifesto includes more imaginative ways to tackle our quality of life and social justice
Ever get the feeling that the world is getting more unpredictable than ever, and the pace of change seems to be accelerating? If so, don’t worry — you’re not the only one.
According to the brilliant new book, Thank You for Being Late, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas L Friedman, we’re living in a time of extreme turbulence caused by the simultaneous impact of globalisation, climate change and new technologies.
Friedman calls this moment the “Age of Accelerations” because these shifts are not only happening right now, they’re actually getting faster with every passing day. No wonder so many people feel uncertain about the future.
That said, there is another — more optimistic — way to look at things. As the American inventor Buckminster Fuller once said: “The best way to predict the future is to design it.”
In other words, we don’t have to be passive in the face of profound change — we can lean in and try to shape the world around us for the better.
“We don’t have to be passive in the face of profound change — we can lean in and try to shape the world around us for the better.”
That’s exactly what hundreds of young Londoners were doing on Wednesday 26th January 2017 at the Evening Standard’s Young Progress Makers event at the Roundhouse. The day was a chance for our youth to respond to the biggest challenges the city faces and come up with big, bold ideas for the future. I was lucky enough to be there, and I was blown away by the energy, entrepreneurialism and empathy on show.
Muhammad Yunus, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting poverty in developing countries, observed that “all humans were born entrepreneurs”. Watching young Londoners on stage, calmly pitching their start-ups to business leaders such as Lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman, I couldn’t help but agree.
And hearing the moving story of Karl Lokko, a former gang leader working tirelessly to tackle social problems, I was struck by the immense kindness of young people growing up in our city. What’s really impressive is the way that Karl and others are using the latest social-media techniques to bring about change — including a successful Instagram campaign to raise awareness of knife crime.
Over the course of the day, three clear themes emerged, which add up to a distinctively youthful agenda for our city. So let’s imagine we were writing a Young Progress Makers’ manifesto for London, capturing the idealism of the next generation. What would be included?
The first big theme would undoubtedly be openness. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair argues that the real divide in politics these days isn’t between Left and Right but between those who think society should become either more closed or more open.
There’s no doubt which side London’s under-25s are on. This is a peer group that wants to make things more open and interconnected — building bridges rather than putting up walls.
But many of the innovators raised concerns that the Government is planning to make it harder for creative and talented people to come to London.
So a Young Progress Makers’ manifesto would get rid of the bureaucratic barriers preventing foreign students from coming here. And London work visas would enable the brightest and best to create jobs and wealth here.
The second issue that a Young Progress Makers’ manifesto would cover is quality of life. Take clean air, for example. The young people wanted urgent action to deal with the capital’s shocking pollution levels. That shouldn’t be a surprise — after all, they’re the ones who’ll be living with the problem longer than anyone else.
Or look at the arts, where young Londoners aren’t waiting around for someone to give them an opportunity to shine — they’re doing it for themselves. When YouTube star Humza Arshad took to the stage, he told the audience that, as a young Asian actor, he “didn’t want to be at the back of a scene pushing a shopping trolley”. So he set up his own video channel, which has now racked up more than 77 million views.
Shortly afterwards, Secret Cinema’s Fabien Riggall made a passionate call for derelict buildings to be opened up for artists to use. That’s a great idea, and definitely one for our manifesto.
The third theme of yesterday’s event was social justice. A great example was 25-year-old technology entrepreneur Alex Klein. His London-based company Kano may have received millions from Silicon Valley investors but his mission remains admirably compassionate: to bring computers to people in the poorest countries.
Reflecting this kind-hearted agenda, our manifesto would contain bold commitments to look after the less well-off, from refugees to rough sleepers.
But it would also include radical action to end the biggest social challenge facing young people today. As Kitty Wordsworth, co-founder of the female theatre company Damsel Productions, succinctly put it: “We’ve got to make housing more affordable.” With rents across the capital having risen by 10 per cent last year — far more than salaries — it’s the next generation who are hit hardest by our city’s housing crisis.
The problem is obvious: London needs 60,000 new homes every year, but we’re only building 20,000. That means demand is outstripping supply, and rents are skyrocketing. So for young Londoners, building more housing here isn’t an abstract goal, it’s essential.
Openness. Quality of life. Social justice. These are the values embodied by London’s irrepressible youth, which will define our city for decades to come. If we can harness this dynamism — for example by putting more young people on the boards of charities and businesses — it could be a big win for everyone.
“Openness. Quality of life. Social justice. These are the values embodied by London’s irrepressible youth, which will define our city for decades to come. If we can harness this dynamism — for example by putting more young people on the boards of charities and businesses — it could be a big win for everyone.”
The last time The Evening Standard organised a gathering of young people, one of the proposals they came up with was the Night Tube, which TfL later adopted. So don’t bet against any of the ideas in this Young Progress Makers’ manifesto becoming a reality.
Perhaps the biggest cheer of yesterday’s event came when Sadiq Khan took to the stage. Amid thunderous applause, our Mayor decreed: “History tells us that young Londoners with big ideas can achieve extraordinary things.” I couldn’t agree more, and something tells me this new generation will be no exception.
by Rohan Silva
Originally published at www.standard.co.uk on January 26, 2017.
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