News and Updates

What happens when you ask a room of exceptional change-makers from business, science, government and the non-profit sphere to model their view of how change happens? Each one has created a shift in some way, pushed their area of endeavor to impressive heights – but how?

When we say change, do you think of it the way that I do? What does change mean, and how does it happen?

In May 2010, over 300 Young Global Leaders assembled in Tanzania to share ideas, insights, and to experience first hand how local people and organizations were making an impact and creating change. As a part of this exercise, participants in this journey were asked to take a moment to capture change – from their point of view – in the form of a model, mixing images and words to explain their point of leverage for turning what is into what they believe could be.

Both in words and in pictures, what follows are a series of triggers, snapshots of how change happens. Their purpose is to convey ideas.

The book may be downloaded at the following link http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2542941

Section written by Adrian David Cheok entitled “Laughter says the child”

We are entering a completely new form of society due to the complete and pervasive connectivity of humans around the globe. This is not just a simple extension of the industrial age. In some respects, our society is starting to resemble more traditional group oriented cultures, such as the huntergatherer societies, or Ancient Athenenians, where everybody would know everything about each other constantly. Yet, one revolutionary aspect of this development is that there is some research showing that a new type of human is appearing. These new humans are the children of the Internet age, who have grown up with constant networked communication and almost limitless real time visual media. Researchers have shown that unlike most adults, these net generation humans can genuinely multi-task and learn in a non-linear and visual manner. It is suggested that their brain structure itself is different from all previous humans due to their immersion from birth in connected multiple channel media. In the future what this means is that we may lose some aspects of human intelligence which requires deep solitary concentration (solitary genius), but perhaps we may gain even higher achievements through group intelligence, similarly to a bee hive being more intelligent than the individual bee. We are seeing the end of solitude in society, and new models of the human brain that are based on the network mind. To fully develop the children of the Internet age, we should create technologies that allow us to facilitate new communication and learning, and to create natural and humanistic ways of interfacing with machines, as well as other people remotely over large distances using the full range of human gestures such as touch, sight, sound, and even smell. This new media includes new ways of communication between people and between cultures and races. Children need to be given opportunities to learn with the new media they feel natural with and to develop their creative potential, rather than rote learning of facts. Children, immersed in new media can have great imaginative envisioning, futurecasting and creative engineering potential. We can develop new forms of learning using design thinking and open-minded creative experimentations. Finally, another positive use of interactive media for the young is to promote deep culture by creating new forms of media that combine traditional culture with modern media. Young people often prefer new entertainment and social media, and this we can allow them to explore culture through a novel merging of traditional cultures and literature with recent media literacy. New forms of cultural computing systems are thus an important for children.

An excellent book about engaging youth and ensuring that children and youth play an integral role in making decisions that will impact their future, was written by Jennifer Corriero.

I wrote a chapter in the book as follows:

Embracing the Imagination: Adrian Cheok Focuses on understanding today’s children who are born in a world of unlimited communication due to the proliferation of new media and digital technologies. These tools provide children with new opportunities to be creative, connect with an audience and have outlets for their expressions. The Internet has provided children with spaces for creative innovation and group interactions that can be further enhanced through specific initiatives that Cheok discusses.

Jennifer Corriero’s foreward to the book is as follows:

In response to the recent global financial crisis, in 2009 the World Economic Forum convened leaders across industry, government, academia, media and civil society as part of the Global Redesign Initiative. The Young Global Leaders (YGL’s), a unique, multistakeholder community of exceptional young leaders who share a commitment to shaping the global future, were also called upon to submit ideas, proposals and recommendations for action to contribute to solutions with a longer-term future outlook. As a response to the invitation for involvement, a group of 30 YGL’s decided that a broader and more diverse network of youth from around the world needed to be included in the discussions. A series of online consultations and Town Hall meetings were facilitated with over 3,000 youth in over 30 countries and at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, a report was presented highlighting the ideas and contributions of youth under the age of 25 that garnered an acknowledgement and response from over 14 Global Agenda Councils. To view the report and response, go to: http://projects.tigweb.org/ygl_youth

The Youth Effect was created to inspire leaders of organizations across sectors to believe in the capability of youth and to develop the skills of established leaders in being able to engage and collaborate more effectively with youth. It is part of an effort to ensure that children and youth are an integral part of designing, shaping and creating a more sustainable future. We live in a world with increasing threats and risks such as rising rates in unemployment, crime, terrorism, and spread of diseases including HIV/ AIDS. It is important that youth do not see themselves as victims but as active agents of change. It is essential for established leaders to view youth not as part of the problem, but as part of the solution. Offering young people meaningful platforms to express their concerns while also articulating their hopes for the future is an essential part of cultivating the next generation of leadership. It is also essential to addressing disillusionment and apathy of a generation who has a strong need for social ties and a desire to have an impact. We hope to create positive ripple effects by engaging with all generations to solve problems together. Each chapter of this book offers practical insights and suggestions on working with youth.

The book can be viewed and downloaded at this link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/44198893/The-Youth-Effect