The Dr Schuster column
It doesn’t always take great things – sometimes it is the small things done in a great way, that end up making the biggest differences…. These were the words of a young man from Malaysia that deeply resonated with me.
I have spent the last few days at the 29th AFS Youth Assembly in New York City. It was my third time attending in my role as a member of the Leadership Council. Despite already witnessing the power of previous events, I was once again blown away by the diversity, maturity and authenticity of the participants.
In the corporate world we often talk about safe spaces and inclusion. At the Convene Center where the event took place, it was a reality.
I was given the honor to introduce the new alumni program for participants of the AFS Youth Assembly. An important next step to keep the message of global citizenships alive and turn this annual summit into a sustainable movement. And maybe, only maybe, this little change of creating a framework and a support structure for the 20.000 plus AFS Youth Assembly alumni will be exactly this small thing, that ultimately will turn out to make a huge difference, a tipping point for something much greater.
My big take away from this conference was that we can trust the next generation of leaders to lead us to a better, more peaceful and inclusive future. Despite the emergence of ever new technologies and ever more sophisticated apps supposedly designed to allow us to connect, this conference was a good proof point for me to reinforce how much more powerful and transformational good-old in-person conversations and open dialogue remain.
One of my personal highlights was the moment when a participant came up the podium and asked me to sign their copy of ‘A Career Carol’. Young people still read books and appreciate books that talk to their issues and emotional state.
It also gave me huge confidence that themes we cover in our Shey Sinope Saga are relevant and address very important issues of our times. Can’t wait now to see the reactions to our next book – A Groundhog Career.
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