Читать книгу The Next Generation - Ryan Tony - Страница 7

What are we doing to our young people? This is the best time in human history to be alive, and the future offers such amazing potential. Yet we constantly overwhelm them with how difficult the world up ahead might be.

While the future might be a complex and unpredictable place, that doesn't mean we can't positively influence what will occur. On the contrary, we have more control over that future than we might initially think.

In many ways, we can even create what is up ahead; and we need to help our kids to believe that they can do this too. One recent experience brought home to me the importance of encouraging this hope and creative capacity for the future in our young people.

For the past seven years, I have presented an annual Rotary talk to 100 young leaders from all walks of life. My session is on social contribution and how exciting the world up ahead can be.

At the conclusion of my latest presentation, I was approached by several of the attendees. They said it was heartening to hear such optimistic messages, and that they rarely heard such upbeat views from anyone.

According to them, every single adult in their lives, including their parents and their community leaders, consistently griped about the state of the world and maintained there was little chance of the future being any better. In fact, their elders often insisted it would be much worse.

It's time to turn this around. Let's dump the scare campaigns that leave our Next Generation feeling helpless, and instead show them how their choices today can create an inspiring future.

Rather than asking them, ‘What's the world going to be like up ahead?', ask, ‘What sort of world do you want to create up ahead?' The first question suggests they have no control over it, while the second demonstrates they do.

If you want to help children engage with the second question, this book is for you. It is organised in three sections:

◊ Part I. What's up ahead for our children. These introductory chapters clarify some of the exciting possibilities with our children's future, with a focus on the mind-altering world of technology and the manner in which it will influence work choices.

◊ Part II. Essential capabilities. Facing an uncertain future, today's children will require the critical capabilities outlined in these three chapters – specifically, adaptive agility, empathy and a love of inquiry.

◊ Part III. Actions for creating an extraordinary life. These concluding chapters offer three approaches to putting the knowledge in this book into everyday practice – through enterprise, philanthropy, and action projects.

The best time to plant a tree, according to the Chinese proverb, was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. Let's get started.