Product: 'You';
Building a Career in a Globalized world
Remarks by the
Hon. David Kilgour
Secretary of
State (Asia-Pacific) and Member of Parliament (Edmonton Southeast)
At the
International Convention of Youth and Democracy
organized by the
Alberta Society of Youth for Democratic Values
Edmonton,
Alberta
August 22, 2003
It's
an honour to be with you today. Congratulations
to the Alberta Society of Youth for Democratic Values (SYDV) for all of the work
you've put into what is obviously a successful event.
While it's never surprising to see the caliber of leadership and social
consciousness of Alberta's youth, it's always a pleasure to be involved in it.
First,
bienvenue, witajcie (Polish), and welcome to those who have travelled
from various parts of Canada and other countries to be here.
(Survey of where everyone is from...)
Our Mayor, Bill Smith, calls Edmonton, "The best city, in the best
province, in the best country". That's
a pretty contentious statement to make off the start, but nonetheless, I hope
you've enjoyed your time here so far and am certain that Edmonton won't
disappoint.
At
most international conferences, the morning speaking spot is the most coveted -
it's when, having just come off a good night's sleep and not yet burdened by
messages from the office, most everyone is at their freshest.
However at conferences involving large numbers of young people and a
significant 'social' element to the program, such is not always the case.
I've been warned you may be a little sluggish off the start, and will
keep my remarks brief because as a politician, the worst thing I could to would
be to stand up here and talk at you for an hour.
I hope we can have a genuine, open discussion this morning.
The SYDV touts itself as being about "transforming debate into
action" - so let's focus on doing just that.
Please don't hold back any comments, questions or most importantly
suggestions for action that you might have.
I
was asked to talk with you today about "Consequences of Globalization for
Youth Life Careers". Essentially:
"what are you going to do with your lives?"! You're the ones who are
better positioned to tell me what globalization means for your job searches and
life planning - and I hope you will soon. First,
however, allow me to discuss the impacts that I see globalization having on your
future as professionals, as well as elaborate on an area in which we can all be
useful instigators of genuine change.
Moving
targets: skills in a globalizing world
'Career'
is a word that your generation is bringing perilously close to extinction.
The notion that any one of you in this room will work with only one or
two businesses or in just one industry for the rest of your lives is almost
outlandish. No doubt many of you
already have a variety of accomplishments that could put many my age to shame.
As such, as I use the term 'careers' in the rest of this talk, consider
it a reference to the compilation of opportunities you create for yourselves -
both within organizations and possibly as your own bosses.
The
workforce you're entering is indeed far different from the one I stepped into as
a younger man. Globalization has changed the world you work in.
I
think it's safe to extrapolate that globalization will mean for your 'careers'
what it has meant for business:
Competition,
competition, competition!
Not
only is the world an expanding marketplace for a businesses' products and
services, it's become a marketplace
for its recruiters. Individuals
have a greater awareness of global issues, they're more mobile when they need
to be, and can work from home when they don't.
In Bangladesh last year, I visited the offices of a software company
run mostly by women who, surrounded by the poverty and commotion of Dhaka,
were running essential financial programs for the IMF and World Bank!
These women are competing for the same contracts as firms based in high
tech centres and universities throughout the world.
Constant
innovation
In
business, those who rest on their laurels are left floating in the wake of
those who are constantly searching for new ways of facing old problems. The
more new ideas you have, the better the ways you actually turn them into
action, the less you act as 'caretakers of the status quo' and more as
mythbusters and agents of change the more attractive you will be to
organizations who need to stand out.
Adaptability
and diversity
The
pace of change will only continue to explode.
It will be those who aren't afraid of it who will set themselves apart:
those who anticipate it and get ahead of it, and adapt as needed.
International experiences living, studying, working, and attending
conferences abroad is an enormous asset.
The benefit of mastering languages, as well as local knowledge of
market sectors businesses are focusing on cannot be understated.
Just as products and services are increasingly being designed to be
substitutable across borders, so too must skills and knowledge.
The
shrinking of the global community and massive reach brought about by
technology not only represents new challenges for adapting to change - it
means new opportunities to change the world: to impact the course of our
communities.
Managed
Globalization
Many
people around the world, including not a few in Canada, fear globalization.
They say it brings the decay of social values, culture and the
environment. Too often the term is thought of as synonymous with unbridled
capitalism, where any entrepreneur can raise money anywhere in the world, make
anything and sell it anywhere else.
Our
objective today is not to debate the merits of globalization.
You have each, no doubt, given great thought to the subject and hold your
own opinions. I have spoken and
written a great deal on the subject and invite all of you who are interested to
visit my website (www.david-kilgour.com).
In
my mind, that the real challenge is not to decide whether globalization is good
or bad, but rather to ensure that dismantling walls provides more fulfilled
lives in all parts of the world. "Managed globalization" must become
the term of use. As economist Fred
Bergsten suggests, the sooner we acknowledge that there are costs and losers
with globalization and work together to create better safety nets and
education/training programs in countries dislocated by globalzation or related
factors, the better is our global community.
Redefining
civic engagement
We're
brought together today by our shared belief in the power of democracy as the key
to a world of freedom, dignity, and opportunity for every individual.
As such, let me focus on an integral element of "managing
globalization" - one that is of great importance to those living in every
country, which has the potential to alter the course of our planet, and which
for some of you, will be a source of livelihood.
I'm referring to the opportunity for young people everywhere to redefine
civic engagement.
Recently,
the Globe and Mail, one of Canada's leading newspapers, featured a
12-part series entitled 'The New Canada' in which emerging trends of young
Canadians were exposed. The study
focused entirely on Canadians, but I'm curious to hear whether you feel the
results reflect each of your realities as well.
They
described Canadians in their 20s as "a generation of myth-busters ...
fashioned by the now-grown children of immigrants from 210 countries, who are
blending their roots of their past with the nation of their future...the most
fiercely educated generation ever produced by this country...full of young women
who are outpacing their men in education, ambition and social values, and
couples who take love where it finds them, blind to the stale divides of race,
religion, and gender." The Globe
reports a deeply tolerant generation driven not but corporate success or
material gain, so much as the goal of a balanced life.
And not surprisingly, one with "values of responsible global
citizenship - whether it concerns the environment, foreign aid, peacekeeping or
combatting AIDS".
Not
rocking the vote
Yet,
a disturbing trend is emerging: they are simply not voting.
In the Federal election of 2000, voter turnout among potential first time
voters was about 21 per cent. That
means about one in five young people cast a ballot - a harbinger, many warn,
about future behaviour. The Globe
writes:
This
is the result not of apathy, experts suggest, but ignorance and alienation:
There are those who don't know and don't care how the system works, and those
who do know and think it works very badly.
What
is clear is that Canadians in their 20s do not view traditional political
institutions as the route to change or progress. Raised in the years since the
Charter, they have a higher trust for the courts than for the federal
government. They put their faith in what they see working: While politicians
have stalled on issues that young people support -- from gay rights to the
decriminalization of marijuana -- the courts have stepped in and made rulings.
They
are the most likely to believe that the route to change lies with advocacy
groups, not political parties. They are global in outlook, with the Internet
as their public square.
As
a politician, this extreme voter apathy saddens and concerns me.
I believe it is a trend worth reversing; political systems, even our many
badly in need of reform, are essential to functioning democracies.
The fact remains that many decisions about issues we care deeply about -
education, health, social programs, equitable trade practices, and the many
elements associated with 'managing globalization' - are made by elected
representatives within political systems. While
the specifics of what can be done to genuinely engage young people in political
processes will hopefully be a focus of our discussion, there is no doubt in my
mind, that the answers cannot be found without your input.
The challenge is entrenching the concept of a true democracy in the minds
and hearts not only of parliamentarians but also in those they seek to
represent.
The
burden, of course, must not rest entirely with young people.
We contributed to this problem and have a responsibility to address it.
If youth will not come to the policy-makers, then the opposite must
occur. Since many of you have
chosen to leave a mark through non-traditional channels, the private and public
sectors must learn to work within them.
Too
often in Canada and elsewhere there has been a tendency to equate democracy with
the holding of elections, forgetting that democracy must be continuously
nurtured - not just once every four or five years. And like any other institution, democracy also evolves with
time. It is our ability to adapt
these changes that test the true strength of our democracy.
Democracy
demands vigilance, and a willingness to pose difficult questions and to take
risks. I do not mean by that only
taking the streets to complain about what is wrong, but also advocating
constructive alternatives.
Creating
the society we want
Ultimately,
democracy can only be as good as people choose to make it.
Referring to the need for public responsibility, President Vāclav Havel
of the Czech Republic wrote:
"A
genuinely fundamental and hopeful improvement in political and economic systems
cannot happen without a significant shift in human councsciousness, and that it
cannot be accomplished through a simple organizational trick? Man must extricate
himself from this terrible involvement in both the obvious and the hidden
mechanisms of totality, from consumption to repression, from advertising to
manipulation through television. He
must discover again, within himself, a deeper sense of responsibility toward the
world, which means responsibility toward something higher than himself."
Throughout
this convention you have demonstrated this responsibility toward your country
and the world and I congratulate and thank you for it.
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