Tali Ramsey, ideaXme guest interviewer and society, culture and youth commentator interviews Efe Ezekiel, BEM, Youth Mentor, Inspirational Speaker and Founder of Youth Mentoring Company, Ushine Ishine.
Crises Are Times for Transformation
We’ve reached a global tipping point. “Unless we take the action necessary and we build in a greener and more sustainable and more inclusive way, we will end up having more and more pandemics and more and more disasters,” urges Prince Charles while discussing The Great Reset.
In the last 6 months, the Covid-19 pandemic has irrevocably changed the way we live. Across the world, it has resulted in millions of deaths, mass unemployment and job uncertainty. The air we breathe has cleared. Blue skies watch above as millions abandon their cars to stay home and protect themselves and others.
Cycle lanes have opened up to transform city life. We’ve connected with many more people over the internet, conversely living physically more apart. Pressured humans are forced to think more creatively; to survive, invent and change. It is the rocky road of the new normal.
The New Normal
There’s no doubt that we are being compelled to think better, learn more about the rapidly changing world around us. This time has made us question the truth, question ourselves. We evaluate our politicians with new clarity. Moreover, realise the importance of our scientists as lifesavers.
It is a watershed moment, a reminder of the critical importance of lifelong learning, the impact our choices make, the brands we buy, the experience we have, the politicians we select.
The Great Reset to Address World Challenges
Historic flaws in our society are also being revisited with greater intensity. Change in our circumstances is pressuring society. We are seeing our old flaws and indolence with renewed clarity. Racism is no longer acceptable. And people are on the march. Black Lives Matter protestors across the world are demanding change!
Climate Change and The Great Reset
All of this and of course there remains the need to act on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, climate change being the most pressing. The climate catastrophe is reaching its climax, with experts predicting that we only have six months to save the planet. Widespread civil disobedience is proving that people are no longer willing to tolerate an imbalance in society.
The Great Reset, initiated by The World Economic Forum in partnership with Prince Charles is calling for a reset of capitalism to create a greener, smarter and fairer world, led by The West that focuses on the ‘interdependence of all living things.’
This will be spearheaded by stakeholder capitalism, centred on serving the interests of a business’s stakeholders such as the customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders and local communities. In short, the Reset works towards world governments creating a ‘stakeholder economy,’ as well as implementing reforms that promote more equal outcomes as well as utilising the Fourth Industrial Revolution and tech innovation for public good, such as addressing health and social issues.
Published at the start of June, the World Economic Forum’s objective is to create a global system that ensures health, education and care services will not be underfunded again. The Great Reset will be discussed at the World Economic Forum summit in January 2021.
Efe Ezekiel Is an Award-Winning Youth Mentor
The Great Reset means that we have a lot of work to do. We need to help prepare the youth for what is coming next. So, I spoke with a leading youth mentor to hear how that can be done.
Efe Ezekiel created her youth mentoring company, Ushine Ishine in 2009 aiming to assist and awaken aspirations in young people of all ages. Efe’s mission to empower the youth has led her to work with schools, colleges, universities, corporations and charities as well as delivering workshops that endeavour to positively transform the mindset of young people.
In 2018, Efe received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for her service to young people. She has been featured in The Financial Times for her work with working-class boys and assisting them in acquiring various life skills. Efe believes that the younger generation has a completely new perspective to offer society and there has never been a time that young people haven’t been told to be quiet.
A Call for Institutional Change
A key point of The Great Reset is addressing the ever-growing gap between the rich and the poor. US senators have been accused of coronavirus insider trading in America and the super-rich have seen their wealth rise by billions during the pandemic. This only highlights how this crisis has actually strengthened this gap. As much as we are seeing unfair racial disparities, there are obvious disparities with class.
The Black Lives Matters protests, in particular, have signalled need for institutional change. In Minneapolis, nine members of the city council have vowed to dismantle the city’s police department and replace it with a new community-based system of public safety. A big part of the ‘defund the police’ campaign is about allocating those funds to education.
What Does Youth Activism Look Like?
Millennials have lived through two recessions at two pivotal points in their lives and Gen Z are graduating during this crisis, facing much smaller employment opportunities than the previous generations. Trust in governments and media is eroding as people question where the oligarchs in charge have steered society thus far.
This deterioration of trust has caused a wave of youth activism fuelled by the internet. From calling out and destroying unethical companies on social media to spreading news of protests online. The youth aren’t waiting to inherit a world given to them and instead are taking the future into their own hands.
On this show Efe Ezekiel will talk about:
How the lockdown has exacerbated mental health and wellbeing issues for some young people and the importance of getting children back into school and routine. She will discuss how all young people can benefit from mentorship, the value of economic education, putting Black history on the curriculum and why she should be at the next World Economic Forum summit in 2021.
This interview is in British English
Credit: Tali Ramsey
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