What do you want to become when you grow up my child? – an oft asked question we have all encountered at some point in life. For most of us our parents are our window to the world of choices that we make while, in some instances our first circle influence which includes our friends and family matter too. The choice of most people in this aspect is mostly influenced by the trends of job opportunities that is up in the market and what economic comforts will it fetch us?  Consumerism and capitalism which has been the most influential philosophy for the world order has most certainly been responsible for most the decisions.

Did we ever wonder how our forefathers ever made their career decisions and how they chose to go about their life? Noticing all the things that has been happening around me specific to my career choices – I realised I need to free myself from the societal norms of this choice as in most cases I did not seem to agree to them. I broke out of the shell when I witnessed the financial crisis in late 2008.

The youth movement across the world for environment has witnessed inspiring aspirations. A long drawn toil of youth leaders has now transformed to a fruitful outcome -  United Nations now recognises youth as an official constituency – the YOUNGO’s. What does this mean for the youth of my age? This means that we now have a voice in the policy making. This recognition has come in at a crucial time because the outcome of the climate change conference is vital to the young generation more than anyone else. This also shoulders the responsibility of learning the ropes of the complex policy making puzzle.

The COP experience has been to that of learning the ropes on policy and how policy making operates at a global level. Now, what is the connection between career choices and the YOUNGO constituency? I would like to draw a parallel to the fact that much of our generation is very cynical towards politics and the entire community is looked down upon with a shade of corrupt practices. At the same time, we need to commend the importance of knowing the nuances of this profession. At one end we are talking of a depleting interest in- interest towards politics in the current generation while, on the other hand we talk of how influential it can get too.

My personal opinion would be that the youth needs empowerment on this front and more importantly we need to encourage the process education in this aspect at all levels. Only when this materialises should we see an upgrade in the critical thinking of the citizens around the political decisions made by the heads of state.  I am a strong believer of empowerment of the youth of today who need to make more informed career decisions – which would not be based on just economic value but also some meeting emotional needs which includes addressing pressing issues for humanity