THE FORUM POST Message from the editor Thank you for reading the second edition of the Forum Post. Every year the Economic Forum of Young Leaders expands. And this year is no exception. At this years forum there are more participants than ever before. In a year when the battle of economic and political ideas continue to rage on. The proponents of flexible labour markets and competitiveness will argue one set of policy prescriptions, and those concerned with the social costs of precarious work and falling living standards will offer another. In short, priorities inevitably matter, and the forum hosts leaders with very different experiences and theoretical persuasions throughout Europe and beyond. One issue is clear.
Europe needs fewer charlatans and cowards and more heroes and markswomen targeting what really needs to be done. This is a worthy endeavor in order to save the greatest Mathew Davies peace project the world has ever known – the EU. The forum will host fresh faces with fresh ideas. Young people who are not afraid to observe the political and economic landscape, and speak out with warm hearts and cool heads. That is precisely what happened in previous years and indeed this year, when young leaders travelled to Southern Poland on September 3rd 2012. n
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Forum 2012 in brief
42 countries
893 facebook fans
350 young leaders
1744 online viewers
20864 people reached on fb
65080 pageviews
Is there a future for the young generation today in Europe? Lech Wałesa said that "the world belongs to you" but there are bad programmes and bad structures in place. He asserted that we need to take part in building a better structure, and for people to stand for elections. This is because he believes there is no other way. President Wałesa pointed out that young people need to organise more meetings like the one he was attending, and listen carefully to what the others have to say and to extrapolate, and use the best ideas to make a good programmes. When pressed on the idea that young people were lost, or thrown on the scrapheap he responded with a frank and down to earth reply which was truly characteristic. Walesa stipulated that he doesn’t believe that we ought to presume that others have to do something for us.
“You ought to realise that you have to do it for yourselves I underline, you have to do it for yourselves and for others’’. Lech Walęesa The lecture and question and answer section was enjoyed by everyone, and is available on the forums official website. Two days later, at the Economic Forum in Krynica, the Davos of the East, young leaders held a platform to discuss this topic. The panel was made up of Dr Francisco Martínez Rivas, Catholic Uni-
versity of San Antonio, Spain. Dariusz Suszynski, Rural Youth Association, Poland. Monika Zaharie, and University of Babes- Bolyai University, Romania, and Mat Davies, Programme Council of the Economic Forum of Young Leaders. And finally, Dominika Kita, Chairman of the Students Parliament in Poland. The Interview with Lech Walesa, guest speaker at the Forum. 4.09.2012 presentations delivered Photograph by Aleksander Wolak an insight into the gengrowth capacity from e-commerce and eral educational system across Europe e-procurement among other sectors. and the mis-match between academia This is believed to be a short term policy and the job market. This was highlight- necessity. However, he called for green ed by Monika Zaharie who delivered investment for the world our grandchila startling presentation which engaged dren will live in and progressive taxathe audience immediately. Dr Francisci tion in order to win back the trust of the Rivas later explained the complexities public once again. within his country in Spain. The spectre of youth unemployment Mat Davies, argued that the success haunts Europe. This year young leaders or failure of this generation depended had the chance to debate with the curon the reform of one sector, and offered rent leaders on matters which matter to three policy prescriptions. Firstly, he us all. With unemployment continuing said that the days of derivatives culmi- unabated, the economic forum will connating in 400 – 600 trillion compared tinue to function as a platform for disto 50 trillion in global economic output cussing this issue among any others. n are over – because people have woken up to the embedded unfairness of privatising the risks and socialising the losses of speculative markets. Within Europe his speech argued that we ought to follow the Monti Report, by complet- Main Partner of the EF of Young Leaders ing the single market and therefore the
THE FORUM POST
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The Forum is about networking and debate Interview with Michał Wójcik
THE SEVENTH FORUM involved a record for the number of participants. This is mainly because the Forum has become a recognizable name and the most important event of this type for young people from Europe. When we first started in February 2006 we had to distribute the relevant information across to many institutions and explain what the Forum was all about. Today there are many other people who enquire about us. There are no longer problems with recruiting and signing up participants with more than 1000 various institutions from Europe. Interestingly, institutions not only from Europe are interested in, and come over to us. Moreover, we have moved towards partnership cooperation with new entities from Poland for almost 3 years now. This makes us stronger and offers good opportunities and perspectives for the future. What is the purpose of this meeting? We said almost seven years ago that we wanted to make a young people’s Davos. Therefore we would like Nowy Sacz to become a meeting place for leaders who have something interesting to share with others, and at the same time, are open to meeting other people and share their experience, which may lead to the creation of new contacts for their social and business projects. Networking and high quality debates are the two phrases that could describe our Forum in the best possible way. The Forum is a kind of meeting place of more than 350 leaders from 42 countries. Since the beginning we assumed that leaders from the Eastern and Western Europe would meet there. Moreover, we tend to discuss important subjects and this discussion is carried out with leaders of our contemporary times. What subjects are covered during this year’s Forum? The main subject of the Forum relates to the outlook for our generation. And here the major question arises, are we really a lost generation or are we rather a generation of great opportunities? On the one hand the whole of Europe is open for us. Of course, we are now talking about the EU members which are still an accessible place for many people. We, thus, have an opportunity to study, live
What I like most is that we are now using all the potential of the Foundation (European Meeting Centre - Nowy Staw Foundation) to organise the Forum, which, in fact, is huge. We have a lot of experience of organizing such events. Let’s take, for example, media arrangement. Every year, we are trying to make it be the best. We have engaged a now work with a company closely cooperating with us. That is Transmisje.org, which has immense experience in this field and is providing the majority of media services to us. This is a good job for a just cause. The Economic Forum of Young Leaders has A handy become a recognizable name and the most group of important event of this type for young peo- v o l u n t e e r s , cooperating ple from Europe parties and Michałłl Wojcik, people who Programme Director of the Economic Forum put a lot of time of Young Leaders their and effort whilst enjoycial stability. ing themselves at the same time, are inBut returning back to this studying. volved in the work for the Forum. They, Does it matter that we can choose any quite correctly, think of the Forum as university in any other EU member their event. We really do have a great country if only British ones come up to team of people and we are open to new the rank of the first thirty best universi- ones joining in. For many years, we have ties worldwide? These are tough ques- been enjoying hospitality of the city of tions we need to tackle. Nowy Sacz and, generally speaking, the So is this that bad or is this only Małopolska region, which makes the a kind of fake pessimism? atmosphere inviting and makes people It seems to me that many issues which feel at home. are simple have not been solved yet, and What are you plans for the future? that courageous ideas have been missWe have already started a scholarship ing for years now. These ideas would be program. We are addressing our offer to a breakthrough in addressing this apa- companies which would like to found thy. Someone wrote that it has been five a membership scholarship in the next years since the crisis began. Isn’t it too year’s edition of the Forum for one perlong? Aren’t we able, having such tools son, a young leader from any country. as no one had before, to get through this Such a person would have an opportuand cope with it much quicker? Maybe nity to participate in our event. Moreowe do not have politicians who are good ver, he/she would be able to do their enough? Again, these are important internship in the company that funded questions we must ask. this scholarship. We are thinking parBut don’t you just talk? ticularly about leaders of NGOs from No, we meet with the best of the best. Eastern European countries, which, People who have experience, leadership naturally, have fewer chances to parcapabilities and the charisma to deliver ticipate in such events as the Forum. and incite development with young Similar to the eighties, thousands of people in Nowy Sacz. Once, Jose Maria Poles used to go for foreign scholarship Aznar told us that that if he had another funded by companies, private sponsors, chance of becoming the Prime Minister and right now, today, it is worth adof Spain, he would do exactly the same dressing a similar offer to our Eastern as he did when was in the government. neighbours. We have been working and It was such an instructive statement. focusing on this and, I guess, next year, What is this that you liked during this we will be able to invite more people to year’s Forum? attend our Forum. n and work in a different country. Indeed, we have practically, unlimited access to educational programs. Furthermore, due to new technologies we have totally new communication mechanisms and work tools provided for improving formal and informal networks. On the other hand, however, there are so many unsolved issues. Almost half of the Spaniards at the age of 30 are unemployed. There is no stable employment. Many people work on the so called junk contracts which do not provide finan-