Bienvenue Lions!
In June 2022 I had the immense pleasure of flying to Montreal, Canada for the Lions Club International Convention to talk about all things youth and community. Speaking to an audience of 750 Lions District Governors from around the world I shared insights into Generation Z and Generation Alpha and the digital world they are growing up in. From there we explored some of the emerging trends for Gen Z in the workforce, and how young people today are motivated by impact and growth opportunities - a brilliant synergy with Lions. As we drew to the end of my time, I think finished by sharing some case studies of how organisations around the world are creating meaningful opportunities to engage with young people, and how Lions can localise their learnings to their communities around the world.
Some of my top tips from this presentation included:
- Motivated By Impact: Young professionals under the age of 30 are willing to take up to a 30% pay cut to work for a company or a cause they truly believe in.
- Exploring Opportunities: Young people today are expected to change careers every seven years.
- Co-Design With Young People: Design engagement opportunities for young people, with young people. Form a youth advisory board or council and empower them to create the engagements they want.
With the keynote speech translated live into 16 different languages, I had such a pleasure of sharing my insights with community leaders from around the world as Lions look at how they can best inspire and engage young people in their local communities.
After my keynote I then continued conversations with members of the audience as we discussed the best ways to build meaningful partnerships with education and industry, and how we can reimagine community leadership opportunities with concepts such as youth advisory boards and social enterprises.
I can't wait to see some very exciting youth engagement initiatives led by Lions Clubs around the world in the years to come!