Telenor Group released the findings of its regional online survey that assessed the attitudes of Asia’s millennials towards technology and social impact, as well as the support they feel necessary to become future leaders committed to peace. Organized to support Telenor Youth Forum 2017 recruitment, the online survey engaged 2,500 respondents aged 15 to 30 years in Asian markets including Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Youths in all the surveyed markets ranked education as the most critical form of support in order to enable them to become tomorrow’s peace leaders. The multi-market online survey found that Pakistan’s millennials are most passionate for providing education opportunities for children (35 percent of survey takers), followed by unemployment among youth (21 percent). Other global issues that Pakistani millennials are driven to resolve include climate change and global warming (20 percent), the stigma surrounding mental health issues (14 percent), and gender inequality (10 percent). Resolving many of the same issues is also a year-long mission of Telenor Youth Forum delegates, whose tech-driven proposals were funded for research and prototyping at a pitching session held in Bangkok last month.
More than half of Pakistan’s millennials (51 percent) polled believe that enabling equal opportunities and access to education will benefit most from technology advancements. Selected by the second most number of respondents was confronting climate change and global warming (23 percent). When asked about the technology that has the largest potential to give rise to peace, 34 percent of Pakistan’s respondents placed their bets on artificial intelligence, followed by the Internet of Things (29 percent), and virtual reality (28 percent). Across all six markets, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and virtual reality rank consistently in the top three – suggesting the vast potential seen in these future technologies by the Internet generation.
“It is reassuring that the millennials are keen to use latest digital technology as a tool for establishing peace and initiating social development in their respective societies. Technology, with its immense potential to provide sustainable solutions to most common but pressing social challenges, can prove to be a true change maker. I am positive that the Telenor Group and the Noble Peace Center’s joint effort to provide a suitable platform to talented millennials from across the world for spurring innovation through technology will bear the right results,” said Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO, Telenor Pakistan.
Designed as a year-long program in partnership with the Nobel Peace Centre, the Telenor Youth Forum challenges its delegates with solving major socioeconomic crises facing youth. Recruitment for the Telenor Youth Forum 2017 is now in progress and youths between 20-28 years are strongly encouraged to apply.
