Globalization Opportunities for Young Canadians

1. Parliament Hill Presentation for the Era 21 Networking Breakfast forYoung Canadians – by Kevin Chan June 1, 2006

2. Globalization 101 • Globalization is, at its core, the simple idea that we are all interconnected • Interconnected by communication, by culture, by business, and by politics • Technology (Internet, planes, email, instant messaging) has made this more obvious • Globalization opens a world of opportunity • Meeting different people • Traveling, studying and working in different places • Learning new things • And Young Canadians are poised to benefit the most from this acceleration in globalization

3. Young Canadians in the World • Young Canadians will succeed in the world • You have the benefit of living in a country where different cultures, religions and languages co-exist peacefully (ex. Federalism) • You have grown up in an age of technological revolution that allows single individuals to have a global impact (ex. Blogs)

4. #1: Study Abroad • Many high schools and universities have exchange and study abroad programs • These are wonderful opportunities to learn in a different country, culture and even language • You will also meet young people from different countries, and be able to learn from them • My own experience: • In high school, I spent 2 wks studying in Japan; 5 wks learning French in France • In university, I participated in an academic tour of Mexico and spent a semester studying in Hong Kong • For graduate studies, I spent 2 yrs in the U.S.

5. #2: Travel Widely • Of course, studying abroad is not always possible • And there are some things that you just can’t learn from a textbook in a classroom. You just need to go out there and see the world • I would encourage everyone to spend a summer here and there travelling, preferably not on a tour, so that you can set your own schedule and do things that you really want to do • My own experience: • After my undergraduate program, I spent 2 months backpacking across most of China and saw incredible things, from the rolling mountains in South China, to the northernmost point of China, to the Muslim & Central Asian cultures of the western province of Xinjiang

6. #3: Have an Online Presence • Even without studying abroad or traveling, the Internet allows you to reach out to the world from your home • Again, think about blogs, or postings of home videos on YouTube, or instant messaging with people half-way around the world • With the Internet, it is possible, for the first time in history, for single individuals to make their voice heard across the country, and around the world • So I encourage you to start up a webpage, or join one of those social networking sites like MySpace, and join the global dialogue by expressing and sharing your thoughts and ideas

7. Bouge.ca • I have done just that with a website that I hope you will find time to visit • It is called Bouge, and you can visit it at www.bouge.ca • It is an online mentoring organization where high school students like you can go and look up somebody like me, who has a bit of university or work experience, and post questions to them • Bouge mentors are always available to help answer any questions you might have about university and college life, as well as careers • Again, the site is www.bouge.ca

8. Recap • So let me recap my presentation • First, globalization is bringing people closer together, and young Canadians are ideally poised to benefit from this phenomenon • Second, there are three concrete things that you can all do to prepare yourselves for a globalized world: • Study abroad • Travel extensively • Have an online presence • It’s an exciting time to be a Young Canadian, you should all make the most of it!