Isik Oguzertem

Being born in Istanbul, and moving to the States when I was still an infant, I was fortunate enough to be raised in international communities and a bilingual home throughout my life. I learnt first-hand that two different ideas offer a better solution than one, that different cultures have different ways of doing things (that can both work), and that coming to a consensus contributes to stability. Looking back, I think it was the combination of a multicultural upbringing and the urgency of our time that compelled me to pursue a career in international development.

And it’s a great time to pursue it! Who would’ve thought that one day ideas would travel faster than people, that two clicks would turn total strangers into friends, and everywhere you look there would be new efforts to bring about change for the global good? Compared to a century ago, we’ve come a long way in the recent decades. While it can still be daunting to see how far we have yet to go, I honestly believe the answer lies in young people.

Young people are the frontrunners of change; perhaps it is our sincerity, our energy, or just our desire to leave the world a better place than the way we received it. I think Youthink! provides young people a much-needed platform to connect, exchange ideas, and share stories that help start off the kind of collaboration we need. Here we can reach out to youth from all around the world and better understand the challenges we all face.

In the run-up to this year’s annual World Bank conference in Istanbul, I’ll be blogging from the city’s streets and the conference venue. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the challenges we as a generation face, and how we can contribute to the solutions.