Interns with a Mission 2017: Internet and Youth

Dear Interns,
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am pleased to welcome you to today’s event and transmit to you a special greeting from Mr. Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva. The Director-General regrets very much that he cannot be here with us today and asked me to deliver the following message on his behalf and I quote:

“Youths make up nearly half of the world’s population, yet their concerns, ideas and perspectives are rarely heard when crucial decisions are made. The urgent need to bring the voices of tomorrow’s leaders into today’s policy discussions is one of the reasons I am so pleased to welcome all of you to this fourth edition of “Interns with a Mission”. This event has become a tradition here at the Palais des Nations; a testament to the commitment and drive of the interns who make it possible. I would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank the interns from UN Geneva, the International Telecommunications Union and DiploFoundation who organized this event. A product of teamwork across International Geneva, “Interns with a Mission” demonstrates what can be accomplished when we break down barriers and collaborate on a common goal. This event is also an opportunity to recognize the contributions of interns across the United Nations and International Geneva. It is my hope that your time spent with us will help you develop the skills, know-how and contacts you will need in this rapidly changing and uncertain world.

You are entering the labour market at a time of great opportunities and major challenges. Economies at all stages of development are undergoing profound transformations due to demographic trends, the changing nature of work and technological innovation. While some benefit, many are left behind, fuelling resentment and inequality. Over 200 million people were unemployed in 2015, 30 million more than before the financial crisis of 2008. Young people ages 15 to 24 were particularly affected by the crisis, with the global youth unemployment rate at almost 13 percent in 2014. As unemployment increased after 2008, so too did social unrest, which grew by 10 percent in the six years after the crisis.

These past few years have also seen the rise of the so-called “Gig Economy”, with platforms like AirBnB, Etsy and Uber leading to a boom in non-employee freelancers and the advent of the sharing economy. While these platforms offer consumers and workers flexibility and opportunities, they also challenge existing regulatory protections and welfare provisions.

Looking beyond these established realities, however, we see the stirrings of even more radical changes, whose ramifications are still unclear. Developments in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, 3D printing and virtual reality herald what has been called the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”. This era is marked by the advent of machines that can match and even outperform humans in a range of work activities, including complex cognitive tasks. Algorithms have already replaced humans in high-frequency trading and are starting to do so in the diagnosis of cancer, the collection and processing of data and even the writing of basic newspaper columns. According to a 2017 McKinsey Report, up to 45 percent of tasks that people are currently paid to do at work could be automated with existing technologies. Everyone will be affected, from miners and welders to doctors, bankers, lawyers and CEOs. This revolution will require all of us to rethink the way we teach, the way we work, the way we collaborate.

So should we fear the machines? The reality is that change is inevitable. We can no more stop the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, than the Luddites could stop the first. Instead, we need to recognize the possibilities that this revolution offers and work to guide it on the path of fairness, justice and sustainability.

Technology has been reshaping the way we work throughout time and – along the way – has always surprised us by creating new jobs. The First Industrial Revolution demolished guilds and artisanal craftsmanship, only to replace them with assembly lines. The digital disruptions of the early 21st century, for its part, brought us app builders, content creators and web designers. Many of you in this room will build careers through jobs that do not yet exist.

How can you prepare for roles that have yet to be invented? By focusing on areas where humans can augment machines: creativity, emotional intelligence and critical thinking. More important, perhaps, is to nurture resilience: the ability to be flexible, to learn new skills and to adapt to changing circumstances.

Finally, we – all of us – need to recognize that mega trends may write the outline of the future, but the final draft will be the result of our actions. We have it within our means as activists, citizens and consumers to foster the development of business practices, regulations and welfare provisions that protect those left behind, shield hard-won protections for consumers and workers and promote sustainable business practices. Some of this work will be at the international level and International Geneva, with its matchless concentration of expertise and peerless opportunities for collaboration, will play its part.

I am pleased that today’s so timely and relevant discussion will be the subject of this year’s “Interns for a Mission” debate. The interns present in this room are tomorrow’s business leaders, community activists and environmental stewards. We need your input now on these essential matters and I hope you will participate today and every day going forward.”

This is the end of the Director-General’s message.

Thank you.