Tomorrow’s Voices: the powerful voice of young people
More than 50 young people made their voices heard during Tomorrow's Voices. They discussed the environment, education, gender equality, and especially the future.
Cross-border exchange
For the third year in a row, young people from various training projects supported by Collibri Foundation came together at Tomorrow's Voices. Projects such as Boost, Mentor Escale, Trias, YOUCA and EduExposure. More than 50 young citizens of the world from Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador, Guinea, Indonesia and other countries teamed up during this event to exchange ideas and cultural traditions, as well as to learn from each other and take action.
Topical themes
The entire day, the participants discussed the topics high on their agenda. The topics ranged from gender equality, social inequality between rich and poor, getting young voices heard, the climate, the power of diversity, education and employment opportunities.
Dreaming and... making it happen!
Kobe (Belgium) is studying geography so he can work as a researcher to tackle the climate crisis, while Yassin (Belgium) wants to make a difference in developing countries after graduating as an architect. “I dream of setting up a training centre for young people who don’t have access to education or the Internet,” says Aminata from Guinea. “That’s why I’ll try partner up with universities, organisations and the government.” Luis (Brazil) shares his personal dream: “I moved to the city on my own to study agriculture. I want to share this knowledge with my parents, who have cattle and tilapia fish on their farm. Later on, I hope to take over our family business.” Vanessa (Brazil) also wants to help family-owned farms in her community by helping them to start growing a new type of fruit: passion fruit.
During Tomorrow’s Voices, young people openly shared their personal experiences, found similarities between their individual aspirations and together started looking for specific actions to do their bit. They will use social media to keep each other informed about how they put these actions into practice, each in their own context.
Small initiatives, big impact
Conclusion of the day: the powerful voice of one young person can make a massive difference. Small contributions can lead to big achievements. Arni (Indonesia) explains: “I’m going to pass on what I have learned today to my family, my school, other schools and my community. That way, more people will become aware of the fact that men and women can contribute equally to the household, for example, or can do the same jobs.” Breaking through the conventional patterns of thinking, first and foremost requires courage, confirms Imane (Belgium). “Today, I’ve heard girls say that they want to break the taboo on female genital mutilation or mixed marriages. By making our voice heard and breaking the silence, we can fight inequality and discrimination.”
"We are all the same, regardless of skin colour, religion, gender or age. And Tomorrow's Voices gave us the opportunity to share the same platform."
During this third Tomorrow’s Voices event, several ideas were raised. For example, the collaboration between farmers and large companies, the introduction of an eco-score on packaging indicating the ecological footprint of a product, and free education for everyone. The young people also pointed out the role that governments and wealthy organisations have to play in this. Fresh ideas that are sure to inspire Colruyt Group employees.
