Telenor Group today 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 where Telenor is present. They include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Thailand.
Pakistan’s youth say they’re most passionate for education for all
The multi-market online survey found that Pakistan’s millennials are most passionate for providing opportunities for children to get an education (35 percent of survey takers), followed by unemployment among youth (21 percent). Other global issues that Pakistani millennials are driven to make change 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.
Asia’s millennials feel strongly about the role of technology and its impact when relating to the pursuit of their social causes. 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).
Artificial intelligence for world peace, why not?
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.
The most innovative and entrepreneurial generation of all-time
Another consistent trend across all markets is the youth’s perspectives of their generation. Regionally, 37 percent of the millennials polled described themselves as ‘the most innovative and entrepreneurial generation in history’, which reflects a similar proportion in Bangladesh (37 percent), Malaysia (38 percent) and Pakistan (38 percent).
Education is most critical to shape tomorrow’s peace leaders
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. This finding was consistent in all six Asia markets, including Pakistan where 45 percent of its respondents believe leaders today should invest in developing a more inclusive education system that gives everyone equal access and opportunities.
Forty-two percent of Pakistan’s millennials say that having access to the right platforms to introduce and launch their digital ideas is crucial. This reinforces the relevance of initiatives such as the Telenor Youth Forum and Telenor Velocity which provide the global stage for individuals to showcase innovative concepts that can drive real change in the world.
