If I were 22…

 22 is the age of the UAE’s recently appointed Minister for Youth Affairs, Shamma Al Mazrui, a valued colleague in the Cabinet of which I am also a member. In a country where the majority of the population is under 35, it is not only right that young people are represented at the highest level of government, I find it refreshing and truly inspiring. I am incredibly proud to be part of a government and a nation that is forward in its thinking, open to challenging the status quo and ready to try doing things differently.  

 When I was asked in an interview last year what my advice would be for young women, I said don’t be defined by your gender, be defined by your contribution. In a similar vein, my advice to all the 22 year olds out there – and to everyone really – is not to let your age define or limit you either. To see 22 year old Shamma Al Mazrui taking her legitimate seat at the table alongside veteran ministers is the epitome of this point in practice. Shamma’s appointment shows that age is no barrier to helping to shape a nation’s future. Just as gender should not put a ceiling on your dreams and ambitions, the number of years you’ve lived should not be stop sign. Jennifer Lawrence was 22 when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Mark Zuckerberg was just 19 when he invented Facebook, now the biggest social networking platform on the planet.  

 Today’s 22 year old doesn’t know a world without the internet or a mobile phone and I think this is a game changer. It sounds like a cliché to say that young people are always on their smart phones and are very tech-savvy; but the stats tell us that today’s youth are highly connected and this gives them a huge opportunity. Digital media has changed the media landscape and in doing so, has given so many more people a voice and new ways to engage that were never available to us before. According to Arab Social Media Report 2014, 55 per cent of respondents said they strongly support the use of social media by their governments for the design and delivery of public services. Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been a leader in using social media as a mechanism to both inform his leadership and engage the public in policy making.  In 2013, Sheikh Mohammad ran week-long brainstorm on twitter, with the goal of generating fresh ideas for the health and education sectors. The initiative saw massive public participation with more than 50,000 participants proposing 80,000 ideas. This year, he conducted a conversation with his 10 million followers on social media platforms called ‘Dialogue of the Future’ where he answered questions on his vision for the future of government in the UAE.

 If I were 22 today, I would forget the numerical identifier determined by my year of birth and use the tools of our digital age to actively participate and contribute to shaping the future. I would participate in the exchange of ideas with our leaders. There is no need to ‘wait’ to get involved in institutions or processes that have previously been the domain of your seniors. Young or old, the inspiration to participate is there, and so are the mechanisms. #IfIwere22 

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