The importance of Giving Back to the next generation

I've been fortunate to have worked with some amazing brands and people over the course of my 15 year career (no, I'm not retiring). But, for me, all my accomplishments don't mean anything if I don't do one thing. For me, that is volunteering, specifically with youth. For me, having the ability to share my experiences and insights with students is invaluable. It allows them the opportunity to learn through real life practice, and to ask questions of professionals whom they don't usually meet in the classroom.

Sharing knowledge works both ways. I'm not only able to recount what has worked for me, and what hasn't, to the students. But I'm also given the chance to ask them about their hopes, aspirations and expectations. Being around youth is energizing; they have a positive energy and optimism that we all could learn from ourselves.

Before I go on, let me define what I mean by volunteering. We're in a region where the perception of volunteering is spending time with disadvantaged groups. For me, this is only one aspect. Volunteering could and should mean spending time with others, such as groups in colleges and universities, to talk and answer questions on a specific subject. It could even mean blogging or creating any content that is meant to both educate and be shared freely (the region's communications industry needs to be much better at this).

What we should be aiming to do is institutionalize volunteering. Zayed University's College of Communication and Media Sciences has done just that, with its National Advisory Council. The aim of this group is to bring together professionals in the communications industry who volunteer their time to benefit not only the students and faculty, but the wider industry through providing feedback and insight on issues that concern us all, such as the need to promote diversity and inclusion and life-long learning.

I'm honored to serve on the College of Communication and Media Sciences’ National Advisory Council at Zayed University. I'm also blessed to be able to serve other groups and associations through volunteering. It allows me to give back to future generations, in the hope that they'll be able forward the work done by us all and better that work. I'd urge anyone reading this to seriously consider volunteering, even if only for a day, and would be happy to advise you on how you can make a difference to others.