Can the world be saved from politics, war and self destruction? Pennsylvania’s young leaders have the answer | Social Views

“Can the world be saved?” That’s the question many young people in our region are asking as they worry about climate change, growing global chaos and political divisions among Americans. And many are asking if their generation will be the one to save the world from extinction.

High school and college students who participated in a summer-long internship and enrichment program of the World Affairs Council and PennLive are so concerned about the state of today’s world, they have organized a day-long conference to talk through some of the most important topics their generation will face in the years ahead.

“Can the World Be Saved: Perspectives from the Next Generation” is the theme of the 2024 International Young Leaders Conference & Career that will be 10 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7 at the Capital Blue Cross Theatre on the campus of Central Penn College in Summerdale, which is a sponsor the event.

The International Young Leaders Conference & Career Fair is free and open to the public with registration: https://wacharrisburg.ticketleap.com/2024-international-young-leaders-conference/

Students leading the conference have spent the summer learning about local, national and world affairs. They have met with government officials, visited the state capitol, and spent a day with officials at Harrisburg’s City Hall and with Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas. They even shared lunch with Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams in her cabinet chamber.

Their summer excursions included a recent visit to the U.S. Army War College’s new state-of-the-art facility in Carlisle. The students were treated like VIPS, meeting with Major Gen. David Hill, the college’s 53rd Commandant, who gave them an overview of the conflicts raging around the world.

Maj. Gen. Hill shared with them the army’s pressing need to recruit more soldiers to ensure America’s shores and interests around the world are protected.

In their summer meetings, students have spent hours each week speaking to global experts in climate change, immigration, global economic and health disparities, the Middle East, Ukraine, and Africa. They’ve written op-eds and letters to the editor that our readers have seen on PennLive and in The Patriot-News. And they’ve even produced the Next Gen PA podcasts to debate political as well as world affairs.

They will take up these issues in depth during the International Young Leaders Conference & Career Fair with speakers who include:

• Mary Speck, Senior adviser with the U.S. Institute of Peace, Latin America Program
• Najiba Benabess, Dean, School of Business, Elizabethtown College
• José de Arimatéia da Cruz, Professor of International Relations and International Studies, Georgia Southern University
• Sarah Niebler, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Dickinson College
• Sanjay Paul, Professor of Economics at Elizabethtown College
• John Dernbach, Emeritus Professor of Law and Founding Director, Environmental Law and Sustainability Center at Widener University.

But that’s just a sampling of the experts who will delve into some of the most pressing issues facing our world and the next generation of leaders who will have to deal with them.

Here’s where to find a full list of speakers and more information about the conference: https://wacharrisburg.org/international-young-leaders-conference/

Students will moderate each of the panels, and they will lead the discussions with the experts as they seek deeper understanding of the problems facing our world. The International Young Leaders Conference also will include a career fair to allow colleges, companies, and organizations to engage and possibly recruit some of the brightest students in our region.

Each of the students will receive Global Scholar certificates in ceremonies closing the event and ending the summer program that has helped to prepare promising young leaders to meet the serious challenges threatening the world’s survival.

If our world can be saved from climate change, famine, and World War III, the next generation may have to do it. They know their very survival is at stake.

Joyce M. Davis is PennLive’s Outreach & Opinion Editor. She also is President/CEO of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @byjoycedavis.

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