‘Talent & Vision: Youth and Success’ by Donal Lavery

In an era whereby many, if not most, young people in Europe have lost faith in the economy as a means of achieving their ambitions, hopelessness is rife. The failure of most of the political class to listen to and prioritise the needs and aspirations of the young, has led to a general aura of depression and mass consumption of sedatives across the continent.

I write this from Spain, a country where almost half of all young people (18-30) are unemployed. These are the casualties of austerity and a lack of opportunity. But being next to some of the affluent youth resorts, booming with jobs and thriving with new and innovative ways of promoting and developing the music, style, technology and entertainment industries, has made quite an impression on me – especially when so many Irish and Brits travel here yearly to access this market.

It is never the case in Europe that young people do not have the knowledge, skills and talents to succeed – It is a question of finding the role models and methods which help put ideas into action, offering perspective. The devolution of Corporation Tax will prove effective in attracting Foreign Direct Investment to our shores, but surely we can create our own enterprising indigenous industries based on reigniting domestic markets.

We on this island, North and South, love to socialise, and our hospitality is respected the world over. So surely there is a great demand, quite simply, to party. To work hard so as to play harder.
After the industrial demise of the 1980’s era in Liverpool, the city focused on becoming a fine and attractive capital for multicultural hospitality, socialising and diversity. There is no shortage of jobs and potential in the Scouse entertainment quarters, for sure.

Locally and nationally, this island has produced some amazing and gifted individuals, with a lot to offer. We gave the world Rory McIlroy, George Best, Andrea Corr, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Jamie Dornan, James Joyce and Sinead O’Connor – to name a few. But it’s important to recognise that all of our exceptional citizens were grown and encouraged locally, to begin with. With locality being the Genesis to their success. Which all of us young people can cultivate.

In the political/public arena, we have a dynamic Finance Minister with unrivalled business acumen. And an astute Economy Minister who is also a skilled auditor. As well as some fine young role models in Chris Hazzard (a PhD), Guy Spence, Meagan Fearon (a leading women’s rights advocate) and Nuala McAllister (an articulate young councillor). Another rising star exists in our private sector. Clark McGlade is a promising young 22 year old who works in the promotion, development and management of Belfast night-life. Indeed he and other young entrepreneurs in the sector have a vision for Belfast – that the Belfast Waterfront area could be developed via investment to harvest innovation from the ideas and dreams of our young people’s socialisation. They articulate well how spending money on our entertainment and hospitality infrastructure now, would generate greater wealth in return by regularly drawing more and more events directly to Belfast – with a plethora of jobs being created to facilitate this, and people spending money locally therein.

On a long-term basis, these young guru’s notice the impact which changing trends in music, style and entertainment, all have on youth and the economy – and see the need for more premises and facilities so as to establish bars, clubs and events, which stimulate prosperity and potential – with the view that such businesses should adapt and change to target greater audiences and appeal. Capitalising on our own domestic market, to meet the desires of all our young people.

It’s always promising to communicate with fellow young people who are motivated and ambitious, despite the challenging economic climate. But Clark and others hold the assertion that the NI Executive needs to engage more with the night-life and music sectors of the economy, to encourage creativity and generate commerce/tourism – a clever ace we really must play to compete with Dublin in the “enjoyment” factor. Given his forename and shiny black hair, we may have finally found one of our many able young Economic Supermen – but nonetheless, a fine role model and rising star to watch out for in a growing Belfast. Talking to many young people like Clark, involved in promoting/managing events and music, see this as learning the basis for future careers as top Mandarins and experts for developing the enormous potential of the North’s night-life economy. They know that collectively we can display hospitality of Jay Gatsby and the business acumen of Richard Branson, to the benefit of our society and generating revenue. We need to focus our efforts and energies more and more on encouraging and equipping our young people to pursue these unique and diverse projects, which with time and effort, will produce millions that can be invested in the public and private sectors. More and more young people need to make their voices heard, but the ball is now in the court of politicians, who must help to proverbially turn dreams into reality.

The central suggestion I would  assert in all of this is for the media to spread some good news for a change on young people pursuing success in life. And also that there exists a need for the development of a Ministerial advisory council made up of young people, especially like Meagan, Clark, Guy and even Rory McIlroy, to advise the government on what initiatives could be taken to help young people thrive in using their own gifts and talents.