Apec Voices of the Future: Peter Parussini - Why young should have a say

Students gathered in Wellington's Civic Square ahead of the Strike 4 Climate protest march to Parliament in April. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Opinion

OPINION:

New Zealanders should be proud of the four young Kiwis named to represent our economy on the world stage that Apec 2021 creates this month.

Lit Wei Chin, from Auckland, Sophie Handford, from the Kapiti Coast, Jess Jenkins, from Porirua, and Shisla Macleod, who is now living in Wellington, are the four New Zealand "Apec Voices of the Future" representatives.

The annual youth event brings together 18 to 24-year-olds from across Apec's 21 members to discuss the big issues facing the world and will present their declaration to the Apec 2021 chair, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, on behalf of the nearly one billion young people across the region.

It's fitting that these bright Kiwis are involved because engaging young people in the programme is a legacy of when New Zealand last hosted Apec, in 1999.

Since its creation more than 100 young New Zealanders have taken part in APEC meetings around the region. The inaugural APEC Voices of the Future was launched in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur by the Virtual Trade Mission under the leadership of VTM founder, Australia-American educationalist Noel Gould. Subsequently, the VTM ran it in collaboration with whichever economy was hosting APEC that year.

New Zealand really expanded Voices in 1999, and convinced the other APEC members of the importance of involving young people in the process. The Voices New Zealand programme was formally launched in 2004 with funding from the Fletcher Foundation, and New Zealand is one of four permanent co-chairs of the Voices of the Future Leadership Council, along with Mexico, Singapore and China.

Over the years a number of universities, including Auckland University of Technology, and Te Puni Kokiri have been strong supporters of the programme which is now organised by the Apec Secretariat in Singapore.

Moving the debate about free trade and globalisation away from politicians and officials, and better connecting with young people and civil society was one of the goals of Apec NZ '99. An extensive engagement programme, including with New Zealand schools, was created for the two years leading into the country's hosting.

With the assistance of US not-for-profit educational foundation the Virtual Trade Mission and Monterrey Tech in Mexico young people from around the region came to New Zealand, culminating with debates with visiting leaders, ministers, businesspeople from the Apec Business Advisory Council and the CEO Summit, and foreign officials.

It took New Zealand to show the world that the debate about free trade and globalisation had to be an inclusive one and that its benefits to society - and the problems it can create - shouldn't be left in a void.

Successive governments have understood that as a trading nation how critically important it is to engage New Zealanders. But in the late 1990s there was a strong push back against globalisation.

Former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, Foreign Minister Don McKinnon and Trade Minister Lockwood Smith were strong proponents of the engagement model around New Zealand's hosting year and had the foresight to see importance of a youth programme.

Former Prime Minister and Trade Minister Mike Moore's campaign for the Secretary General role of the World Trade Organisation at the time of New Zealand's Apec year reinforced the need for New Zealand to demonstrate its credentials around engaging in the debate.

Young people have the biggest stake in these global debates and they get that everything is interconnected. So, while Apec is ostensibly about economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific - the global economic engine room - the region also plays a major role in other issues.

Apec is a great excuse for some of the most important players in the world to get together.

Shisla Macleod, one of four Zealand "Apec Voices of the Future" representatives. Photo / Supplied

This year the Voices summit will focus on international co-operation to combat Covid-19, the digital future, a greener future and a future for all. Coming off the back of COP 26 many of these issues will undoubtedly be reinforced by the young delegates at Apec.

Young people should have a voice at the Apec table and they should remind leaders, ministers and officials that many of the issues they will be discussing, debating and arguing about aren't abstract or academic.

Many, including climate change, may be realised in their lifetimes. That makes Apec 2021 a genuinely great opportunity – and an incredibly timely one - to reinforce with leaders and ministers the importance of addressing these issues. Arguably that means the Apec Voices programme will have more influence than the powerful speeches young people gave at Glasgow this week.

• Peter Parussini is an executive with ANZ Bank and a former director of Apec New Zealand '99.