Parliament Hill Presentation for the Era 21 Networking Breakfast forYoung Canadians – by Kevin Chan

June 1, 2006

Globalization 101 Globalization is, at its core, the simple idea that we

are all interconnected Interconnected by communication, by culture, by

business, and by politics Technology (Internet, planes, email, instant messaging)

has made this more obvious Globalization opens a world of opportunity

Meeting different people Traveling, studying and working in different places Learning new things

And Young Canadians are poised to benefit the most from this acceleration in globalization

Young Canadians in the World Young Canadians will succeed in the world

You have the benefit of living in a country where different cultures, religions and languages co-exist peacefully (ex. Federalism)

You have grown up in an age of technological revolution that allows single individuals to have a global impact (ex. Blogs)

#1: Study Abroad Many high schools and universities have exchange

and study abroad programs These are wonderful opportunities to learn in a

different country, culture and even language You will also meet young people from different

countries, and be able to learn from them My own experience:

In high school, I spent 2 wks studying in Japan; 5 wks learning French in France

In university, I participated in an academic tour of Mexico and spent a semester studying in Hong Kong

For graduate studies, I spent 2 yrs in the U.S.

#2: Travel Widely Of course, studying abroad is not always possible And there are some things that you just can’t learn

from a textbook in a classroom. You just need to go out there and see the world

I would encourage everyone to spend a summer here and there travelling, preferably not on a tour, so that you can set your own schedule and do things that you really want to do

My own experience: After my undergraduate program, I spent 2 months

backpacking across most of China and saw incredible things, from the rolling mountains in South China, to the northernmost point of China, to the Muslim & Central Asian cultures of the western province of Xinjiang

#3: Have an Online Presence Even without studying abroad or traveling, the

Internet allows you to reach out to the world from your home

Again, think about blogs, or postings of home videos on YouTube, or instant messaging with people half-way around the world

With the Internet, it is possible, for the first time in history, for single individuals to make their voice heard across the country, and around the world

So I encourage you to start up a webpage, or join one of those social networking sites like MySpace, and join the global dialogue by expressing and sharing your thoughts and ideas

Bouge.ca I have done just that with a website that I hope you

will find time to visit It is called Bouge, and you can visit it at

www.bouge.ca It is an online mentoring organization where high

school students like you can go and look up somebody like me, who has a bit of university or work experience, and post questions to them

Bouge mentors are always available to help answer any questions you might have about university and college life, as well as careers

Again, the site is www.bouge.ca

Recap So let me recap my presentation First, globalization is bringing people closer together,

and young Canadians are ideally poised to benefit from this phenomenon

Second, there are three concrete things that you can all do to prepare yourselves for a globalized world: Study abroad Travel extensively Have an online presence

It’s an exciting time to be a Young Canadian, you should all make the most of it!