I would like to talk to you about a story about a small town kid. I don't know his name, but I do know his story. He lives in a small village in southern Somalia. His village is near Mogadishu. Drought drives the small village into poverty and to the brink of starvation. With nothing left for him there, he leaves for the big city, in this case, Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. When he arrives, there are no opportunities, no jobs, no way forward. He ends up living in a tent city on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Maybe a year passes, nothing. One day, he's approached by a gentleman who offers to take him to lunch, then to dinner, to breakfast. He meets this dynamic group of people, and they give him a break. He's given a bit of money to buy himself some new clothes, money to send back home to his family. He is introduced to this young woman. He eventually gets married. He starts this new life. He has a purpose in life.
Želim da vam ispričam priču o jednom običnom detetu. Ne znam mu ime, ali znam njegovu priču. Živi u malom selu na jugu Somalije. Selo je blizu Mogadiša. Suša osiromašuje selo i izgladnjuje stanovništvo Pošto mu ne preostaje ništa drugo, napušta selo i odlazi u grad, što je, u ovom slučaju, glavni grad Somalije, Mogadišu. Tamo nema prilika da uspe, nema posla, nema napretka. Na kraju živi u karton-naselju na periferiji Mogadiša. Prolazi godina, možda, a ništa se ne dešava. Jednog dana mu prilazi gospodin koji mu nudi da ga odvede na ručak, zatim na večeru, na doručak. Upoznaje tu dinamičnu grupu ljudi, i oni mu nude šansu. Daju mu nešto novca da sebi kupi novu odeću, da nešto novca pošalje porodici. Upoznaju ga sa tom mladom damom. Na kraju se oženi. Počinje novi život. Ima cilj u životu.
One beautiful day in Mogadishu, under an azure blue sky, a car bomb goes off. That small town kid with the big city dreams was the suicide bomber, and that dynamic group of people were al Shabaab, a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda.
Jednog lepog dana u Mogadišu, pod azurnoplavim nebom, automobil eksplodira. To obično dete sa snovima o velikom gradu bilo je bombaš samoubica, a ta dinamična grupa ljudi Al Šabab, teroristička organizacija povezana sa Al Kaidom.
So how does the story of a small town kid just trying to make it big in the city end up with him blowing himself up? He was waiting. He was waiting for an opportunity, waiting to begin his future, waiting for a way forward, and this was the first thing that came along. This was the first thing that pulled him out of what we call waithood.
A kako se priča o običnom detetu koje samo pokušava da uspe u velikom gradu pretvara u priču o njegovom bombaškom napadu? Čekao je. Čekao je priliku, čekao da mu počne budućnost, čekao je napredak, a to je prvo naišlo. To ga je prvo trgnulo iz stanja čekanja.
And his story repeats itself in urban centers around the world. It is the story of the disenfranchised, unemployed urban youth who sparks riots in Johannesburg, sparks riots in London, who reaches out for something other than waithood. For young people, the promise of the city, the big city dream is that of opportunity, of jobs, of wealth, but young people are not sharing in the prosperity of their cities. Often it's youth who suffer from the highest unemployment rates. By 2030, three out of five people living in cities will be under the age of 18. If we do not include young people in the growth of our cities, if we do not provide them opportunities, the story of waithood, the gateway to terrorism, to violence, to gangs, will be the story of cities 2.0. And in my city of birth, Mogadishu, 70 percent of young people suffer from unemployment. 70 percent don't work, don't go to school. They pretty much do nothing.
A njegova priča se ponavlja u velikim gradovima širom sveta. To je priča o obespravljenim, nezaposlenim, urbanim mladim ljudima koji dižu bune u Johanesburgu, u Londonu, koji ne žele samo da čekaju. Mladim ljudima, obećane priče o gradu, san o velikom gradu je san o prilici, o poslu, o blagostanju, ali mladi ne učestvuju u napretku grada. Stopa nezaposlenosti je često najviša upravo među mladima. Do 2030. godine, 3 od 5 ljudi u gradu biće mlađe od 18 godina. Ako se mladi ne uključe u rast gradova, ako im se ne pruže prilike, priča o čekanju, kao uvodu u terorizam, nasilje i bande, biće priča o novim gradovima. A u mom rodnom gradu, Mogadišu, 70% mladih je nezaposleno. 70% ne radi, ne ide u školu. Ne rade ništa.
I went back to Mogadishu last month, and I went to visit Madina Hospital, the hospital I was born in. I remember standing in front of that bullet-ridden hospital thinking, what if I had never left? What if I had been forced into that same state of waithood? Would I have become a terrorist? I'm not really sure about the answer.
Prošlog meseca sam bio u Mogadišu, i posetio sam bolnicu Madina, u kojoj sam rođen. Sećam se da sam se zapitao, stojeći pred bolnicom izrešetanom mecima, šta bi bilo da nikad nisam otišao? Da sam bio primoran da nastavim da čekam? Da li bih postao terorista? Nisam baš siguran koji je odgovor na to pitanje.
My reason for being in Mogadishu that month was actually to host a youth leadership and entrepreneurship summit. I brought together about 90 young Somali leaders. We sat down and brainstormed on solutions to the biggest challenges facing their city.
Bio sam u Mogadišu tog meseca jer sam bio organizator samita za mlade lidere i preduzetnike. Okupio sam oko 90 mladih lidera Somalije. Zajedno smo razmišljali o rešenjima za najveće probleme s kojima se njihovi gradovi suočavaju.
One of the young men in the room was Aden. He went to university in Mogadishu, graduated. There were no jobs, no opportunities. I remember him telling me, because he was a college graduate, unemployed, frustrated, that he was the perfect target for al Shabaab and other terrorist organizations, to be recruited. They sought people like him out.
Jedan od njih je bio i Aden. Studirao je u Mogadišu, diplomirao. Za njega nema posla, nema prilika. Sećam se da mi je rekao da je, zato što je diplomirao, a nezaposlen je i frustriran, savršena meta da ga regrutuju Al Šabab i druge terorističke organizacije. Njima su potrebni ljudi poput njega.
But his story takes a different route. In Mogadishu, the biggest barrier to getting from point A to point B are the roads. Twenty-three years of civil war have completely destroyed the road system, and a motorbike can be the easiest way to get around. Aden saw an opportunity and seized it. He started a motorbike company. He began renting out motorbikes to local residents who couldn't normally afford them. He bought 10 bikes, with the help of family and friends, and his dream is to eventually expand to several hundred within the next three years.
Ali njegova priča je drugačija. Najveća prepreka da u Mogadišu stignete sa jednog mesta na drugo su putevi. 23-godišnji građanski rat potpuno je opustošio saobraćajnice, a motocikli su najlakši način za kretanje. Adenu se to učinilo kao prilika i iskoristio ju je. Osnovao je moto kompaniju. Počeo je da izdaje motocikle lokalcima koji ne mogu sebi da ih kupe. Kupio je 10 motocikala, uz pomoć porodice i prijatelja, a san mu je da ih u sledeće 3 godine ima nekoliko stotina.
How is this story different? What makes his story different? I believe it is his ability to identify and seize a new opportunity. It's entrepreneurship, and I believe entrepreneurship can be the most powerful tool against waithood. It empowers young people to be the creators of the very economic opportunities they are so desperately seeking.
Zašto je njegova priča drugačija? Šta njegovu priču čini drugačijom? Mislim da je to njegova sposobnost da prepozna i iskoristi novu priliku. To je preduzetništvo, i verujem da preduzetništvo može biti najmoćnije oružje u borbi protiv čekanja. Ono mladima daje šansu da sebi stvore ekonomske prilike koje tako očajnički čekaju.
And you can train young people to be entrepreneurs. I want to talk to you about a young man who attended one of my meetings, Mohamed Mohamoud, a florist. He was helping me train some of the young people at the summit in entrepreneurship and how to be innovative and how to create a culture of entrepreneurship. He's actually the first florist Mogadishu has seen in over 22 years, and until recently, until Mohamed came along, if you wanted flowers at your wedding, you used plastic bouquets shipped from abroad. If you asked someone, "When was the last time you saw fresh flowers?" for many who grew up under civil war, the answer would be, "Never."
I oni se mogu obučiti da postanu preduzetnici. Želim da vam ispričam priču o mladom čoveku koji je prisustvovao mom izlaganju, Mohamedu Mohamudu, cvećaru. Pomagao mi je u obučavanju mladih ljudi na samitu o preduzetništvu i kako biti inovativan i kako stvoriti kulturu preduzetništva. U stvari, on je prvi cvećar u Mogadišu posle više od 22 godine, i donedavno, dok se Mohamed nije pojavio, ako ste hteli cveće na venčanju, koristili biste plastične aranžmane iz inostranstva. Da ste nekoga pitali: „Kada si poslednji put video sveže cveće?“, oni koji su odrastali u građanskom ratu odgovorili bi: „Nikad“.
So Mohamed saw an opportunity. He started a landscaping and design floral company. He created a farm right outside of Mogadishu, and started growing tulips and lilies, which he said could survive the harsh Mogadishu climate. And he began delivering flowers to weddings, creating gardens at homes and businesses around the city, and he's now working on creating Mogadishu's first public park in 22 years. There's no public park in Mogadishu. He wants to create a space where families, young people, can come together, and, as he says, smell the proverbial roses. And he doesn't grow roses because they use too much water, by the way.
Tako je Mohamed video priliku. Osnovao je pejzažnu i dizajnersku cvećarsku kompaniju. Napravio je farmu tik uz Mogadišu, i počeo uzgajati lale i ljiljane, jer, kako kaže, mogu da prežive okrutnu klimu u Mogadišu. I počeo je da isporučuje cveće za venčanja, da pravi bašte za domove i firme po gradu, a trenutno radi na otvaranju prvog javnog parka u Mogadišu posle 22 godine. U Mogadišu nema javnih parkova. Želi da napravi prostor u kome će porodice i mladi moći da se okupljaju i, kako kaže, mirišu čuvene ruže. A, uzgred, on ruže ne uzgaja jer njima treba mnogo vode.
So the first step is to inspire young people, and in that room, Mohamed's presence had a really profound impact on the youth in that room. They had never really thought about starting up a business. They've thought about working for an NGO, working for the government, but his story, his innovation, really had a strong impact on them. He forced them to look at their city as a place of opportunity. He empowered them to believe that they could be entrepreneurs, that they could be change makers. By the end of the day, they were coming up with innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing their city. They came up with entrepreneurial solutions to local problems.
Prvi korak je, dakle, inspirisati mlade, a tu je Mohamed izuzetno uticao na mlade u prostoriji. Nikada im nije palo na pamet da osnuju svoj biznis. Razmišljali su o radu za NVO, za vladu, ali njegova priča, njegova inovativnost, doista su snažno uticali na njih. Naveo ih je da svoje gradove posmatraju kao izvor prilika. Uverio ih je da mogu biti preduzetnici, da mogu pokrenuti promene. Do kraja predavanja, već su imali inovativna rešenja za neke od izazova s kojima im se gradovi suočavaju. Smišljali su preduzetnička rešenja za lokalne probleme.
So inspiring young people and creating a culture of entrepreneurship is a really great step, but young people need capital to make their ideas a reality. They need expertise and mentorship to guide them in developing and launching their businesses. Connect young people with the resources they need, provide them the support they need to go from ideation to creation, and you will create catalysts for urban growth.
Zbog toga je inspirisanje mladih i stvaranje kulture preduzetništva zaista krupan korak, ali mladima su potrebna sredstva za pretvaranje ideja u stvarnost. Potrebni su im stručnost i mentorstvo da ih vode kroz razvoj i pokretanje poslova. Povežite mlade sa resursima koji su im potrebni, dajte im podršku potrebnu za delanje, i stvorićete katalizator urbanog napretka.
For me, entrepreneurship is more than just starting up a business. It's about creating a social impact. Mohamed is not simply selling flowers. I believe he is selling hope. His Peace Park, and that's what he calls it, when it's created, will actually transform the way people see their city. Aden hired street kids to help rent out and maintain those bikes for him. He gave them the opportunity to escape the paralysis of waithood. These young entrepreneurs are having a tremendous impact in their cities.
Meni je preduzetništvo više od običnog pokretanja biznisa. Ono znači stvaranje uticaja na društvo. Mohamed ne prodaje samo cveće. Smatram da on prodaje i nadu. Njegov Park mira, a tako ga naziva, kada ga otvori, u stvari će promeniti to kako ljudi poimaju svoj grad. Aden je angažovao decu sa ulice da mu pomažu da izdaje i održava motocikle. Dao im je priliku da pobegnu iz parališućeg čekanja. Ti mladi preduzetnici ostvaruju ogroman uticaj u svojim gradovima.
So my suggestion is, turn youth into entrepreneurs, incubate and nurture their inherent innovation, and you will have more stories of flowers and Peace Parks than of car bombs and waithood.
Zato je moj predlog da se mladi pretvore u preduzetnike, da se njihova urođena inovativnost održava i podržava, da bismo imali više sličnih priča o cveću i Parkovima mira, nego o bombašima samoubicama i čekanju.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)