In a recent online session with students from a Malaysian university, I did realise that the participants had no knowledge of a major international event that had just happened in the country, the 46th ASEAN Summit. Some had an idea of this major event, the gathering of Heads of State and Governments of the member nations of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, only from some posters about it on the streets.

Likewise, while interacting with youths from Nepal during trainings, they also do not seem to have a solid grasp of international affairs, not even at the most basic levels. This is because youths do not follow the news, and a good number of them have absolutely no idea of what is happening in their own country and around the world.

This is worrisome and concerning. The fact that printed newspapers are no longer easily available like before the COVID pandemic, cannot be the only reason.

We all know that the new generations have been totally taken over by social media, especially, more lately, by applications like TikTok with their addictive algorithms that glue users to an incessant streaming of silly videos. In short, youths tend to be disengaged from what is happening around the world.

In a recent course on climate governance I co-designed, I also got confirmation that many youths have a very poor knowledge of geography, especially when discussions are centered on far away nations. For example, many had a hard time locating on the map a nation like Brazil, an important player in international relations and host of the upcoming climate COP30.When I showed them the picture of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known simply as Lula, no one had a clue who he was. A champion of the Global South, he got reelected in 2023 for a second mandate as president of Brazil after a long spell out of power.

I do believe that young people should know about him. When, in the same course we were talking about what the European Union was doing in the area of climate action, no one had any clue about Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU executive branch, the European Commission. Despite being, politically speaking, a moderate conservative with the European People's Party, she has been a strong proponent of climate action on the old continent. This is quite troubling to me.

Unlike many youths from disadvantaged backgrounds who really have other priorities because life is really tough, my audience was a cohort of students with a good education. So, for those youths who come from more economically stable and secure families and have access to a good education, then, there is a problem.

For example, how can someone aspire to become an expert on climate change without a good understanding of what other nations are doing to fight the most consequential issues of our times? On one hand, at least for Nepal, I think that one of the issues at stake is the fact that world geography is not taught at the school level. When I discovered that geography was not a mandatory subject and was mostly never imparted, I was shocked.

Isn't it the key to enabling young people to discover far-flung continents and regions, each of them with its own history, culture and customs? I always found geography mesmerizing. To me looking at the world map always remains an incredible experience.

I, however, realise that my knowledge of the world will always be limited because our planet is so diverse with so many nations, each with their own history and traditions, and it is almost impossible to know everything about each single nation. Yet, you can close your eyes and use a bit of fantasy and creativity to envision different cultures and ways of living.

Then, reading news and following what is happening around the world are important to remain at the top of global events. No one on this earth lives in isolation. We should know this well considering the transboundary impact of climate warming or the spillover effects that conflicts can have on all of us. You realise that some of the challenges faced by Nepal, not only climate change but also political instability and corruption, are common issues in many other places, including in many highly developed nations.

It is also about curiosity, not in the sense of minding someone else's business but the quest for inquiry, the thirst to know more. There are no easy answers on how to support young people in building up their curiosity and interest in the world.

Education definitely plays a big role but so does also having a conducive family environment. Reading news is taxing even though I am not yet clear how people find time to watch all these meaningless contents freely available on social media.

Podcasting is cool these days, but what do young people listen to and watch? How do they find time to watch and assiduously follow several trendy podcasters at the same time? Having some downtime is essential but are they learning something?

Perhaps initiatives from civil society can help. Each training programme being organised should aim to impart some bits of world knowledge and try to help participants to connect their own experiences with those of their peers from distant places.

Each session engaging youths could also involve reading some news, possibly from printed newspapers, so that, at least for once, young people can literally disconnect from their digital lives. Helping young people equip themselves with the right tools and skills is truly a captivating but also daunting challenge.

Let's not forget that it is not all about mastering public speaking. Knowledge creation is a process that should be embraced, and we need to find interesting ways to get young people engaged and interested in what is happening around them