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This op-ed piece is part of a series written by Fellows of the Salzburg Global Seminar program “Public Policy New Voices Europe” program

This op-ed was written by Mariam Harutyunyan, Sude-Meryem Fidan, Alia Al-Wir and Safiullah Safi. 

Towards the end of October 2022, we went to Salzburg to participate in the first ”Public Policy New Voices Europe” program. It was a profound moment to finally come together in person after one year of virtual program sessions. During the virtual meetings, about 30 inspiring Salzburg Global Fellows were able to exchange ideas and engage in enriching conversations with a variety of speakers.  

Upon arrival, one felt immediately welcome in the great halls of Schloss Leopoldskron and Salzburg Global Seminar. The week-long program we attended included workshops on mental health, growth, megatrends, and DEI practices. At the same time, a panel discussion and a live library also took place.  

Despite the different backgrounds and levels of experience among the Fellows in attendance, we were all able to meet each other on common ground. I was impressed by the hands-on approach of the program and the warmth of the people participating. 

During a virtual session in April 2022, we had the opportunity to meet Yasmine Ourhrane and Jana Degrott from "We Belong" and listen to their impressions about entrepreneurial responses to policy gaps. We were very inspired by the work of “We Belong” and discovered parallels in our own group presentation, which we prepared.  

We went on to discuss current world affairs and how the next generation will cope with emerging crises. Generation Z is the generation of those people who came into the world in the years 1997 to 2012, which includes us. We have the energy and skillset to make the world a better place, so it is important to ask ourselves, "How can we use this energy to its maximum potential for the greater good?"

In the workshop, we learned about megatrends for a world in 2050. We touched on the topic of exponential technologies and how they could potentially change the world when used correctly. During the workshop about DEI in Practice, we learned the importance of understanding the current system and how this can affect initiatives.  

In the workshop about well-being, we realized how important it is to put our well-being first, and subsequently, the world around us will also begin to reflect this change. We wondered, “Is there also a way to make a living from this?” We questioned further. Is it, therefore, helpful to find yet another policy organization for advocacy? Would this potentially become a selfish means to advance my own career more than be of benefit to those we would want to advocate for?  

With the above questions in mind, we dove into our group sessions to tackle the challenges faced by citizen engagement.  

Providing Gen Z with a toolkit to counteract the challenges and encourage citizen engagement became our central focus. This led us to launch the concept of the “Impact Model.”

It’s a similar idea to the popular 16 personality test, which analyzes the personal traits of the test-taker through multiple-choice questions. They are designed to systematically elicit information about a person's preferences, interests, and more to get an overall picture of their personality.  

We wanted to build on this idea, so we developed it further. In the Impact Model, you will be required to take a test after signing up for the Impact Platform. Upon completion of the test, AI then processes the information to help assign missing information to you. 

It measures your level of expertise in different areas and will provide you with the necessary tools to help you grow and develop further.  

As an example, one may be very knowledgeable in business but doesn’t have the right connections to help launch their start-up. The Impact Model will provide this person with a network of people to contact to further their ambitions. The roles can also be reversed, and the idea extends to many scenarios where there is a "need" to develop or learn for the individual. 

Through research and technology, the model can be fed and developed further to be even more detailed in its service. This makes it possible for theory and practice to work in parallel with each other.  

As Gen Z learns these tools and skills, they – or we – can set the agenda in the future and no longer be invited to the big table of decisions. The big table, so to speak, would be more accessible to all. In our view, this idea is suited for a long-term approach and helps to improve the current system.  

Even though the project was only for the purpose of the presentation and a mere conceptual exercise, we had the impression that this could really be helpful and was well-received by our peers. We appreciated the opportunity to receive feedback and evaluate the pros and cons of the idea. 

Learn more by watching our pitch for the policy challenge: “The Impact Model”