Looking toward a better future at the Brussels Forum
Master of Business Administration graduate student Oscar Loyd reflects on his experience attending the Brussels Summit and shares new found excitement for participating in global affairs
The Brussels Forum was a five-day long event at which guests could listen to experts as well as politicians on world affairs over the next 10 years. In general, they discussed what problems will emerge and what potential solutions there are. This was truly a special event for the students who were able to attend because we are rarely engaged with world politics, and for me, this was a unique glimpse into the future. Listening to all these conferences starting at 5 a.m. was certainly not easy, and hearing the future threats of humanity was not uplifting; however, the passion of the speakers made me excited about getting engaged in world affairs.
One invigorating aspect of the conference was the discourse between two sides of the same topic. It was a professional setting where both sides could state their cases and have a civil clash. It gave the audience a unique perspective, showing that to these major problems there is no one correct answer. Rather, there are multiple answers, and they need to work in conjunction to solve the problem.
When it comes to the topics discussed, the ones that really interested me were emerging technology and global warming. Listening on how technology such as AI, deep fakes and quantum computing are a threat to our future is certainly true, and though the world is still very new to this technology, it was refreshing to hear the speakers admit that they do not have all the answers and were willing to have a conversation. The expansion of space fell under the emerging technology conversation. Understanding how the expansion to space serves as a haven for humanity but also a new threat to international safety will be a fundamental barrier we will face as more companies are building rockets.
When it came to global warming, we discussed alternatives, carbon neutrality and how we can save our planet. I believe that these two subjects will be the most important challenges we will face in the next upcoming years, and the only way to succeed past these issues is to work together on a unified front.
During the forum, questions from the public were being answered, and I was lucky enough to have two concrete answers to my questions. It was an honor to partake in the discussion, and it allowed for the conversation to continue and tackle new questions.
For me, this was a particularly enlightening moment because it served as a reminder that in all situations in life, no matter the size, parties must be willing to listen and have a conversation to come to a conclusion. Too often, people, especially politicians, get caught up in their own ideologies on specific issues, and they believe that their ideas are the best and must be executed exactly. However, this only causes chaos and tension, as we see in our world today. We must come together, with all our viewpoints, and discuss the future of our planet. This means being willing to set aside our beliefs for the greater good of the world.
Overall, I could talk for hours about the conference, all the topics and all the interesting insights I found. The biggest takeaway from the conference was that we must all be knowledgeable of what is going on in the world. When we can educate ourselves, we can educate others and help bring more support and awareness to world issues. At the end of the day, the fate of the world falls onto all our hands. It is simply a choice of ignoring what is going on or getting involved, fighting for democracy and freedom, and helping the world towards a better future.
