The New Renaissance

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish” Apple-founder Steve Jobs once said. This quote inspired me tremendously. I am hungry for knowledge and learning from knowledgeable people. Educated as a marketeer and currently working in the banking sector, I participated in the summer of 2020 in a webinar of ING  about the post-corona world. I found it fascinating to learn from thinkers and speakers from all over the world about the long lasting changes that this pandemic would cause. One speaker especially touched me: Adjiedj Bakas, a Dutch man with roots in India and Latin America who started his speech with the quote: “ A kite always rises high against strong winds.” In the months after the webinar I contacted him, we became friends and we brainstormed about the megatrends which are reshaping the world. And how Romania can use these megatrends in this era of strong winds.

I have experienced very strong winds in my life. My country Romania lies at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe. With a population of around 19 million. Romania is the twelfth-largest country in Europe, and the sixth-most populous member state of the European Union. The kingdom of Romania was occupied by Russia after World War II. Years of communism, closed borders and ravaging dictatorship ended in 1989. Romanians hoped that the sudden transition towards democracy and a market economy would lead to a bright new future. Alas not everything we dreamed of became reality. Many Romanians today are disappointed about the state of our country. Yet complaining and lethargy will not help us. My generation of Millennials longs for a better future. I think that Adjiedj Bakas’ ideas and visions can help us to turn that wish into reality. 

Today Romania is a developing country, with a high-income economy. It has the world's 47th largest economy by nominal GDP. Romania experienced rapid economic growth in the early 2000s; its economy is now based predominantly on services. It is a producer and net exporter of machines and electric energy through companies such as Automobile Dacia and OMV Petrom.  

How can the 47^th economy of the world innovate, diversify  and move forwards in the 21^st century? How can we benefit of the possibilities of WFH (Work From Home) that became the new normal for office jobs during the pandemic? How  can we offer the 1.5 million Millennials who returned home during the pandemic, a good future? How can we benefit of the knowledge and experience of the Romanian diaspora? How can we become, Romania, the best place to WFH? 

Mahatma Gandhi said:  “The future depends on what you do today.” He was right. I would add: If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today? My suggestion is to start by reading this book and make (mental) notes while reading.

His words will most probably play an important part in your life as they did in mine. With his ideas he challenges us to look past what is and see what could be.