GEN Z GEL : OPINION GLOBAL ESSAY

'' 50 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT '' : EQUATE that with 5 years. 10 minutes to a year. Around the end of 2030, the world will totally transform to Ether. Superintelligence will take over.

All kinds and types of work, just gone. Simply gone! No Plug - Just Play. Agents, Robots, Automation and Digital Assistants take over. All structures will fail and vaporise.

The beginning of the end : Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry.......... on and on I can go. Just fade away to some memory. The lesser said the better.

If Aliens launch an attack, we may stop to rethink and replan. If not, mankind will consider making a fresh beginning on some other planet.

FOR all this research and conclusions, over a period of very long time, I thank Engineer & Technologist, Practising Teacher, Esteemed Founder, Syed Hussain Ali.

IN MANY parts of the world - including South Asia, Generation Z has emerged as a political force to be reckoned with.

Gen Z refers to those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s. In almost every continent their protests have led to the ouster of governments or put rulers on notice of the price they have to pay for misgovernance.

Popular demonstrations led predominantly by youth have been sweeping the world since the '' Aragalaya'' movement in Sri Lanka in 2022.

Mass student protests produced the downfall of the long-entrenched regime of Hasina Wajid in Bangladesh in 2024. This September, Gen Z protests forced the resignation of the Nepalese prime minister.

Earlier this month, youth-led protests helped to topple the government of Madagascar. Gen Z has also been prominent in pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the world to express solidarity with the people of Gaza.

In Morocco, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya and Peru, Gen Z has taken to the streets to voice its rejection of the political status quo.

What lies behind this global wave of youth discontent ? The drivers and triggers of those protests vary as do the underlying causes because the issues and political contexts are different and specific to each country.

But there are common features. The protests are principally against the abuse of power, authoritarian governance, in competent rule, elite privileges, nepotism, corruption, rising inequality and joblessness amid deteriorating economic conditions.

These protests have occurred in countries with youthful populations so demographics is an obvious consequential factor.

The use of social media platforms as mobilising avenues is also a common characteristic for a generation that has grown up in the age of communication technology and internet, and is adept at using these tools to spread their message and rally support.

Digital protests have played a pivotal role in all Gen Z political movements.

This Essay continues. The World Students Society thanks Dr. Maleeha Lodhi. She is Pakistan's former Ambassador to the US, UK and UN.