World Bank 2010 Essay Competition: Maria de los Angeles Lasa

Oggi intervistiamo un’altra protagonista della “World Bank 2010 Essay Competition”.  María de los Ángeles Lasa ha 24 anni, vive a Villa María, Córdoba in Argentina, ha studiato scienze politiche e relazioni internazionali e ora lavora come funzionaria presso la Municipalità di Villa Maria e come ricercatrice alla Universidad Nacional de Villa María. Ha vinto il secondo premio della Banca Mondiale con un’idea  che nasce dalla propria esperienza di ricerca di un lavoro che è poi diventata una piccola impresa per aiutare gli altri coetanei. Ancora una volta, un esempio di inventiva e imprenditorialità di una persona che si è trovata a far fronte a tanti no da parte dei datori di lavoro ma che non si è data per vinta.

LSDP) What is the current situation of the youth labor market in Argentina?

MAL) Entering the labor market in Argentina can be very difficult for young people today. First of all, because the main requirement is usually to have previous work experience which is unlikely if you are 22 or 23 years old and have recently finished your University studies. Assuming that despite our inexperience we do get a job, most of us end up having temporary jobs with 3-month-trial contracts of very low wages, although we have to work more than eight hours per day. In addition, if one has the ambition to pursue further studies, working and studying at the same time can becomes a real challenge. So, more often than not, the first job ends up being a means to survive economically for a while and a short experience to be added to our CV. Furthermore, if you have a BA in Political Science or International Relations – as I have – you have the extra challenge of having to deal with prejudices or ignorance in our society and employers, who, unfortunately, very often don’t know what to expect from us, or what our abilities and skills may be.

LSDP) What are the risk and the opportunities of the crisis for your country?

MAL) A crisis represents fewer jobs, but it may also bring about the creation of many others. Discovering or creating new opportunities, always depends on us and our proactive attitude. In Argentina, the last crisis has not been experienced as a big crisis. I work in the Public Administration, and I have not seen a reduction in public expenditure as a result of the crisis, rather the opposite. Neither in my daily life nor in the lives of many of my friends and colleagues has the crisis meant a big problem or adjustment. So, in the same way as we have created and lived through crisis in the past, I think that the recent crisis was generated and suffered mostly by the central powers.

LSDP) You experienced unemployment and the deception of not finding a job despite the enthusiasm a freshly graduate student. And then?

MAL) And then came my own change of perspective thanks to a beautiful story about a nearsighted princess I had read and which helped me to see reality in a different way. That story, which I want to share with you, is called “The princess’s hand”. A Czech cartoon series tells the story of a princess and the multitude of suitors vying for her hand in marriage. Over the course of several chapters these gentlemen try a variety of seduction techniques to win the princess’s favor, but she remains unmoved. One suitor, for instance, shows her a cascade of lights and stars. Another begins flying around majestically in front of her. But the princess remains completely impassive. The final chapter brings the surprising ending: the last suitor draws a pair of spectacles from under his cloak and humbly offers them to the princess, who puts them on, and flashed a smile, accepting this gentleman´s hand.

Throughout the story, all of us wonder what is it exactly that this princess wants? What extraordinary thing is she waiting for? Only at the end it all comes clear: our princess was nearsighted and, unable to see anything, she could be enthused by nothing. So this was the problem! The princess wasn’t emotionless: she simply could not see. But along came the final suitor, shifting the focus and taking a fresh look at the problem.

Isn’t it amazing? The last suitor comes up with the easiest solution in the world: spectacles for a nearsighted princess. And this is the beauty of the story: a seemingly insoluble problem is solved using a practical and simple answer available to anyone. So, inspired by this beautiful story, I tried to find a practical solution to my unemployment problem, and that´s when Todo Jóvenes was born.

LSDP) What is Todo Jóvenes? How does it work? How is it financed? How many people work on it?

MAL) Todo Jóvenes is a website that offers job and academic opportunities for young people between 15 and 30 years. Its staff is comprised of six volunteers who generously give their time and effort because they believe in the potential of the project. Regarding the project´s finances, we started out with 15 USD, and not having a funding source, we try to make use of the free alternatives the Internet still provides (free servers, free domains, free themes, etc.).

LSDP) What are the next steps?

MAL) Fundraising and improving our website are the most important issues to tackle right now. In the future, our objectives are to keep on growing and getting strong in Argentina and abroad, and to keep on working in order to consolidate Todo Jóvenes as a source of employment for ourselves.

LSDP) What is the main lesson you learnt and that you would like to share with the other young freshly graduated who are struggling to find a job?

MAL) 1. Do not despair: sooner or later, there´s a solution to whatever your problem may be. No evil has lasted a hundred years, and eventually society assesses our capabilities. Hoping for the best and keeping a positive attitude is essential for preserving ourselves psychologically, and from an eventual fall into a “vicious cycle of negativity”.

2. Seize the time: being unemployed is not the same as being idle. While seeking employment, we must continue studying, applying for calls, attending courses, conferences and seminars. Staying active is important even when the financial benefits may take some time to arrive.

3. Always believe in yourself: after many “No”, I begun to think that I could not get a job because of my own lack of competence. Remove such negative ideas from your head and heart is essential. And to achieve that, think of this idea, which helped me a great deal: if something has not come yet, it is because it’s still not the right time. Meanwhile, it’s essential to strengthen the trust in our abilities and the contributions we can make to our countries and the world.

(Intervista a cura di Andrea Garnero)