Networking can feel more like a marketing term than a genuine form of connection in the fast-paced business environment of today. However, after listening to ThinkYoung Project Manager Anastasiia Mazur, I came to understand that networking can be transformative if done with purpose and clarity. Currently, Anastasiia works at ThinkYoung, Europe’s first completely youth-focused think tank. The organisation was founded in 2009 and now has 21 people working from four main cities: Nairobi, Hong Kong, Geneva, and Brussels. Their purpose is to provide young people a voice through high impact campaigns, educational programs, and research.
What Is Unique About ThinkYoung
ThinkYoung works with young people, not just study them. They employ focus groups, surveys, data analysis, and even movies to find out what today’s youth are interested in. After that, they offer those insights directly to industry executives and government officials.
Here are a few outstanding initiatives:
- Four hundred displaced Ukrainian youths are attending a coding school in Poland that combines emotional intelligence with digital literacy.
- The Europe’s Tomorrow: Vaccination and Prevention Summit, which brought together young people, decision makers, and medical experts in Warsaw, Brussels, Cluj, and Sofia.
- ThinkYoung has been influencing education, policy, and innovation for 14 years by uplifting the voices of young people.
The Role and Skills of Anastasiia
In her role, Anastasiia has collaborated on several major projects and attended important events, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos. Her work combines both hard and soft skills, such as communication, flexibility, emotional intelligence, networking, digital knowledge, graphic design, and AI tools. Her strategy for networking is straightforward but purposeful like to build relationships based on growth and common interests rather than meaningless conversation. Her participation in international forums serves to represent the interests of youth and identify opportunities for cross-sector collaboration.
Key takeaways
Networking doesn’t have to feel transactional, which is one of the most important lessons I learnt from Anastasiia’s experience. People want to connect with you when you have a clear message, are skilled, and have a greater purpose than yourself. The goal of networking is to create opportunities for collaboration, not to collect contacts. And as ThinkYoung proves, even a small team with a focused mission can make a global impact when the right conversations happen.