Pursuing passion, how to adapt to a rapidly changing world and the secret to a successful life.
Such topics and more were brought to light at the recent event held by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) Young Professionals Committee (YPC) at SPACES World Plaza, Bonifacio Global City on May 16.
Named ‘Fika: unconference: Building Capacity for Emerging Leaders’, after the Swedish concept of making time for friends and colleagues to share food and drinks, the event sought to develop the capabilities of young professionals and entrepreneurs in the Philippines through a networking forum where they could hear insights and counsel from Filipino and European business leaders in a friendly, informal environment.
The ECCP is a bilateral business organization that seeks to foster closer economic ties and business relations between the Philippines and Europe. Towards that purpose, the YPC serves as an avenue where young entrepreneurs and professionals from diverse backgrounds within the Philippine-European business community can establish connections and get acquainted with senior business executives in the field.
The YPC aims to bridge the work-place generational gap between senior executives and
young professionals in the community and enable the next generation to take an active part in the ECCP’s activities, focusing not only on business but also on CSR and advocacy-related initiatives.
“The European Chamber of Commerce is focused on connecting European businesses with Philippine businesses. Within that overarching thing, there are also young professionals who want to pursue that [same goal]. So we wanted to create a committee and a community for that. So I would say that’s our core,” Penny Estrada, YPC chair, said in an interview.
“What I find here as a challenge in the Philippines is that they don’t really teach you how to get into the business world in university. It’s the same in the US. But I think we still have certain avenues. I want this space to be that for young professionals. That’s my vision,” Mr. Estrada said.
Nabil Francis, president and CEO of Republic Cement; Richard Walker, managing director of Robert Bosch, Inc. Philippines; Laura de Bertotto, CEO of VMV Hypoallergenics; and Rosario Juan, chief extractor of coffee at Commune, shared their own career experiences, gave advice, and fielded questions from aspiring leaders about the nature of work, purpose, and how the next generation should solve problems of the future.
“Salary is not a real source of motivation. Having a sense of purpose is the main thing,” Mr. Francis told the audience when asked about passion and motivation.
“Passion and purpose may not have to be the same things. For you to be able to get yourselves out of bed every day and do meaningful work, you really need to have to find the purpose in it,” Ms. Juan added.
Ms. de Bertotto cautioned young adults against pursuing their passions to a point that they start to burn out, and instead praised the value and nobility of doing humble work. “When you turn your passion into work, it becomes work,” she said.
For Mr. Walker, the most important thing is that young leaders find companies that they sincerely believe in. “For me passion and motivation comes from working in a company that you really believe in: their products, their ethics, their values. As young leaders, your integrity is everything so you want to work for a company that has integrity,” he said.
The event was supported and sponsored by Commune and Foodie Box.
