Ramiro Murguia
Founder of Latinomics & Director of Latinomics International
TF: What is Latinomics about?
We are a young international organization that works on global projects of Social Innovation, Education and Entrepreneurship in conjunction with United Nations, linking students, universities, entrepreneurs, enterprises, governmental & non-governmental organizations, international organizations and institutions around the world. Latinomics is dedicated (and its mission and motto) to improve people’s lives in Latin American region.
We have offices in Austria, Mexico and will open the next office in Peru in September 14.
We believe that we can make a positive impact to the world via our programs. We are building a bridge between extraordinary Latin America and Austria respectively Europe by creating the possibility to exchange experiences and learn from each other.
Currently we are working together with 21 organizations in 9 countries.
TF: Could you give an example of one of your programs?
One of our programs is called Global Internship Program where we link students from Latin America with startups in Europe. The startups provide a scholarship for the students by taking care of accommodation and food while in some cases the universities in Latin America provide money for the flight. So students learn from startups and startups can expand their business to Latin America. With this simple program we are breaking international and cultural barriers and impacting the society in Latin America and as well as in Europe.
TF: How do you think our working situation and the working situation for young people will look like within the next 10 years?
I think that we will be project managers of really everything. Long-term employment will be of less and less importance. We are already living in a transition phase where multitasking will be of great importance and specialization will be always connected with other knowledge, e.g. an app developer will also know about project management or psychology. I think the economy in the entire society is going to improve because we are much more connected to each other. This connection will become even closer within the next years.
TF: What are our challenges?
Nowadays, we are talking about global citizenship, a concept that didn’t even exist 20 years ago, but is very common now because our awareness is also expanding. I believe that technology is going to grow by itself and this growth is not going to stop. The coalescence of culture and society is the real challenge. Europe is a mix of so many cultures – we need to multiply this. We are on the right path already, but we still can learn and improve how to cowork and also how to understand each other.
There is a saying of the Maya culture, which is very true indeed: “We learn how to speak in 3 years, but it takes us 80 years to learn how to be silent”.
What they meant is we need to understand and need to listen to each other. This is the challenge we are facing in our times and technology plays a huge roll as facilitator or as blocker, but it only depends on us.
TF: What are the borders that need to be dissolved?
By dissolving borders we are creating mobility and this is exactly what Latinomics wants to help with in terms of understanding, acknowledgment, awareness. According to the UN in 2013, 22.2 million people migrated to somewhere else for political or economic reasons. This number is expected to rise during the upcoming years. We need to understand that we are living in one single world. The first step is to overcome personal borders as well as political, regional and cultural borders.
TF: What is your vision?
I believe in a global brotherhood. Nowadays we have the opportunity to travel, to get to know and interact with many different cultures and people. I just turned 31 years and have lived in six countries already. My background is poor, no luxury, always public schools, no travels abroad, no big cars, no fancy birthday presents, but my parents did something truly amazing: giving unconditional love always provided to my sisters and to me the best education possible in all the sense. Opportunities were there and I had the chance to take them, so my vision is to multiply and to provide opportunities for those who are looking for them. I think by creating opportunities we can provide legacy.