Interesting discussion, again... I know lots of young professionals from the Dutch development scene were (and still are) very upset by these results from ViceVersa, but also in general about the sector's attitude towards young people. But, besides the debate about old farts not being innovative, I think part of the problem also lies with 'us', the younger generation. I mean, we all want to contribute to something 'good' for the world, have our impact and help people. And I guess we have very high standards. So development work doesn't work/works/works a little bit... And we are of course dissapointed about what we can actually contribute to making this world a better place.

But at the same time we expect good working conditions for ourselves: high wages, nice trips to some exotic place, and a life-time employment but with lots of flexibility from our side. I mean, maybe NGOs should put more effort in hiring young people, true, but they're stuck with the old farts who might have earned their life-time contracts after years of volunteering. Does our own ideology come with a price?