Obama blogs on benefits on travel for Lonely Planet

President Barack Obama has written a blog post sharing his thoughts on travel and his hopes for the future for Lonely Planet.

In a piece written on the publisher's website, Obama discusses how the "optimistic, tolerant and engaged young people" he has met around the world "give him hope for the future", and how interacting with people and cultures from different countries is "essential".

Writing during his final foreign trip as president, Obama said that he will be leaving office "more convinced than ever before that international co-operation is indispensable".

"Without regular consultations with foreign leaders, and institutional coordination between the US and our allies and partners, we cannot overcome challenges that recognize no borders" Obama said. "It took dozens of countries working together to stamp out Ebola. It took coordinated pressure and careful diplomacy to reach a peaceful agreement to roll back Iran's nuclear program. Nearly 200 countries spent years in painstaking negotiations to achieve the Paris Agreement to protect our planet. Every single day, the US works seamlessly with other countries to share information to prevent terrorist attacks, stop human trafficking, break up drug cartels, or combat corruption."

He added that although co-operation between governments was essential, he believes that engagements with other countries must not be limited to governments and we also have to engage people around the world, particularly young people, who will "determine the future long after those of us in positions of power leave the world stage".

He said: "Consider the demographics of our world. More than half of human beings are 30 years old or younger. This is even more pronounced in the developing world – that's where 90 percent of the global population under 30 lives. These young people are living through revolutions in technology that are remaking life on our planet, allowing for unprecedented access to information and connectivity, while also causing enormous disruptions in the global economy. And while the world's leaders discuss the pressing issues of the day, it is the world's young people who will determine whether their voices direct the change that is sweeping our world towards greater justice, opportunity, tolerance, and mutual respect."

Obama cites this as the reason for launching his Young Leaders Initiatives in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, which are focused on "empowering youth – connecting them with one another, and with resources that can help them build a non-governmental organisation, start a business, or begin a career in public service."

“At a time when we are faced with so much division in global politics, young people are often more tolerant, more compassionate, and more committed to working to make change that benefits their communities from the bottom up", Obama said.