A ‘How To’ Meeting in the Middle East Tackles the World’s Highest Rate of Youth Unemployment
Read All PostsThis week, all eyes are on Amman, Jordan. Or at least, they should be. Today, one in four young people living in the Middle East and North Africa can’t find jobs. That’s the highest youth unemployment rate in the world. What can be done? Over the next three days, 200 top level leaders are coming together in Amman to tackle this full-blown crisis. What they have to say about effective strategies to address these issues—and how the business, government, and civil society sectors must work together to expand opportunities for the region’s youth—deserves our serious attention, no matter where we live.
The Youth@Work Conference is taking place at a momentous time, as young people continue to raise their voices and press for real change in their communities and in their countries. Far too many of them are deeply frustrated, unable to find jobs, or create better lives for themselves and their families. Yet they very much want to be active partners in finding solutions to the challenges they face. It’s imperative that we find new and effective ways to empower them as productive citizens to lead change in their communities. This event will bring together the best minds and most experienced leaders—including youth—to build on what we already know about effective programming in the field of youth employment. It will also highlight the urgent need to work together across sectors and national boundaries to meet the needs and aspirations of our young people.
Over the next three days, mayors and governors from Cairo, Tunis, Tripoli and Syria will exchange ideas on how municipalities can play a positive role in promoting and evaluating effective job training programs. Representatives from the World Bank and the League of Arab States will highlight regional data and trends in workforce development. A Director at the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood in Egypt, a program manager from The MasterCard Foundation, and a Deputy Director from USAID/West Bank/Gaza will dig deeper into the unique challenges and needs facing at-risk youth. My personal favorite: Four young social entrepreneurs will report back and reflect on what they’ve heard and learned over the past few days, and make their own recommendations for how to move forward based on their own unique perspectives.