News

The 2010 Egypt Human Development Report (HDR) has been released and focuses specifically on the importance of youth in Egypt's economic, social and political development. The report, "Youth in Egypt: Building our Future", features a chapter by MEYI nonresident senior fellow Ragui Assaad on human development and labor markets, which investigates transitions into employment for Egyptian youth as well as the skills gap between education and employment and the occupational outlook facing young people today.

Experts from the Middle East Youth Initiative network and partners met on June 13 and 14 to identify new priorities in youth research and policy in the Middle East. The meeting was hosted by the Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings, the Dubai School of Government, and the Development Research Centre at the Syria Trust for Development.

The Middle East Youth Initiative has released a new online interactive map with key statistics on youth-related issues for all 18 Middle East countries, based on analysis by Samantha Constant and Mary Kraetsch. The map includes key statistics related to each country’s economy, demographics, education and youth employment status.

Ehaab Abdou and Samantha Constant participated in a roundtable entitled “Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Egypt: Building Stronger Public-Private Partnerships for the Next Generation” hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, in cooperation with the Middle East Youth Initiative, on June 9 in Cairo.

Jad Chaaban, contributing author to Generation in Waiting: The Unfulfilled Promise of Young People in the Middle East (Brookings Press, 2009) and author of "The Costs of Youth Exclusion in the Middle East," has authored a new study as part of the Arab Human Development Report Paper Series.

Samantha Constant, associate director of the Middle East Youth Initiative, participated in a panel on "Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship" during the Arab World Social Innovation Forum, organized by Ashoka Arab World in Cairo.

To mark the release of a joint report by the Middle East Youth Initiative and Silatech, as part of the Taqeem program, we have launched a three-part commentary series on the state of social entrepreneurship and social investment in the Middle East.

Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, Edward Sayre, Christine Binzel and Daniel Egel participated in a youth-focused panel at the 2010 Dubai Initiative Conference at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

The Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship was held in Washington, D.C. on April 26 and 27. In her closing remarks, Secretary Clinton highlighted the new Middle East Youth Initiative-Silatech report: "Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East: Toward Sustainable Development for the Next Generation."

The Middle East Youth Initiative and Silatech have released a new report: "Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East: Toward Sustainable Development for the Next Generation."