News

In its latest report, the Middle East Youth Initiative cautions that a new jobs crisis may damage future prospects for the region's young people. James D. Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank and founder of the Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings, says: “The Middle East is facing a new economic reality, and young people risk bearing the brunt of this downturn.”

Representatives from the Middle East Youth Initiative participated in two notable events on youth development issues in the Middle East: the Young Arab Leaders Annual Forum from May 1 to 3 and a Silatech Knowledge Consortium meeting on May 3. Both events were held in Beirut, Lebanon.

As U.S. President Barack Obama began his two-day visit to Turkey, Navtej Dhillon spoke on KCRW's To the Point about the significance of the President's visit for the econonomic development agenda in the Middle East.

Djavad Salehi-Isfahani speaks to staff at the Council on Foreign Relations about economic discontent in light of Iran's upcoming presidential elections.

In “Why Young Syrians Prefer Public Sector Jobs,” Nader Kabbani argues that the success of recent economic reforms in Syria will hinge on the creation of better incentives for young people to venture away from traditionally secure and well-paying employment opportunities in the public sector.

Djavad Salehi-Isfahani argues that both “spenders” like Iran and “savers” like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will need to implement fiscal adjustments in the context of the global economic slowdown.

BBC Arabic recently interviewed Tarik Yousef on a radio broadcast covering reactions to President Obama’s inauguration speech and expectations for the new administration from the Arab and Muslim world.

Middle East Youth Initiative Youth Ambassador Samar Mezghanni from Tunisia was chosen to attend the recent Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit in Kuwait as a youth representative from the region.

The King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement (KAAYIA) has received over 950 applications from 19 countries in the region from young leaders in development. The KAAYIA will provide each of the winners with a $50,000 grant which will support the scaling up of a successful project that has demonstrated positive social impact and education and training for award winners to meet their specific learning needs as young leaders.

Dana Shuqom talks to the Middle East Youth Initiative about setting up and executing the "Woman-to-Woman" project for young female orphans in Jordan. The aim of the project was to place young female graduates of orphan care centers in internships at organizations or departments managed by female executives.