Point of View

Yasser Salimi joins us as a Youth Ambassador from Tehran, Iran, where he is a board member of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC) and a Master’s candidate in International Relations.

Navtej Dhillon and Diana Greenwald argue that, despite a difficult political climate, the 'Union for the Mediterranean' can exceed expectations by convening European and Arab leaders around a pressing and shared interest: the need to improve economic outcomes for millions of young people in the broader Middle East.

Contrary to recent findings by the Central Bank of Iran, Brookings Visiting Fellow Djavad Salehi-Isfahani argues poverty rates in Iran are not high when compared to international standards for developing countries, nor do they appear to be rising. However, income inequality is on the rise and poses a challenge to President Ahmadinejad in his 2009 re-election bid.

MEYI’s Youth Ambassador Think Tank is a forum to encourage active discussion on topics of timely relevance to Middle Eastern youth. Our second topic deals with regional reactions to the upcoming U.S. elections.

Navtej Dhillon, Jad Chaaban, and Tarik Yousef share findings on the staggering costs of youth unemployment and youth exclusion, noting that the combined costs of youth unemployment for 11 countries in the Middle East region can reach as much as $25 billion a year, or 2.3% of the region’s GDP. These costs emphasize the urgent need for institutional and programmatic reform to invest more in the young people as assets for the region's growth.

MEYI Director and Fellow Navtej Dhillon and MEYI Research Assistant Amina Fahmy reflect on urbanization in the region and how city-to-city collaboration on urban development can help improve the lives of young people.

"Al-Shabab Awalan" ("Youth First") series will share five Najah success stories in Point of View. The final story in this series features Taqiyoun Deen Badarneh, a young man initially ashamed by his farmer father, who changes his views and decides to contribute to the family business instead of looking for work overseas.

"Al-Shabab Awalan" ("Youth First") series will share five Najah success stories in Point of View. The fourth is on Ihsan Jibran, a young man learned to overcome his own feelings about working and now is employed as a store clerk in Amman.