The beginning of 2011 has been marked by series of changes in the Middle East and North Africa Region. These are believed to be, inter- alia, the result of unequal access to economic opportunities and social welfare as well as high unemployment rates mainly among the young.
Over the next ten years, the Arab economies are expected to provide gainful employment to tens of millions, alleviate poverty, and to address food and water in security risks. In addition, they need to create a positive setting for sustained economic growth, ensure that youth participation is further included in political agendas, and facilitate young people’s fair access to employment. The instability in the region fuelled by the financial and food crisis render these issues even more urgent to tackle.
The changes occurring in the region have brought the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) as well as regional and specialized institutions to put Youth and development at the top of the agenda and to accelerate programmes for job creation. In this context, UNIDO organizes an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) to discuss the opportunities of and challenges for youth social and for profit entrepreneurship, and to identify improved responses to the strategic needs for ensuring youth participation in the economic development and growth in the region.
The Expert Group Meeting (EGM) aims at:
- Validating and refining past and on-going efforts for job creation for youth in Arab countries on the macro, meso and micro-level by stakeholders such as governments, the private sector, international organizations and development partners, and civil society
- Exchanging experiences and build partnerships between stakeholders such as governments, international organizations and development partners, civil society organizations and the private sector to contribute to solutions and make recommendations; exploring opportunities and best practices to enhance productive activities and improve the quality of labour to enhance the overall employability of youth in productive sectors (e.g. agro-industries, green industries and renewable energy, ICT sector and industry-related services, etc.)
- Discussing and improving the existing knowledge on youth-inclusive financial services and the most salient youth-specific points in relation to entrepreneurship and MSME development
- Identify gaps and missing links for increasing economic opportunities for youth in rural areas.
The expected outputs of the EGM include the following:
- A set of action-oriented policy and strategy recommendations on productive work for youth as input to the discussions at the Arab Round Table as side event at the14th session of the UNIDO General Conference (28 November - 2 December 2011), it is expected to target particularly the following key areas:
- Experience sharing between experts and stakeholders such as governments, international organizations and development partners, research institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector.
Date and venue
24-25 November 2011
Vienna International Centre
Room M-0E-79, M-Building
For more information about the meeting, please contact:
MS. AZZA MORSSY
Chief
Middle East and Arab Programme
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
Tel: +43 1 260 26 3841
Email: a.morssy@unido.org
MS. FADIA NASSAR
Arab Programme
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
Tel: +43 1 260 26 3781
Fax: +43 1 260 26 6848
Email: f.nassar@unido.org
