from left: Moderator, Ghada Oueiss, CEO of Silatech, Dr Tarik Yousef, Founder and Chairperson of Amwal, Sheikha Hanadi Nasser bint Khaled Al Thani, Editor-in-Chief of Al Sharq, Jaber Al Harami, and Chief Operating Officer of Al Sriya Holding, Ahmed Nasser Al Kaabi, during the seminar yesterday. Abdul Basit
By Azmat Haroon
Doha: Fair pay, owning a house and living in a democratic country are the top three priorities of Qatari youth, reveals a survey supported by Silatech.
According to the 5th Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey, held in partnership with Silatech, 84 percent of Qataris cite fair pay as most important to them, followed by 61 percent describing ‘owning their own home’ and ‘living in a democratic country’ (58 percent) as very important.
Nearly one quarter (22 percent) of Qataris surveyed said they expected to purchase their own home by the time they were 31- to 40 years old while 13 percent believe they will never be able to afford their own homes.
The survey was conducted by the international polling firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) to explore attitudes among Arab youth in 15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. PSB conducted 3,000 face-to-face interviews between December 2012 and January 2013 with Arab men and women aged 18 to 24.
Rising living costs remains a key concern for Arab youth across the board with 62 percent of those surveyed saying they are very concerned about the issue, up from 63 percent in 2012. ‘Dangers of drugs’ is the second biggest concern (50 percent) for all Arab youngsters, a stark rise from 39 percent in 2011.
Speaking at a seminar discussing the findings of the survey yesterday, Sheikha Hanadi Nasser bint Khaled Al Thani, Founder and Chairperson of Amwal, said that the issue of high standard of living exists due to a number of reasons, including inflation and choices of the people and policies of the government.
She also said that Qataris are a minority in Qatar, making them a scarce resource from an economic perspective
“Comfort zone provided within the family is one of the leading reasons behind the slow development of entrepreneurship,” Sheikha Hanadi said.
Television remains the primary source of news for 66 percent of Qatari youth followed by online news sources (54 percent). However, the popularity of TV as the trusted source of news has dropped considerably in the region, including Qatar.
Just 48 percent of Qatari youngsters update themselves on current affairs and news, down from 52 percent the previous year, while the number of Qataris logging onto social networks to get their news is 26 percent, two percent below the overall average.
Working for the government remains the most popular choice of employment among the young Qataris with 58 percent saying they prefer to work for the state compared to just 20 percent in the private sector.
Many young Qataris also felt their government had become more transparent and representative since the beginning of the Arab Spring. According to them, civil unrest is the biggest obstacle facing the Middle Easy, followed by a lack of democracy.
CEO of Silatech, Dr Tarik Yousef, said that expectations of the Arab people from their governments were growing.
“Ten years ago, Arabs just wanted to get paid. It is now that we are hearing phrases such as ‘fair pay’. This shows that people’s expectations were rising,” Dr Yousef said, citing the findings of the survey where a majority of Arab youth said they believed their best days were ahead of them.
Interestingly, France emerged at the most favourable country among the Arab youth, followed by Germany and China.
The Peninsula
