DOHA: Qatar-based social initiative Silatech has joined the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI) to co-organise ‘Arab Youth and Entrepreneurship: Holistic Approaches to Nurturing Local Ecosystems’, a three-day conference to spur coordination in entrepreneurship initiatives among the governments, civil society and the private sector, a press statement said yesterday.
Under the patronage of H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the conference begins today at the Doha Hilton.
It is expected to draw over 300 delegates from throughout the Arab world, leading local and Arab government officials, corporate executives, researchers, NGO representatives, youth leaders and the media to share experiences and insights into how to better promote and support entrepreneurship initiatives for young people.
The event is being organised in partnership with the Global Partnership for Youth Employment, the World Bank, and others. Qatar Shell is gold sponsor for the conference.
At 25 percent, the Arab region has the highest rate of youth unemployment in the world. Over the past decade, a large number of initiatives have been introduced to improve employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people; however, most have not made a tangible impact nationally.
According to Silatech Director of Research and Policy, Dr Nader Kabbani: “There have been many successful examples of entrepreneurship interventions throughout our region. However, their impact has been limited because the approaches frequently have been one-off initiatives without significant cross-sectoral collaboration.
“We hope, through this conference, to spur policy makers and local government officials, civil society and the private sector to combine their individual efforts in order to achieve meaningful and sustainable impact, and make a tangible difference in the lives of the region’s youth.”
According to Dr Abdulsalam Al Sulaiman, Director of the Child and Youth Programme at AUDI “This conference exemplifies AUDI’s commitment to develop the capacity of local governments and municipalities. The need to improve the environment for youth entrepreneurship is a pressing challenge for our region, and this conference allows us the opportunity to exchange experiences and learn from each other how to achieve lasting results.”
Sessions at the conference will focus on examples of youth entrepreneurship interventions from throughout the region, current regional trends and challenges facing young entrepreneurs, strategies for achieving maximum impact, and innovative public, private, civil society alliances for youth employability and entrepreneurship.
Qatar Shell is sponsoring a session on ‘Leading Social Change through Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation’.
On the concluding day on Monday, a workshop will convene participants from various organisations engaged in entrepreneurship development within Qatar to facilitate knowledge exchange and platforms for initiative coordination.
The Peninsula
