With an ambitious plan to expand its outreach and create thousands of new job opportunities for youth, Silatech yesterday renewed its commitment to empower young men and women. H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Silatech and UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate, announced that youth will receive three million employment opportunities globally by 2022, calling for more partners to help raise that number to five million.
During a high-level event titled “Empowering Youth, Transforming Societies”, hosted by Silatech at the International Conference Centre in Geneva yesterday, H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser reaffirmed Silatech’s commitment to tackling rising youth unemployment through economic and social empowerment, particularly in developing regions with increasingly young populations. “Young men and women need the chance to earn a living that will allow them to support their families, contribute to society, and build better futures,” H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser said. “This is the hope that Silatech offers.”
In 2006, as a member in the High-Level Group and an Ambassador in the UN Alliance of Civilisations, H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser launched Silatech as an international non-profit and non-governmental development organisation that aims to connect young people with the jobs and resources needed to establish and develop their projects by offering innovative employment solutions in collaboration with partners locally, regionally and internationally with a particular focus on youth employment in countries affected by conflict, economically. In 10 years, Silatech has managed to provide more than one million and 100,000 jobs to young people in the Middle East and Africa.
In order to achieve its current and future plans, Silatech is collaborating with more than 300 regional and international partners at the level of governments and financial institutions in the countries in which it operates, major international organisations, EU, World Bank, UN and its agencies such as the International Labour Organisation, UN Counter-Terrorism Centre, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Women, UN Development Program, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other academic institutions as well as the private sector.
Stressing the importance of investing in both education and employment, H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser said: “Education without employment can lead to frustration... and employment without education is a false dream.” Her Highness emphasized the role of quality education in shaping youth for the future, but it must be followed by meaningful employment to give youth a chance to become productive citizens and “the engine of economic growth”.
Silatech has provided a number of innovative electronic solutions and platforms to connect young people with jobs. As part of its work to promote the youth employment, Silatech has supported the establishment and rehabilitation of 272 employment and vocational guidance centers in several countries. Silatech also supports a research center that conducts studies and research on issues of economic empowerment, employment and unemployment in the Arab world.
