Establishing a trusting, open dialogue is key to youth engagement: UNDP, The World Bank and OECD reports 

Dubai-UAE: 13 February, 2017:  There is no talking about the future without talking about the youth. And in the Arab world, comprising 22 countries, the youth demographic aged 15-29 years, constitute one-third of the population, pointed out Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the fifth World Government Summit (WGS 2017) that opened in Dubai today.

“It is only with the constructive engagement of this segment that this strong demographic wave will serve as a valuable dividend for governments. This is critical for laying a durable foundation of peace and prosperity in the region,” added Clark. 

Her comments were part of panel discussion titled: ‘Enabling youth to shape their future in collaboration with the UNDP’. The other panelists included Deborah Wetzel, Director for Governance Global Practice, The World Bank, Prof. Jad Chaaban, Associate Professor of Economics at the American University of Beirut (AUB), and Rolf Atler, Director for Public Governance and Territorial Development of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Clark called for a new model of youth engagement that focuses on and includes increasing and improving policy participation, access to quality education, access to affordable housing and creating an increasing number of opportunities.  

Findings from the Arab Human Development Report 2016 titled ‘Youth and the Prospects for Human Development in a Changing Reality’ indicate an increase in education enrolment and a decrease in extreme poverty and malnutrition. In this context, Prof. Jad Chaaban pointed out, “The region constitutes 5 per cent of the world population, and is home to 50 per cent of the world’s refugees – today half the region is in conflict and the youth are deeply impacted.”

No dialogue on progress, peace, and economic development can take place without governments meaningfully engaging their youth, said Deborah Wetzel, Director for Governance Global Practice at The World Bank. “The youth may be a third of the population, but what is the weight they carry in policy creation. They need to be part of the policy arena and governments need to foster feedback loops that further strengthen the very critical dialogue with their strongest, yet most disengaged demographic.”

For Rolf Atler, Director for Public Governance and Territorial Development of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the key is for governments to listen and create a relationship of trust with their youth. “They need to build bridges and inroads into understanding their youth and indulge in ‘sensitive budgeting’, which essentially means understanding how the money they spend, truly impacts the youth.”

The World Government Summit (WGS) 2017 has drawn the participation of more than 4,000 personalities from 139 countries around the world, reflecting the leading stature of the summit on regional and international levels and the high interest from governments, global organizations, private and public sector entities, decision makers, entrepreneurs, academics and university students as well as scientists and innovators. WGS 2017 features 150 speakers across 114 sessions that highlight the world’s most pressing challenges and showcase best practices and cutting-edge solutions to deal with them.