Forum to look at new job initiatives
Experts to focus on ways to tackle high rate of unemployment among youth in Arab world
Sharjah: Delegates from 35 countries will come together to discuss initiatives to promote employment opportunities in the region at the Arab International Women's Forum (AIWF).
The forum, which will take place tomorrow and Thursday at the American University of Sharjah, will focus on driving the economic role that can be played by youth and women. Delegates from 18 countries are participating.
The forum brings together government leaders and leading professionals from the private sector and civil society from around the world, as well as experts from academia and the media. Student delegates will also participate.
AIWF, which was established in London in 2001, helps connect Arab women with their international counterparts through conferences and forums all over the world, with the motto "building bridges, building business", Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, founder and chairperson of AIWF, said during a press conference yesterday.
"We are proud of our Arab women and we want them to be their own best ambassadors and to fully engage in the economy and in Arab society," Al Kaylani said.
The forum, titled "Emerging Economies, Emerging Leaderships: Arab Women and Youth As Drivers Of Change", will focus on education and how to tackle the huge rate of youth unemployment in the Arab world.
Al Kaylani said, "According to the IMF report mentioned last week, the region must create 50 to 75 million jobs in the next decade,"
Al Kaylani added that the AIWF will discuss how to empower the Arab private sector and support the youth to create small and medium businesses.
"Small and medium sized businesses activate the economy and create jobs," she added.
She emphasised that they do not focus only on businesswomen or women in government, but all women in society and also youth and men. "We are not a feminist organisation, we are a development, non-profit, non-government organisation that wants to see women participating in public life."
The conference is divided into seven sessions spread across the two days, excluding the inaugural session and keynote speeches. Registration will start at 8am tomorrow and 8:30am on Thursday.
