IIFMENA highlights impact of crises
SHARJAH: The 2008 inancial crisis widened the gap between youth and the labour market. While the world was busy innovating solutions, political conlicts and environmental crises have further aggravated the situation. Newer mechanisms are required where youth can engage in the design and implementation of solutions, by integrating them into the international and local organizations who are responsible for deciding on development tools and goals.
Under the theme “Youth: crisis challenges and development opportunities”, Sharjah is hosting this year’s edition of IIFMENA on October 24th, organized by The Big Heart Foundation in partnership with the UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF, NAMA Women Advancement Establishment and UN Women. The conference will bring together a large number of Arab youths to listen to decision makers and express their opinions and point of views regarding the design and implementation of the solutions, and how to ensure youth integration into society and the labor market.
The 2017 report of the UN Population Fund afirms that mass migrations caused by armed conlict and natural disasters greatly impede efforts to bridge the gap between market needs and the competent young manpower, creating a burden on societies, looding them with low-skilled labor to the detriment of local cadres.
The report states that the Arab community suffers a wide gap between the requirements and needs of the labor market on one hand, and job competencies on the other. In the Arab world, unemployment rates are at 25% which is among the highest in the world, inevitably leading to $40-50 billion inancial losses annually.
Mariam Al Hammadi, Director of The Big Heart Foundation, the entity organizing “Investing in the Future Conference MENA region,” stressed that reports and studies published by the concerned international institutions, highlights the growing global challenges, especially regarding youth skills and labor market requirements which have been negatively affected by political crises.
She said: “Given these challenges, we are conident that the hopes and aspirations of the world community is greater than ever, and with increasing awareness of the importance of developing consistent solutions and forging partnerships, we can innovate ways to implement them.”
“Crises in areas suffering from conlicts, war and natural disasters, created a heavy burden on the global market and major challenges for the international community. This issue will motivate participants in the next edition of the conference to improve their perceptions for an effective international and regional approach to deal with crises and help youth overcome the challenges.”