Overcoming barriers ranging from poverty, illiteracy, war and HIV, youth delegates representing over 140 countries have converged to collaborate on a decade campaign of action to enable an additional 500 million young people to live in a sustainable manner by 2012. “We must focus on how to develop sustainable livelihoods for people coming of age in today’s knowledge economy,” said the Honourable Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Summit Co-chair, at the opening ceremonies on September 7. “We cannot face the challenges of tomorrow with yesterday’s skills.”
Summit delegates will participate in a week’s worth of workshops to share ideas, success stories and challenges from their home countries. “There are two big problems in Romania,” says delegate Sergiu Teodosiu of Leaders Romania. “Many people leave to study or work in other countries. The problem is not that they go—but they don’t come back. The other problem is that people in rural regions are very poor—they do not have the necessary education or skills.”
Problems such as this are the focus of the summit, which is designed to give delegates the tools and networks to return to their countries with a plan of action for creating careers for youth. Already, more than 60 countries have established their own YES country networks, engaging stakeholders from governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.
Canada’s Jennifer Corriero, co-founder of TakingITGlobal, has developed a Global Knowledge Resource Web site, which houses a growing global alliance of YES country networks. “Our work is based on the belief in the power of young people to create change in society,” she says. “This site is about leveraging new technology and sharing skills and resources.”
Delegate Liliana Davalos, a 28-year-old master of ecology student at Columbia University in New York and a native of Colombia, is at YES representing Global Environmental Facility, an organization that works with farmers in rural communities around the world. “There will be no future for youth unless there is a planet left,” she says. “My organization has been supporting local farmers, many of which have been moving to urban areas and facing unemployment. Now we need to increase sustainability in farming. We have been contacting local scientists and farmers—focusing on traditional ways that work. People come together and exchange their knowledge. We need to secure a future for young people in rural areas.”
Canada is also represented at the summit, with delegates from both government agencies and NGOs who are hoping to make connections that can be strengthened back home. “I think networks die if they’re not continually fed with energy and information and communication,” says Thunder Bay native Terri Sundin, a representative of Canada World Youth, which offers young Canadians the opportunity to explore other countries and cultures. “I think our challenge will be to build a network here and to use it strategically to make positive change for youth employment around the world.”
On the first day of the summit, delegates met for orientation to identify problems and challenges both globally and in their individual nations. As the summit continues, delegates will explore the problems in more depth and develop strategies for solving them. “This is probably the best forum to actually build something that’s sustainable,” says Sundin.
For more info on the Youth Employment Summit, go to [http://www.youthemploymentsummit.org]. To check out the Global Knowledge Resource online, go to [http://www.youthemploymentsummit.org/gkr.html].
For daily REALM Magazine coverage of the Youth Employment Summit in Egypt, keep an eye out on http://www.realm.net or right here on http://www.takingitglobal.orgNehal Wagih, 19, engineering student, Arab Academy of Science, Alexandria, Egypt
What do you hope to achieve at the Youth Employment Summit?
I hope it’s going to be successful for us. I want to tell everyone that Egypt is so beautiful. Youth have so many problems—unemployment is a big one. When people are unemployed they go to drugs, sex. Why not face it and try to solve these problems? We can be leaders.
What is the youth unemployment rate in Egypt?
About 60 percent. In Egypt there are 64 million people, so there are many.
What is the biggest obstacle facing youth employment in your country?
When I ask for people to work for me, I ask for experience. How can I get experience without working? People want to finish school without courses in computers, English, French, etc, they just want to work. I’m not talking about my friends, or me—we can work. But I’m talking about poor people—they can’t find work because they don’t have money for courses or training.
What are the biggest industries in your country?
Anyone can study hard and become a doctor. Doctors will find work, but they must study hard. Cairo has a lot of potential for income. Some people have to leave Alexandria to work in Cairo.
What is the best/worst thing about your country, in your opinion?
Best: I like the sea—I feel like, when I look at it, I’m a mermaid.
Worst: People aren’t open-minded enough. There’s no freedom. There are some rights for men and not a lot for women. Leave everyone to be what they want to be. I am myself, I’m not my father or my mother.
What is the biggest issue you would like to see addressed at this conference?
People can’t work in their own country—they have to leave their country to support their families. I don’t want to hear this.
What do youth do for fun in your country?
We go to cafes and discotheques at night. We have lunch out. In the summer we go out of the country to Lebanon, Germany, Greece, etc—well, people in our class do anyway. The other classes go to the beaches.Jilan El Kady, 18, logistics student, Arab Academy of Science, Alexandria, Egypt
“At age 18 I worked as a saleswoman at a very high-class country club. I worked 12-hour days and tried to convince people to join. Some were very rude and some were nice. It was hard work. When I was very young, seven, I used to make cloth bracelets and sell them to my friends.”
Sandra Haddad, 19, business administration student, Arab Academy of Science, Alexandria, Egypt
“I worked for a textile firm as a secretary when I was 15 years old. I was a trainee [intern], and was paid very little. I worked for the experience and the certification while I was in school in Germany. I’ve worked as a trainee six times—in a bank, in a maritime company and in the biggest library in Berlin.”
Colin Campbell, 25, youth worker, Georgetown, Guyana
“My first job, when I was 19 and still a student, was at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. I was lucky. I worked in the human resources department in the first year, then moved to the youth department as a youth officer.”
Kailash Busgopaul, 24, masters student/works for NGO focusing on child and family welfare, Mauritius
“My first job was helping my parents in their supermarket. I was 14 or 15 years old. I was a stockboy—I helped refill the shelves so that when people came shopping what they needed would be there.”
Elhadji Malick, 32, Senegal
“At 22 years old, I worked as a professor at the equivalent of a North American secondary school. I taught mathematics.”
« return.