UAE- ECSSR concludes 21st annual conference on youth and development

ABU DHABI 9th March 2016 (WAM) -The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) has concluded its proceedings for the 21st Annual Conference entitled Youth and Development on March 9 2016.

In the concluding remarks by Dr. Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi Director General of the ECSSR the sincerest thanks and appreciation were conveyed to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and President of the ECSSR for his kind patronage of the conference and for his resolute and enduring support for the ECSSR alongside its scholarly and humanitarian activities and events in every field on national regional and international levels.

He expressed his deepest gratitude and appreciation for the researchers and scholars for their contributions towards the five sessions of the conference through discussion interaction and participation. This will no doubt according to Al-Suwaidi contribute to the development of proactive strategic and futuristic visions through the discussions and paper that have shed light on the issues of youth and their constructive and developmental role in society.

Dr. Jamal Al-Suwaidi lauded the papers delivered at the conference for presenting highly significant strategic visions and objective recommendations. He reiterated that the ECSSR will ensure the recommendations and outcomes reach the decision makers and the relevant entities whether in the UAE GCC or the Arab world at large. Such knowledge will be indeed be utilized and translated into policies strategies and decisions that will contribute to the betterment and security and prosperity of our nations and to the protection of future generations.

The proceedings of the second day had kicked off with the third panel entitled "The Role of Youth in Development" chaired by Mr. Rashid Saleh Al-Oraimi a writer and media professional from the United Arab Emirates. This session discussed several important aspects. Dr. Siham Al-Qabandi Professor of Social Planning at Kuwait University in Kuwait presented a paper on the political awareness among the youth and its role in societal development reiterating the importance of political awareness amongst university students. It is vital to increase their understanding of their political and historical reality know their role in political process and elections and how to build their political affiliations. She also discussed the importance of enhancing their ability to comprehend and analyze that changes that are taking place and to identify what needs to be changed or reinforced in the reality of their community all to serve the purpose of development.

Dr. Al-Qabandi reiterated that political awareness amongst the youth is one of the key foundations to build a sound democratic society. Democracy means all segments of society must be active participants responsible ambitious and work together to develop their communities. She said that political awareness is both an end and a means. It is a means that allows members of the community especially youth to identify the mechanisms of democratic practice and how to actively be involved in political life; something that contributes to building their personality and culture and improves the behavioral patterns inside the society. She also saw political awareness as an end since political participation allows the youth to gain positive attitudes it modifies negative attitudes enhances their loyalty to their societies and creates an ability to think objectively analyze and criticize constructively. This helps them acquire new skills and experiences that lead in the end to serving their community and developing it further.

On behalf of Engineer Mohammed Gheyath Director General Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program and his paper entitled "Youth and Innovation" Mr. Walid Al-Ali Development Advisor Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program addressed the relationship between smart and modern education and encouraging the youth to be creative and to innovate stressing the importance of instilling such notions amongst the youth. He noted that program aims to create an educational environment that develops the skills of creativity and innovation among students. He stressed that the UAE Vision 2021 aims to place the UAE as one of the best countries in the world by its 50th anniversary. Therefore the wise leadership of the United Arab Emirates recognizes the importance of establishing the culture of innovation among the nationals of the country based on its belief that UAE nationals should be placed at the forefront of development. This will ensure that future development is not only sustainable but also based on the mainstays of the nation innovation and creativity in order to enable the nation to further develop its excellence and distinction.

Mr. Walid Al-Ali noted that this awareness is clearly reflected in the strategic plans of all fields and through the many initiatives launched by the wise leadership of the country during the past periods including the launch of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program in 2012. This program is a proactive initiative that aims to lead the educational process to new heights as the future of the smart learning includes the deployment of the concept of interactive learning and the creation of a new educational environment that fosters creativity and innovation among students enabling them to become leaders of the future.

Panel IV chaired by Dr. Khalifa Al-Suwaidi Academic and Media Professional in the United Arab Emirates discussed experiences regarding the relationship between youth and development. For her part Khuloud Al-Nuwais Chief Sustainability Officer of the Emirates Foundation in the United Arab Emirates addressed the UAE experience in this matter by reviewing the experience of the Emirates Foundation. She pointed out that the Venture Philanthropy model established by the Emirates Foundation is based on the idea of measurable long-term and financially sustainable social investment with a particular focus on youth development. She stressed that the Emirates Foundation has become well-equipped to deliver sustainable and scalable programs that apply principles of work in order to obtain a lasting social impact. Furthermore she explained that the Foundation makes a difference in terms of access to measurable outputs with a program of awareness that influence the lives of about 60000 youth in the UAE. The Emirates Foundation's programs include: Takatof Sanid Kafa'at Think Science Esref Sah and Kayani.

Dr. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Duaij Al Khalifa Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustee and Executive Director of Isa Cultural Center Kingdom of Bahrain highlighted Bahrain's experience in terms of empowering the youth. He pointed out that in 1913 a group of young people in Manama the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain decided to establish a public library as an alternative to the American Mission Library. After the amount of public library members increased it was turned into a club known as "Iqbal Awal Club" which was opened up to the public and has since contributed to the establishment of several cultural and sporting clubs.

Dr. Sheikh Khalid Al-Khalifa noted how on the educational and professional side the Crown Prince's program for young talented students has evidently contributed to the preparation of the future generation of leaders in the community. There is also a specific government program that offers talented young individuals economic support to help fund their respective work and another that looks to assist young individuals with their aspirations of working in the judiciary in the future. The reform program launched by His Majesty the King in 2002 was the building block which has prepared young people for leadership and their participation in state affairs such as legislative elections either as young voters or electoral candidates.

Dr. Hajah Wasitah bint Haji Mohd Yusof Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Youth Research (IYRES) Malaysia outlined the Malaysian experience in terms of youth development. She said that the Malaysia government takes considerable interest in youth development. In Malaysia a national youth policy was formulated to strategize and guide the development of youth in accordance with the National Youth Transformation program and the country's Federal Constitution. The Malaysian Youth Policy 2015 (MYP2015) has pinpointed four major challenges currently facing the Malaysian youth: political economic social and technological. She reviewed the role played by the Institute of Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) in youth development which is a national research center that operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS). IYRES conducted a study that sought to provide assessment of the well-being of the younger generation in Malaysia. The Malaysian Youth Index 2015 (MYI'15) is based specifically on the findings of this case study.

The last conference session chaired by Noura Nasir Al-Karbi Executive Member and UAE Representative at the Arab Youth Council United Arab Emirates was a discussion panel dedicated to the youth from countries spanning the GCC countries and several other Arab and the United States. Between them they presented their different views over the role of that the youth are playing and are able to play in the development process. Among them was Abdulaziz bin Saud Al-Kulaybi a student at King Saud University Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who identified unemployment a lack of utilization of youth capabilities and the onset of frustration as motivating factors that have enabled extremist ideology to spread across the region. Al-Kulaybi said that the efforts to confront such an ideology must begin at home as the family plays a vital role in terms of providing their children with a proper education before noting the importance of educational institutions in the same context. He stressed that the youth of today must embrace their Arab and Islamic identity but must also look to benefit from other cultures and in doing so they will be able to strike the right psychological balance.

Ahmed Abdelbasset Mohamed from the International Academy for Engineering and Media Science Arab Republic of Egypt highlighted the importance of the role that should be played by educational curricula in developing the capacity of the youth which was sadly absent in most Arab countries for reasons that include: the fact that educational curricula is not based on enhancing student innovation; teachers care more for repetitive tuition; and that many schools in the Arab world do not have the appropriate structures in place to harness optimal educational development.

Mounia Slighoua Al Akhawayn University Kingdom of Morocco interpreted extremist ideology as benefitting from religious ignorance. She claimed that the school curricula should look to clarify any religious uncertainties. Ms. Mounia Slighoua stressed that protecting the youth from extremism must be one of the central objectives of educational curricula and that such curricula must be consistent with the modern developments as brought about in an era of globalization.

Dalal Saad Sharar Kuwait University State of Kuwait underscored the need to address the challenges faced by youth first and foremost unemployment which pushes some of them to extremism and to join terrorist groups. As for Mamie Clarke University of Maine United States she highlighted US policy that sought to empower the youth at the political economic and social levels. She pointed out that there is constant encouragement for the youth to participate in elections and the culture of volunteerism and efforts are also exerted to encourage students to serve the community.

In the closing statement following the panel discussion the participants thanked the ECSSR and its Director General Dr. Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi for their efforts in tackling important topics of interest to the UAE GCC and all Arab countries and for hosting the ECSSR 21st Annual Conference for Youth and Development in the presence of experts researchers intellectuals officials and students from various countries.

The participants also praised the UAE's pioneering experience in empowering the youth and involving them in all constructive reforms that took place in the country as demonstrated by the recent appointment of Shamma bint Sohail Faris Al Mazrouei as the Minister of State of Youth Affairs to represent the voice of the youth.

The closing statement included several recommendations that would contribute to empowering the youth and involving them in the development process these included: (1) establishing a permanent forum for Arab youth and development to be based at the ECSSR and presided by Dr. Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi Director General of the ECSSR; (2) focusing more on youth and development because they are essential elements for achieving growth development and prosperity in the Arab world; (3) developing human resources which is a key requirement for growth; (4) acquiring and using knowledge through research and development are two factors of success as shown in several Asian and Western experiences; (5) enlightenment discourse and moderate Islam should be adopted and taught to the youths from an early age to stop the tide of extremism that is destroying the pillars of co-existence and undermining development; (6) enhancing and encouraging competencies and improving the teaching of sciences and modern technology in all stages of education to develop scientific and technical culture; (7) involving the youth in constructive political and social discussions to create an atmosphere of trust in the political scene and develop generations with strong principles and convictions that cannot be manipulated; and (8) teaching media culture as a subject at schools so that students acquire the ability to recognize destructive media.

The participants recommended that the conference's proposals recommendations and closing statement be presented to the Minister of State of Youth Affairs for circulation to the ministries of youth in GCC and Arab countries.