Thousands to benefit from Silatech project
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More than 3,000 economically and socially disadvantaged youth and their families in Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon are expected to benefit from a new partnership initiative between Silatech and non-government organisation PlaNet Finance to support the Youth Entrepreneurship Project (YEP) in these countries. |
Launched by PlaNet Finance in February 2013, the YEP is a three-year initiative to improve access to financial services for young entrepreneurs and also a regional programme designed to empower youth economically in Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon by boosting the capacity of selected microfinance institutions from each country.
The project is financed by the European Union and partner microfinance organisations include the Arab Centre for Agricultural Development (ACAD) (Palestine), the Alexandria Businessmen’s Association (Egypt) and the Lebanese Association for Development (Al Majmoua).
PlaNet Finance will provide training to the staff of the three partner microfinance institutions (MFIs), while Silatech will provide business support services such as mentoring to young micro-entrepreneurs to improve their chances of business success, as well as usage of its trademark Tamheed psychometric assessment tool to MFIs to screen the entrepreneurial capabilities of potential youth beneficiaries.
Both Silatech and PlaNet Finance will provide technical assistance to the participating microfinance institutions to help design and develop dedicated youth loan products. Silatech is also in talks with the partner MFIs with regard to the provision of loan capital for lending by the MFIs to young entrepreneurs.
Dr Tarik M Yousef, chief executive officer, Silatech, said: “Young entrepreneurs face a difficult set of challenges starting and expanding businesses in our region. Access to finance through formal channels such as banks and financial institutions remains an obstacle and entrepreneurship support programmes are rare. We are proud to join with PlaNet Finance for the Youth Entrepreneurship Project, which will help extend access to finance and business support for micro-entrepreneurs.”
Amr Hegazi, regional director, PlaNet Finance Middle East and North Africa, added: “We at the PlaNet Finance Mena are very pleased to enter into a strategic partnership with Silatech for ongoing and future projects in the Middle East and North Africa region. Silatech’s experience and knowledge in the fields of market research, business development and youth entrepreneurship will be an added value for PlaNet Finance’s current projects in Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine focusing on the economic empowerment of marginalised youth.”
At 26%, the Arab world has the highest youth unemployment rate of any region in the world.
Microfinance has proven to be a valuable tool in the effort to fight unemployment and poverty throughout the world.
HBKU hosts workshop for global legal scholars
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Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation, hosted the annual Institute for Global Law and Policy (IGLP) workshop, for the second consecutive year. |
The workshop, held in partnership with IGLP, an institute of Harvard Law School, promoted new perspectives and innovative approaches to issues of global law, economic policy and social justice.
The IGLP at Harvard Law School brought more than 100 doctoral, post-doctoral scholars, and junior faculty together with a core group of senior IGLP faculty from around the world for a unique series of lectures and intensive interdisciplinary debates.
Young teachers and scholars had the opportunity to share their ideas with senior scholars from many leading universities, strengthening higher
education worldwide.
Participants reviewed current scholarly developments, reconsidered canonical texts, and networked with colleagues from across the world.
Intensive writing workshops offered participants the opportunity to receive valuable feedback on their own research from their peers and more senior colleagues in small group settings.
Commenting on the workshop, HBKU’s associate provost for Evaluation and Assessment Dr Dennis Roberts said: “Hosting the Harvard IGLP Workshop in Qatar provided an opportunity to introduce legal and public policy scholars from around the world to the important capacity building work of Qatar Foundation and Hamad bin Khalifa University. We were overwhelmed with appreciation as participants left Qatar after their intense nine-day experience.”
The workshop also focused on comparative law as a constituent part of global policy and legal practice, on the potential to renew the Arab tradition of law and governance, and on the modern significance of the Islamic legal tradition.
IGLP faculty director David Kennedy said: “Harvard’s IGLP workshop in Doha is a powerful experience for young scholars, bringing them into sustained conversation with one another and with leading faculty from around the world.”
He added that convening the workshop in Qatar has opened the door for participants from the Middle East and North Africa region and encouraged discussions not available in the conventional academic centres of the North Atlantic.
QNHG to hold monthly meeting
Qatar Natural History Group (QNHG) will hold its monthly meeting at the Doha English Speaking School on February 5 (Wednesday) at 7pm. The guest speaker will be Jacques LeBlanc, geologist and oil and gas data management specialist at Qatar Petroleum. The talk is entitled, “Surface Geology and Palaeontology of Qatar”.New members are welcome to join. QNHG membership facilitates participation in archaeological and geological field trips. Further details and a map of the venue can be found in the Monthly Talks section on www.qnhg.org
94 entries received for Academic Excellence Award
Director of the Evaluation Institute of the Supreme Education Council (SEC) Dr Hamda al-Sulaiti, who is also president of the Academic Excellence Award Executive Committee has said that 94 contestants in different fields of the Award have presented their applications for the competition. This includes 14 schools, 9 teachers, 14 students, 20 university students, 33 researches and 4 PhD holders.
She noted that the Academic Excellence Award covers all the areas of education, including scientific research. Its goal is to honour the outstanding and distinguished individuals and institutions by highlighting the best practices and creativity in the field of education.
It also encourages competition among the target groups.
