Silatech connecting young people with opportunities

Silatech, the international development nonprofit non-governmentorganisation that works on connecting Arab youth, has issued its annualreport for 2016-17 in which it provided a general view of its programmesand initiatives, the main local, regional and international strategicpartnerships, and the achievements and results that it accomplished forArab youths in its countries of operation.In the opening remarks of the report, Silatech Chairperson of the Boardof Trustees Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser said that it is “vitalto give all young people the tools to make their societies flourish,”stressing that “it is imperative that we provide them with chances tobecome active and productive members of their communities.”“Silatech was conceived from the region, by the region, for the region,with a vision to unleash this potential,” Her Highness Sheikha Mozasaid, adding: “Our name and our mission are all about connection;connecting needs with skills; connecting employers with job seekers;connecting young people with opportunities.”“The social and economic upheavals that have rocked the Arab world inrecent years have compounded my conviction that now, more than ever, itis vital to give all young people the tools to make their societiesflourish,” she said.“Only when we connect the hopes and dreams of our youth with the toolsto realise them will we build the strong Arab economies of tomorrow,”Her Highness Sheikha Moza said as she concluded her remarks.The report said that the organisation aims to provide 2mn jobopportunities by 2020 in 16 countries in collaboration with 150 local,regional and international partners.The report added that the State of Qatar contributed $148mn out of $237mn collected to fund the organisation’s projects.Silatech said that it collaborates with governmental, educational andprivate sector partners to develop effective employment and trainingmechanisms and programmes.It also provides young people with access to career guidance, trainingand jobs through innovative technological platforms, builds the capacityof local institutions, and direct connection between employers andyoung jobseekers.In the field of enterprise development, the organisation said it funded146,000 youth projects, trained 42,000 young men and women inentrepreneurship, built the capacity of more than 30 financialinstitutions, and designed and launched 29 existing financial productsfor youth.As for employment, 65,000 young people received training to enter thelabour market, over 57,000 professional consultations were offered, 250vocational centres were launched in the Arab world and 900 certifiedprofessional counsellors were provided.In the field of policy and research, Silatech offered more than 50research papers on policies and programmes that support Arab youth, andorganised over 30 international conferences and workshops on youthissues.The report reviewed the progress of some of Silatech’s major venturessuch as the development, independence and sustainability of NarwiPlatform, which was established by Silatech in 2014, “Hope” programmethat aims to reintegrate and rehabilitate a number of Sudanese youths,“Smart Tunisia” and “Bedaya - Enda” programmes in Tunisia, “Bodour”programme in Morocco, “Decent Living” programme in Syria, enhancing therole of Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Guidance,developing “Tamheed” programme for career guidance, and building thecapacity of independent secondary school career advisers.The projects also include establishing localised portals in Arabic,English and French for “Ta3mal” platform in the eight countries ofQatar, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt,supporting the employment of Syrian refugees in Turkey, supporting thecareer guidance and employment centre in Oman, establishing a careercentre to support the employment of women in Saudi Arabia, anddeveloping the capacities of young Palestinian women in the field ofmanufacturing and packaging food products.In addition, the report featured a number of personal experiments ofsome beneficiaries of Silatech programmes and ventures and how thesupport that they received from the organisation changed their lives.