With the International Youth Day being celebrated today (August 12), Qatar-based Silatech has described the occasion as an opportunity to highlight the importance of the roles of youth and their contributions and diverse initiatives.
But this year has been unprecedented with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in the loss of millions of jobs, especially among youth and women, Silatech said in a statement yesterday. According the ILO stats, more than one in six young people suffered job losses as a result of the pandemic.
The pandemic has not only affected jobs, but also the chances of young people to access training and rehabilitation to develop their necessary skills needed to enter the job market.
“We must join forces between governments, international organisations, NGOs, and the financial institutions to accelerate providing jobs through stimulating economic programmes, employment and by upskilling youth,” it was urged.
Since its inception in 2008, until the end of 2019, Silatech has succeeded in creating 1,766,476mn jobs for youth in Africa and the Middle East and has pledged to increase this number to more than 5mn jobs for youth by 2022.
To achieve this goal, Silatech works with a vast and diverse network of international and regional partners, including UN entities. For example, Silatech has partnered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to empower youth by implementing 2 programmes in Syria and Somalia. In addition, Silatech has partnered with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to train and provide jobs for youth in the health sector in a number African and Sub Saharan countries through the “Work for Health “programme.
Silatech also has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to co-operate in the field of supporting the rights of youth to work and education.
The theme of International Youth Day 2020 – “Youth Engagement for Global Action” comes at a time in which young people are under-represented in decision-making processes across many countries and often ignored on national development agendas.
Silatech has always worked to economically and socially empower young people, and continues to support a number of priorities of the United Nations Youth Strategy, particularly, the engagement, participation, and promoting youth voices, as well as supporting young people as catalysts for peace, security and humanitarian action.
Furthermore, Silatech has developed an effective advocacy programme to mobilise interest in youth issues through young people themselves who participate in many regional and international events and seminars, including the 11th Unesco Youth Forum, held in Paris and the United Nations Youth Climate Summit.
Silatech’s enduring vision is based on the fact that young people are the mainstay of societies and must be empowered economically and socially to take full advantage of their potential to become agents of economic growth and societal development.
Silatech
