The dominant narrative about Arab youth is deeply worrying. A generation of Syrians, Iraqis, Libyans,Sudanese, and Yemenis are without an education and are losing their futures to intractable conflict. Arabyouth form the largest demographic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), but rather than beingviewed as a gift to the region, they are seen as a liability. Yet few leaders hav[...]
This week, Arab and international leaders will gather in Jordan for the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Their discussions will centre on how to solve some of the region’s greatest challenges: grave humanitarian crises engulfing conflict-affected countries and their neighbours, wide income and gender inequalities, and growing numbers of unemploy[...]
“The Arab world has made huge progress in giving children access to school,” says Maysa Jalbout, a nonresident fellow with the Center for Universal Education at Brookings. Yet even so, she calls the 2.6 million Syrian children out of school in the region “perhaps the biggest education crisis globally.” In the podcast, Jalbout—former CEO of the Queen Rania Foundation and a[...]
One minute, one camera, and one boy... is all it took to convey the tragedy of millions of childhoods lost to conflict in the Middle East. Amar’s film is disheartening. But if you walk away demoralized you will have missed the point he makes. Amar is a 15-year-old Syrian refugee, living in Zaatari camp, with a powerful message — children from this region deserve better. He is not s[...]
* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Creativity and innovation are crucial for the future of MENA, especially as its youth compete for their jobs with young people from around the world. More than ever, they need access to a quality education that empowers them to create and contribute while developing their criti[...]
Maysa Jalbout is a non-resident fellow of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. As the school year wraps up, most children are already focused on their summer plans. Long days of free play or organized summer activities are the ideal for many children in the West. Although it's difficult to imagine now, it would have also been the ideal for many of the 97[...]
Recent events continue to underline the fragility of the Arab region. Civil war rages in Syria, refugees surgeacross borders and the lasting effects of the Arab Spring are uncertain. What is certain, however, is thatit is essential to give attention to the welfare of the region’s young people and to economic health in orderto build the foundations for lasting political stability and, in[...]