The “Employment for Youth in Egypt (EYE)– Providing a Reason to Stay” is one of the most important youth empowerment projects in Egypt that comes in line with the National Sustainable Development Strategy of 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) 8 as well, said UN Resident Coordinator Elena Panova.
The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and funded by United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS).
The project aims at offering decent job opportunities for youth and tackling the root causes of illegal migration in Egypt, Panova said.
She gave the remarks during a ceremony organized by the UN and Egypt to mark the success of the project that was launched in 2018.
She called for seriously addressing irregular migration and climate change problems that threaten local communities.
Ahmed Rezq, deputy representative of the UN Industrial Development Organization, said the project was carried out in partnership between UN agencies and the Egyptian government represented by the Trade and Industry Ministry and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA).
He said the project focuses on economic insecurity aiming to tackle the root causes of irregular migration, increasing decent employment opportunities for young women and men, especially vulnerable groups, and maximizing the role of the government and private sector in employment creation.
In addition, the project has tackled social and environmental threats through an economic angle by aiming to promote social entrepreneurship and good agricultural practices and raise local communities’ awareness on social and environmental threats while identifying and proposing sustainable solutions.
The ultimate beneficiaries of this program are the unemployed and under-employed youth between the ages of 15 to 35 years in the Nile Delta.
