Initiative to help youth play greater role in society

UNICEF and the Ministry of Youth and Sports support the initiative to help youth play a greater role in society.

This statement by UNICEF Representative in Egypt Jeremy Hopkins came during the first meeting of the advisory board of ‘Shabab Balad’, initiative co-ordinated by UNICEF during COP27.

The platform’s advisory board includes Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi, Executive Director of the National Training Academy Rasha Ragheb, President of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) Mohamed El Sewedy and UNICEF Representative in Egypt Jeremy Hopkins. The Decent Life Foundation took part in this meeting.

Hopkins said the initiative ‘Shabab Balad’ (Youth of the Country) will train young people in networking, innovative thinking and decision-making as well as entrepreneurship and employment.

He said UNICEF and the Ministry of Youth and Sports support the initiative, which will help youth play a greater role in society.

The Shabab Balad initiative, launched last January during the World Youth Forum under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, comes in line with Egypt’s sustainable development goals for Egypt Vision 2030.

Minister of International Co-operation Rania el-Mashaat and UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova co-chaired the first meeting of the advisory board of the initiative.

El-Mashaat said that holding of such meeting enhances joint co-operation between Egypt and the United Nations in empowering young people and providing them with opportunities to participate in development efforts.

For her part, Panova said: “The United Nations is keen to unite efforts to achieve the initiative’s success.”

“We hope that the achievements of the initiative in Egypt will serve as a model for other countries,” Panova added.

Panova said: “Egyptian young people are resilient, hardworking, dedicated, and most importantly, they believe they have the power to realise their dreams, and they will achieve them. This generation of children and young people has an unlimited potential to create a better future to the world we share.”