UAE celebrates International Youth Day

Aug 11th

The UAE has a pioneering experience at the global level in empowering youth and investing in their energies and potentials, as the main tool of change and development capable of crossing society towards a better future.

Tomorrow, Saturday, the UAE will celebrate the “International Youth Day”, which this year deals with the topic of developing youth skills suitable for the green economy, in order to achieve and enhance sustainability in the world.

The occasion, which falls on August 12 of each year, is an opportunity to highlight the achievements of the UAE in supporting and empowering youth in all fields, as more than 600 young men and women currently occupy leadership positions in various federal government agencies, while the UAE is one of the first Countries that have worked to institutionalize the process of empowering youth and enhancing their active participation in all development paths of the country.

Over the past years, the UAE has succeeded in activating youth participation and enhancing their leadership spirit, through a set of steps, foremost of which is the adoption of the Council of Ministers in 2016, the establishment of the Emirates Youth Council, and the establishment of the Federal Youth Corporation, which coordinates with local youth councils to set an annual agenda for activities. And youth activities in the country.

The Council specializes in developing a strategy for youth, in line with the future directions of the state, and works to prepare studies for the role of youth in the development of society by opening all channels to listen to the opinions of young people and the challenges they face, in order to provide the necessary solutions to activate their positive participation in various sectors in the country.

Following the announcement of the formation of the Emirates Youth Council, the formation of seven local youth councils was announced at the level of the seven emirates, to be a voice for youth at the level of the Emirates, and institutional councils were launched that act as representative arms for youth in all private and public sector institutions in the country.

In 2018, the UAE government approved the establishment of the Federal Youth Authority, which undertakes the task of coordinating with local youth councils, with the aim of setting an annual agenda for youth activities and events in the country, and ensuring that the objectives, plans, strategies and activities of these councils are consistent with the state’s general plans in the field of youth.

The Foundation undertakes the tasks of establishing and managing youth centers and clubs in the country, organizing events, workshops and activities in them, establishing a database of youth councils and documenting their data, activities and events in coordination with those councils.

And to enhance the presence of youth in the region and the world, the UAE launched the National Youth Strategy, which is based on five major transformations that young people go through during the age period from 15 to 35 years; To include the stages of education, work, following a healthy and safe lifestyle, starting a family, and ending with practicing citizenship and national work.

In June 2019, the Council of Ministers issued a decision obligating the participation of members of the Emirati youth category in the boards of directors of government agencies, institutions and companies, with at least one member, and whose age does not exceed 30 years.

On February 3, 2020, the Council of Ministers approved the selection of 33 young applicants for membership in the boards of directors of federal entities, to enhance youth participation in developing solutions to various files and national issues. Educating young people and providing them with adequate information about all stages of housing construction.

In April 2022, the UAE launched the “National Youth Survey”, which aims to measure the level of social, political, economic and cultural maturity of youth in the country, in addition to collecting data related to the youth category in various sectors of the country, and making it accessible to decision-makers, stakeholders and researchers. To scientifically help them adopt policies and strategies to improve the quality of life of young people, support their needs, build their capabilities and invest in their skills.

In addition to the youth of the country, the UAE is a major incubator for the aspirations and ambitions of Arab youth, through its support and encouragement of many initiatives and programs that allow them a wide scope to participate in building a better future for themselves and their countries.

Emirati initiatives and programs aimed at Arab youth focus on improving their role, nurturing their energies, encouraging them to innovate and arm themselves with knowledge and science, and enhancing their positive role in sustainable development in their societies.

In 2017, the UAE announced the launch of the Arab Youth Center, which represents a regional center for youth in the country, helps develop youth capabilities, and supports innovation and creativity in the Arab world.

The Center has launched many initiatives and strategic projects that are being implemented by young people, and their impact is being monitored in various countries, including the “Arab Youth Hackathon” initiative, the “Arab Youth Projects Market” initiative, the “Youth Solutions” initiative, and the Young Arab Diplomatic Leaders Program.

The center has completed more than 600 research, including studies and reports that monitor the reality of Arab youth, and reviews the most important future trends on youth behavior, aspirations and data about them.

In turn, the “One Million Arab Coders” initiative, one of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s global initiatives, which has been supervised by the Dubai Future Foundation since its launch in 2017, provided the opportunity for more than one million Arab programmers to register and participate in the largest initiative of its kind in the region from anywhere in the world. Through the “Udacity” digital educational platform that specializes in providing digital educational content in areas of advanced technology required in the labor market, such as data science, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, electronic security, machine learning, and others.

In the field of space, the UAE announced, in July 2020, the “Arab Geniuses of Space” program, which is supervised by the Emirates Space Agency, with the aim of embracing and nurturing a distinguished scientific elite of Arab geniuses, talents and competencies.