UAE remains a beacon of hope for youth

The youth are the cornerstone of any development plan and their active contribution is not only necessary but also integral to the development process.

As countries across the globe marked the International Youth Day on Tuesday, the UAE stood out as a model nation because it has always made youth the focus of its attention in almost every aspect of its policy for the future.

Since the establishment of the UAE in 1971, the country has adopted clear national policy and strategic plans to empower the youth and develop their capabilities.

The Cabinet formed in February 2016 was called “Cabinet of Future” for including eight young new ministers, whose average age was 38, including Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, who assumed the post at the age of 22 to be the youngest minister in the world.

Saeed Saleh Al Rumaithi became a member of the Federal National Council, FNC, at the age of 31 to be the youngest member in the FNC’s history.

In 2016, the Cabinet adopted the establishment of the Emirates Youth Council, under the leadership of Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs.

The council undertakes various important tasks, including developing a youth work system in the UAE, setting and mapping out strategies and policies for young people in line with the UAE’s future approaches.

It also identifies challenges faced by the youth in various sectors and proposes solutions to overcome them.

The council’s tasks also include proposing necessary solutions to ensure the positive participation of young people in society across various sectors.

Besides, the UAE Cabinet has approved the formation of the Federal Youth Authority to encourage young people to get involved in key sectors of the economy.

It is responsible for coordinating with local youth councils with the aim of setting an annual agenda for youth activities in the country and ensuring that the objectives, plans, strategies and activities of these councils are in line with the general plans of the country in this regard.

For several years consistently, most Arab youth from the region have named the UAE as the country in which they would like to live and work.

At the international level, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has rightly stated that schools are “not equipping young people with the skills they need to navigate the technological revolution.”

Transforming Education is the theme for this year, which comes at a time when the world is facing a “learning crisis,” as per Guterres, and students need not only to learn, “but to learn how to learn”.

UN statistics reveals that significant transformations are still required to make education systems more inclusive and accessible: only 10% of people have completed upper secondary education in low income countries; 40 % of the global population is not taught in a language they speak or fully understand; and over 75 % of secondary school age refugees are out of school.

Education today should combine knowledge, life skills and critical thinking, as Guterres points out. It should include information on sustainability and climate change. And it should advance gender equality, human rights and a culture of peace.

The future-focused vision of the UAE leadership has been paying rich dividends. The UAE is indeed a beacon of hope and a model nation for young people, and for all the right reasons.