NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) yesterday hosted a town hall session with Director of Middle East and Central Asia at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour. Titled A New Model of Development in MENA: What Role for the Youth?, the event was moderated by NYUAD Class of 2014 aluma Hala Halaseh, and included a Q&A with students.
Azour recently launched the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and North Africa for 2021/22 and has previously participated in the launch of the Arab Youth Survey in which he discussed challenges and opportunities for the youth as well as the IMF’s views and policy recommendations for youth employment.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has the largest youth population in the world, with more than half of residents under the age of 25. This tech-native demographic presents a huge opportunity for growing the region’s digital economy, with 40 percent of young Arabs wanting to start their own business in the next five years, rising to 55 percent in the GCC. Yet there are challenges: the MENA also has the world’s highest youth unemployment rate, at 27.2 percent in the Middle East and 29 percent in North Africa, according to the Arab Development Portal – more than double the global average.
As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, the UAE has placed youth development at the heart of its plans for the coming decades.
A New Model of Development in MENA: What Role for the Youth? was hosted in The Arts Center’s Red Theater to a live student audience, as well as streamed online, including the IMF’s social media channels.
