Barbara Walters chats with Forward Syria
Swaying between art and seduction
Discussing monetary policy with the man in charge
Where the earth screams in horror
07/14/2010 - Issue 41
Vocational Priorities
Why Young Syrians Prefer Public Sector Jobs? Syrian and international experts met up last month to define priorities to boost the young sector Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings, the Dubai School of Government, and the Development Research Centre at the Syria Trust for Development hosted an expert roundtable meeting to identify new and emerging priorities in youth-focused research and policymaking in the region. The meeting was held at the Danish Institute in Damascus on June 13th and 14th.
In addition to the organizing partners, scholars and practitioners representing key global and regional institutions were present from the World Bank, the Population Council, several United Nations agencies, League of Arab States, as well as from top universities in the United States and the region.
The expert roundtable was a private event which brought together a select group of scholars from the Middle East Youth Initiative network and partner organizations to reflect on the Initiative’s past achievements and to develop a new framework for future youth research. The meeting successfully built consensus around key issues and sectors in need of further research, identified country priorities and emerging policy instruments, and reached agreement on a process for cross-country engagement among key stakeholders across government, research, business, civil society and development networks.
Nader Kabbani, director of the Development Research Centre at the Syria Trust for Development, an NGO chaired by First Lady Asma al-Assad, has led two studies on Syrian youth for the Middle East Youth Initiative: “Why Young Syrians Prefer Public Sector Jobs,” (March 2009) and a study of youth exclusion in Syria, which appeared in Generation in Waiting.
Kabbani said, “Our efforts to study youth social-economic transitions in Syria have benefited greatly from working and exchanging ideas with colleagues from the Middle East Youth Initiative. The Initiative has managed to engage a truly unique group of scholars and intellectuals around this important issue and is contributing to better informed policy discussions throughout the region. We are honored to be hosting this roundtable and are looking forward to the next phase of engagement.”.
