World Youth Forum Redirects 5th Edition Budget to Development Initiatives

Due to the global economic changes and crises, the World Youth Forum (WYF) announced on Saturday, 4 January that this year’s 5th edition will not be held in its usual annual format at Sharm El Sheikh. Instead, the WYF’s budget will be directed to the implementation of five important development initiatives.

The WYF launched in 2017 under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as a chance for youth to engage with policymakers and for participants from all over the world to network and to discuss a variety of issues, including climate changes, social security, entrepreneurship, among others.

Previous editions of the WYF have seen a range of government leaders, academic experts, innovators, international young leaders, and inspiring youth fly to Sharm El-Sheikh to participate in discussions and panels.

The packages and initiatives that will be implemented include five important projects.

The first initiatives will be launched to support entrepreneurship and small medium enterprise (SME)s, with a focus on assisting entrepreneurs in starting their businesses or increasing the volume of their activities through business incubators and training programs. This initiative will be carried out in cooperation with the Ebda initiative for the development of Egyptian industry, the Haya Karima Foundation, the Federation of Egyptian Industries, Entlaq company, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Development Program, and the International Labor Organization.

The second initiative will be the ‘Learning to Earning’ initiative, which aims to qualify Egyptian, Arab, African, and expirate youth to the labor market and empower their employability skills. The initiative will be implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund and the National Training Academy.

The third initiative will address food security challenges by offering support programs to food industries in Egypt and Africa. Ebda, the National Alliance for Civil Development Work, Haya Karima Foundation, and the Food and Agriculture Organization are participating in the implementation of this program.

The WYF is also instigating a mental health support program, which aims to provide psychological support, health, and community care, especially to refugees, migrants, and those arriving to Egypt from conflict zones, wars. The initiative will be implemented in cooperation with the newly-established “Fahim” Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The fifth initiative is the Empower Refugees and Migrants initiative which aims to enhance their [migrants and refugees] integration into the educational system, accessible health care services, and social protection programs. This will be implemented in conjunction with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Egypt, the International Organization for Migration, Save the Children, and the Red Cross Foundation.

The WYF will also be launching the World Youth Platform for Volunteers, which will serve to promote volunteering culture as well as support volunteers to participate in humanitarian and development work, targeting poor and countries affected by wars, conflicts, or climate change. This will be implemented in cooperation with Haya Karima Foundation, the National Alliance for Civil Development Work, the Arab Voluntary Union, and the United Nations Volunteers program.