SPARK, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that helps ambitious young people become leaders through entrepreneurship and higher education, and Silatech, a regional social organization that connects Arab youth to careers, have announced an expert meeting in the MENA region.
The meeting took place at the home of the Dutch Ambassador, located in Doha. There were officials from various NGOs, international development communities, the private and public sectors, think tanks and academia.
“I was honored to host in my residence a group of extraordinary people from the Middle East and Africa to design economic opportunities for refugees and internally displaced persons,” Yvette Burghgraef-van Eechoud, Dutch ambassador to Qatar, said. “The group showed a very high level of commitment, expertise and trust. These are the basic ingredients for finding the right solutions for both refugees and the communities that are hosting them.”
The meeting’s discussions included solutions for the refugee crisis, which needs policies and programs to help refugees while they conduct business without negatively affecting the host country’s economic stability. Other topics included entrepreneurship, employment, policies, programs and ways to develop economic growth and stability.
“Our vision is to have an Arab world in which young people are able to work and are engaged in the economic development of their societies came as a response to the challenge of unemployment in the region and led to the establishment of Silatech to connect Arab youth to economic opportunities and jobs through enterprise and employment -- and today this mission is even more required and needed,” Mohammed Al-Naimi, CEO of Silatech, said. “As we all know, the region is experiencing unprecedented instability with ongoing conflicts and political upheaval affecting multiple countries for the past five years. We hope this meeting is another step in a journey towards unlocking effective partnerships, programmatic interventions and policy recommendations that contribute to providing sustainable solutions to the complex issue at hand.”
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