DEAD SEA - In a bid to harness the positive energy of young creative minds in the region, the World Economic Forum (WEF) launched the Global Shapers Middle East Community on Sunday.
The initiative seeks to establish a worldwide network of city hubs to help youths utilise their "leadership potential to serve their local communities, but in a global context", according to Børge Brende, managing director of government relations and constituents engagement at WEF.
The network, created this spring, currently includes 141 city hubs worldwide, 14 of which are located in the region, Brende said at a ceremony to launch the Middle East Community at the WEF's Special Meeting on Economic Growth and Job Creation in the Arab World.
The Global Shapers Community is a worldwide network of Hubs led by 20- to 30-year-olds who are exceptional in their potential, achievements and drive to make a positive contribution to their communities, according to the WEF.
The initiative seeks to include 500 hubs within the next three years, with approximately 20,000 Global Shapers, WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said at the ceremony, voicing hope that the network will help utilise young generations as a positive force for change.
He noted that the Global Shapers have so far given him the impression that they are genuinely committed to the WEF's mission: improving the state of the world.
Global Shapers are "young extraordinary individuals" who possess the potential for leadership and an entrepreneurial track record, according to the forum's website.
During the launch yesterday, Kamel Al Asmar, a Global Shaper from Jordan, said the network will help young people by functioning as a platform where they can help each other make decisions and create the changes that they seek.
Yasmin Galal, an Egyptian Global Leader, agreed with Asmar, saying that the initiative will help the younger generation organise for positive change.
"During the revolutions around in the Middle East, our strength came from our numbers... now, reality has changed and we need to organise ourselves and exchange ideas... to call for change," she stressed.
Also at the ceremony, Amira Yahaoui, a Tunisian member of the network, said she embraces her role in the network.
"As a Tunisian... I cannot afford pessimism. I am a Global Shaper, and for me, a Global Shaper has to carry a message of hope."
© Jordan Times 2011
