Civil society needs active role in forming effective Public Policy

Dubai, UAE; December 4^th, 2013

Civil society in the Middle East needs to play an active role in setting effective public policy to better enable the region's youth,  researchers and experts said on the opening day of the Annual Conference of the Arab Thought Foundation (FIKR 12).

This year's conference focuses on job creation and the aim to create 80 million jobs in the Arab world by 2020.

"Civil society is not yet united [in its aspirations]. We have recommended to Lebanese Congress to give society the opportunity to give feedback and to view the laws before they are approved," said Tareq Zebian, founder of Lebanon's National Civil Society Parliament Liaison Unit.

Ziad Mikati, Public Policy Analyst, Office of the President of the Office of ministers of Lebanon agreed during a panel discussion on improving public policy in the region.

"We are trying to create institutions to involve society more but the culture so far does not support this," Mikati noted.

Youth play a fundamental role in Lebanon's society today: 27% of Lebanon's population is between 15-24 years old. When combined with 0-15 years old, this makes it 40% of the country's population. The commitment of the state to try and tackle all youth issues is therefore essential.

Mikati highlighted unemployment, contribution to social policy and education as the three main challenges that young people in Lebanon face today. Current figures show that 66% of unemployed people in Lebanon are young people. Other issues in Lebanon are a brain drain, youth feeling neglected, no focus on vocational education, risk of violence and extremism and a lack of quality education in public schools. The current drop-out rate in public schools in Lebanon is 87%.

"Youth are the future generation; they are the present and future therefore we have to try and tackle the issues of youth development. Without policies and legislation we cannot achieve that," said Mikati.

To help governments and policymakers address the key issues, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has put together recommendations to help bring about job creation in the region. The recommendations were based on three main criteria including, income, poverty and the quality of education. Studies show that 87 per cent of youth in the Middle East identify unemployment as the biggest problem they face. However, it is not enough to simply put people in government jobs; they want to feel they are making a difference and contributing to society, Zebian noted.

Lebanon's National Youth Policy, approved in 2000, reflects the country's commitment to youth issues and aims to define young people's role in society and improve their lives. The Youth Forum submitted 162 recommendations to the Cabinet and in April 2012, the Lebanese government approved the document on Youth Policy, representing an enormous achievement for the country's young people.

"Lebanon is the first country to have its policies set by the youth, not the government. Youth are included in all levels of the process [and so] democracy has been proved," said Mikati.

Zebian cited the ban on smoking in public spaces in Lebanon as a prime example of how society can contribute to effective public policy where society, researchers and the media collaborated.

Drew Gardiner, technical officer, Taqeem Fund for Evaluation in Youth Employment in the Middle East and North Africa, said that the limited capacity of youth policymakers and the insufficient production of quality evidence meant that it is difficult to determine whether policies for youth employment in the Middle East are actually working.

From the programmes he has been involved in, Gardiner said that neither training nor financing alone is enough to make a difference. Instead, programmes must be demand-driven; include opportunities for vocational training; target the correct people; and support services such as training must go beyond the classroom. All these elements must exist within an enabling environment in terms of regulations, legislation and access to finance.

"Although research is not the only answer, it is a key element in policymaking. Research must go hand in hand with planning and monitoring to check that the programme is working. We need to step up efforts into implementing youth employment programmes; this is the spirit of the Arab Spring," Gardiner said.

"Today, social media and technology are omnipresent and so it is easy to step back and learn what is working and what's not."

-Ends-

The Arab Thought Foundation:
The Arab Thought Foundation is an international, independent non-profit and non-governmental organization based in Beirut (Lebanon), founded by His Royal Highness, Prince Khalid AlFaisal in the year 2001. It is a solidarity initiative between business community & intellectuals to promote pride in the Arab nation's core values and identity and achieve Arab cultural cohesiveness, while being open to other cultures of the world.

For further information, please contact:
Nedal Al Asaad / Omar Badran                                                                                  
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller                                                         
Tel: (+971 4) 4507600; Fax: (+971 4) 4358040 
E-mail: nedal.alasaad@bm.com, omar.badran@bm.com

© Press Release 2013