LONDON, 23 April 2012 - Forty emerging leaders from Arab and European cities will meet in Abu Dhabi this week to explore ways of creating and promoting entrepreneurship among unemployed youth in the two regions.

The inaugural Itijah Venture, a four-day leadership development course run by international organisation, Common Purpose in partnership with the Emirates Foundation, will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company from 23 to 26 April 2012.

Emerging leaders from seven cities which are Abu Dhabi, Budapest, Istanbul, Alexandria, Benghazi, Manchester and Amman are expected to attend to confront the challenge.

Unemployment has been a perennial problem for authorities in the Arab world and is a pressing challenge in Europe with over 5.5million young people unemployed in Europe and 24million in the Arab World.

During the four day Venture, participants will be set the challenge of boosting the number of young people who create new businesses using ICT (Information Communication Technology) and social media, a compelling task, common to both European and Arab regions. 

Participants will explore the context of the before working up ideas (whether big or small) to feedback to the Itijah Advisory Group, which consists of experienced leaders from the participating cities.

"The Arab world has witnessed tremendous change over the past year and Common Purpose is excited to be expanding in the region during these important times" said Julia Middleton, Chief Executive and Founder, Common Purpose. "We are launching our latest Venture to bring together emerging leaders from Europe and the Arab world to work on a common challenge - youth unemployment - by looking at ways to promote entrepreneurship amongst young people. We are proud to hold the inaugural Itijah Venture in Abu Dhabi in partnership with the Emirates Foundation and believe that the will be a significant step forward for Common Purpose in the Arab world."

International sponsors supporting the leadership initiative include Cisco, Shell, Oracle, Newman's Own Foundation, PwC and DLA Piper. The local sponsor for the first Itijah Venture is Etihad Airways.

Commenting on the initiative, Maytha Al Habsi, Chief Programs Officer at Emirates Foundation, said: "This initiative highlights the Emirates Foundation's increased focus and commitment to the youth sector. We are pleased that Abu Dhabi will be the first Arab city to host Itijah. The event aspires to enhance cross cultural awareness, build new networks between young people and enable them to share and discuss ideas and visions to change the world around them."

Itijah, meaning 'direction' in Arabic, is part of a series of Ventures run by Common Purpose that will expand, enrich and energise relations between two or more locations.

Other Ventures Common Purpose is currently developing include Dishaa (India, UK), Dao Xiang (London, Shanghai), Pambili (South Africa, UK), Yon (Turkey, UK) Dou Heung (Hong Kong, Scotland) Kompas (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania).

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Common Purpose
Common Purpose is an independent international leadership development organisation. Over the past 22 years, Common Purpose has designed and delivered courses that help people at all stages of their career become more effective leaders in society.

Common Purpose was founded by Julia Middleton in 1989 and currently delivers leadership development opportunities in nearly 40 cities across 12 countries, including: France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, MENA, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the UK.

Common Purpose runs courses that give people from the private, public and not-for-profit sector the inspiration, skills and connections to become better leaders both at work and in society. Common Purpose helps people, organisations, cities and regions to succeed, by broadening the horizons of their leaders and developing their ability to work together and lead complex change.

Common Purpose deals with real life issues and insights. We connect people who might otherwise never meet and give participants an understanding of the local context in which they do their jobs, the impact of their decisions and the contribution they can make. We operate in countries across the world - and connect them together. So participants are exposed to a broader international perspective of leadership.

There are 35,000 Common Purpose alumni around the world and each year, 3,000 people complete a Common Purpose course. To attract the widest range of potential participants from a diverse range of backgrounds, Common Purpose provides approximately 600 bursaries a year for those who could not otherwise afford to attend.
www.commonpuropse.org 

The Emirates Foundation
The Emirates Foundation is one of the UAE's foremost philanthropic organisations. It offers financial and technical support to projects that enrich the lives of people in the Emirates, particularly in the area of youth development.

The Foundation facilitates links between commercial businesses and the public sector to devise new projects and strengthen existing non-profit initiatives throughout the country. Its funding comes from programme-rated contributions and a capital reserve supported by the Abu Dhabi government and private companies.

Launched on April 12, 2005 by H.H Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, its Board of Directors is chaired by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
www.emiratesfoundation.ae

Media pack for Itijah Venture is available here: http://www.commonpurpose.org/media/108759/itijahmediapack.pdf

© Press Release 2012