Jordan Times
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Compelling need for reform quest of Arab youth — King
By Rami Abdelrahman
DEAD SEA — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday summed up the thrust of the World
Economic Forum's three-day meetings, saying the world still faces the challenges
of solving the Palestinian issue and the future of Iraq.
“This is the real challenge that we set ourselves to face in this meeting: To
marshall the determination and the will that we need, to address the still
unanswered question of Palestine, to find the solution for the future of Iraq,
and to fight to restore our humanity, our values and our innocence,” King
Abdullah said in his statement at the closing ceremony of the WEF. The King
called on the international community to bring justice to the Palestinians,
offer security for the Israelis, and to take action for change. On reforms — a
topic highlighted during numerous WEF sessions — the King stressed that if the
Arab world wants to change, its countries should address their youth.
“The compelling need for reform is the quest of the Arab youth. More young Arabs
today have the freedom, time, social mobility and confidence to face the real
challenge of the future. We can no longer afford to deny the younger generations
the fulfilment of their expectations of knowledge and freedom,” the King said.
Answering questions submitted online to the summit by young students, the King
said all possible resources have been generated towards children's education,
noting that 50 per cent of the Arab population is under 18.
King Abdullah said that with the right education, 50 per cent of the Arab
population under 30 will become the catalysts for reform in the future.
“In my experience, I came across a lot of highly skilled Jordanians working
abroad, who said they would not work in Jordan because there are no
opportunities for them,” the King said, adding such remarks left a “major
impact” on him and spurred him to introduce educational reforms in the Kingdom.
“I have tremendous hope for Jordanian youth,” King Abdullah said.
For his part, founder and president of the World Economic Forum, Professor Klaus
Schwab, announced that the WEF will create a “movement” of 1,100 young people to
engage in all WEF activities. The name of the group is the “New Global Leaders.”
He also announced that Jordan will again host the World Economic Forum at the
Dead Sea in May 2005, and another meeting will be held in Qatar concerned with
“Global Competitiveness.”
“After days of dialogue and establishing new insights, we go home with new
impressions, new facts and new friendships, strengthening us to resolve
tremendous problems. We owe this to peace, prosperity and security,” Schwab
said.
“Now it is time we should leave this mission for the new generations, together
we will achieve it in a global and modern way,” Schwab concluded.