Jordan Times
Monday, December 5, 2005
Queen calls for new perception of youth
AMMAN (JT) Her Majesty Queen Rania on Sunday
called for a new perception of, and an action-driven approach to, youth as a
fourth and leading sector in the Arab world, highlighting the urgency of
reaching out to, unifying and empowering them.
The Queen made the comments during a two-day working visit to Dubai, where she
participated in the annual meeting of the Forum of Young Arab Leaders (YAL) and
witnessed the signing of a partnership between the YAL and the INJAZ programme.
I meet with you, today, as I, together with the people of Jordan, recover from
the criminal acts that struck our beloved country on Nov. 9, Queen Rania told
the meeting.
These vicious acts have reaffirmed that we can stand up against this evil
ideology, and have reinforced, without doubt, that we are witnessing a clear
battle between two conflicting ideologies... One that is based upon the
principle of life and hope, and another that is rooted in murder and chaos, she
added.
Highlighting the contrast between these ideologies, Queen Rania affirmed that
we believe that the future is what counts, while they live in the past and seek
to destroy that future. This future, represented by a fourth sector in society,
is the target of today's ideological struggle.
We have become accustomed to dealing with three classical sectors: The public,
private and civil society sectors, the Queen went on to say, adding that: We
have overlooked the fact that a fourth sector is the true representative of our
future; one that comprises more than 200 million Arab citizens, citizens whose
voices have not been heard through the three-sector equation.
Queen Rania said the YAL meeting symbolises the voices of three-fourth of the
Arab world and that youth, with all their optimism, hope and openness, and their
rejection of the monopoly of thought and narrow-mindedness, constitute the
fourth sector in all Arab societies.
We have no excuse to lose this battle but our inability to unify and stimulate
this sector, the Queen said, adding the numbers and figures are on our side,
with the majority of youth seeking a platform to unite them and establish their
intellectual identities.
She went on to add that, having sufficient financial and technical resources
within our reach, all we need is the will and determination to act and
translate words and ideas into deeds.
She highlighted the need to be able to measure success and progress: We must
move forward... and the next time we meet we must be able to assess how far we
have come in our societies, using, as measure, the names of those who have moved
from the silence to action and participation in establishing the fourth sector.
Queen Rania went on to say that those names should surpass membership figures,
and must represent not only the youth whose lives we touch throughout our work,
but those with whom we connect and remain in touch with, thereby forming a
growing constituency who share our beliefs and vision.
The Queen also said that the strength and ability of any influential movement
lie in the number of members it has as well as those who represent its
organisations.
Concluding her speech, Queen Rania emphasised that we have no choice but to
succeed so as to give our youth the future they deserve.
In line with her call for action to connect with, unify and empower youth
efforts across the Arab world, the Queen attended a milestone signing ceremony
during the event between the YAL and INJAZ Al Arab representatives of several
Arab countries.
The agreement was spearheaded by the Queen in the YAL Jordan chapter, which has
drawn up a mechanism to support initiatives, such as INJAZ, in economic
development and youth empowerment. As a result, other chapters signed agreements
yesterday with INJAZ in Bahrain, Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab
Emirates. This will help INJAZ Al Arab reach a million Arab youth by 2015,
through its innovative programme of business-oriented courses taught in schools
and universities by corporate volunteers to help youth find better economic
opportunities.
Queen Rania is the regional ambassador of INJAZ Al Arab because of her strong
support of youth initiatives in the Kingdom and her role in encouraging
Jordanians to take a more proactive role in their communities.
INJAZ Al Arab, an initiative driven by the private sector, seeks to create a new
generation of business-oriented youth who will become entrepreneurs or employees
of choice of corporations, instead of joining the growing ranks of the
unemployed. It is part of Junior Achievement Worldwide, an international
organisation, in which six million students participated in 98 countries in
2004.
During her participation in the forum, the Queen received a Young Arab Leader
Award for her ongoing support of nongovernmental organisations and social
entrepreneurship in the Arab world. The award was presented to her by Crown
Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Ben
Rashid.
The award celebrates leadership and excellence in the Arab world. The winners
are all role models for young people in the region. Their successes are
inspiring greater aspiration and achievement among a new generation of Arab
leaders, YAL Chairman Mohammad Al Gergawi said.
The award ceremony brought to a close the two-day YAL forum, which brought
together a diverse and select group of current and former public figures,
business leaders, senior representatives of multinational corporations and key
NGO representatives to participate in a series of panel discussions and dynamic
interactive workshops.
The goal of the forum was to develop an action plan that all the participants
can help implement during the coming year. By identifying specific ways to
address the challenges of our region and asking each participant to make a
specific commitment to take action in one of the areas discussed, this event
proved to be an unprecedented and effective forum for leaders and their
communities around the region.
YAL members and other senior policy and decision makers from Morocco, Egypt,
Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Europe and the US
attended the forum.
YAL award winners
Her Majesty Queen Rania for ongoing support of NGOs and social
entrepreneurship in the Arab world
Crown Prince of Bahrain Sheikh Salman Ben Hamad Al Khalifa for the public
sector
Sheikh Abdulla Ben Mosaed Al Saud for his contributions to the manufacturing
sector
CEO of Dubai International Capital Sameer Al Ansari for leadership in the
financial sector
CEO of Dolphin Energy Ahmed Al Sayegh for the energy sector
A special award was given posthumously to the late Basel Fleihan, former trade
minister of Lebanon