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Children &Youth in the MENA Region:
Towards Unleashing their Potentials
6-10 December, 2010, Monroe Hotel, Beirut, Lebanon
Conference Agenda with PowerPoint Presentations
Monday, 06 December 2010
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Time |
Subject |
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9:00 – 9:30 |
Registration |
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Day’s theme: Realizing the potential of youth across the MENA region: Challenges and opportunities |
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9:30 – 10:15 |
Opening Ceremony
This session will officially welcome participants and provide context for conference discussions.
o Welcoming remarks by the President of the Beirut Municipal Council, Dr. Bilal Hamad
o Remarks by the President of the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI), Mr. Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Nuaim (Speech)
o Remarks by the Country Director of the World Bank in MENA region, Mr. Hedi Larbi
o Welcoming remarks by His Excellency the Minister of Social Affairs, Dr. Selim Sayegh
o Speech by His Excellency the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mr. Saad Al-Hariri |
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10:15 – 11:45 |
1st Plenary session: Realizing the Potential of Youth: Regional Trends, Opportunities in Youth Employability and Challenges
Objective: This session will provide an overview of regional trends facing children and youth. Cross-sector data and findings from recent studies on the impact of poverty and economic crises on illiteracy, school completion, child labor, unemployment, youth participation, and marginalization will be presented and discussed. The session will also serve to frame key issues on practical program and policy experience and options that will be discussed in subsequent sessions.
Moderator: HE Dr. Selim Sayegh, Minister of Social Affairs, Lebanon
Presenter: Ms. Haneen Sayed, MENA Region Youth Co-Coordinator and Human Development Coordinator for Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, The World Bank (Short Bio, Presentation)
Speakers:
o Dr. Ibrahim Al-Turki, Executive Director of MENA Child and Youth Initiative (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Mr. Markus Pilgrim, Manager, YEN (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Dr. Nader Ghazal, President of Al Fayha'a Municipalities Union and Mayor of Tripoli, Lebanon
Open discussion: (30 min)
Room: Hollywood Auditorium - ‘E’ floor |
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11:45 – 12:00 |
Break |
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12:00 – 14:00 |
“Break-out” Sessions: Creating enabling environments for youth employment and employability and overcoming challenges
“Break-out” sessions will focus on the particular challenges and opportunities that face youth in entering the “world of work”. Sessions will be designed to facilitate interaction among participants, drawing on participants’ experience and concrete case studies. Joined by public, private, and civil society sector representatives, these sessions will feature approaches that are working or show potential for overcoming these challenges and promoting youth employment and employability in the region.
1st Breakout Session:
What skills do employers need among new entrants to the job market?
This session will provide perspectives of private sector employers and researchers on what kinds of skills are needed among new entrants to labor markets and obstacles in hiring young workers in the MENA region. The session will discuss ways to conduct labor market assessments as a first step to design demand-driven skills training. How do we find information about labor market needs? What strategies have we found to be most useful in engaging formal and/or informal sector enterprise employers? What have been key challenges in engaging employers? Participants will offer ideas from programs that have worked and discuss what employers need from formal education and from out-of-school programs.
Moderator: Dr. Ziad Al-Saegh, Advisor to the Minister of Labor, Ministry of Labor, Lebanon
Panelists:
o Ms. Raya Anid, HR Manager, NEPA, Microsoft (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Mr. Fawaz Hamidi, Director of the Business Incubation Association in Tripoli (BIAT), Lebanon: Entrepreneurship as a source of job creation for youth – the current trend (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Ms. Rana Al Turk, IYF/Jordan: Labor market assessment in Jordan (10 min) (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Prof. Dr. Mohamed Hamid Abdallah, King Abdullah Research and Consulting Studies, King Saud University: Youth employment and employability, with special reference to Saudi Arabia (Short Bio, Research paper & Presentation)
o Dr. Asmaa Elbadawy, Research Associate Population Council, WANA & Ms. Maia Sieverding, University of California Berkeley: Labor Market situation of Egyptian Youth: Where do Women stand? (Short Bio, Research paper & Presentation)
Open discussion: (30 min)
Room: Red Room - 1st floor
2nd Breakout Session:
What kinds of public policies are working to tackle youth employability challenges and effectively improve school-to-work transitions?
Policymakers and practitioners will consider effective policies and programs that have worked in the region and elsewhere to address youth employability challenges and promote youth employment and entrepreneurship.
Moderator: Ms. Haneen Sayed, MENA Region Youth Co-Coordinator and Human Development Coordinator for Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, The World Bank
Panelists:
o Mr. Waleed Muhsen, Ministry of Social Development, Jordan (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Ms. Dima El Khouri, Executive Director of Injaz Lebanon (Presentation)
o Mr. Jawad Al-Gousous, Director for Regional Programme Development, Questscope (Short Bio, Research paper & Presentation)
Open discussion: (30 min)
Room: Black Room - 2nd floor
3rd Breakout Session:
How can we prepare vulnerable children and youth to enter the world of work?:
How do we prepare vulnerable children and youth to enter the 21st century job market? What kinds of training do we need to provide? How can programs reach most vulnerable children and youth populations, and what kinds of approaches are needed to be most effective in working with these populations? How can programs assist these children and youth to re-integrate in their societies and enter the world of work? What experience have practitioners and policymakers had in working through these challenges in the region and elsewhere?
Moderator: Mr. David Newhouse, Labor Economist, Social Protection & Labor, The World Bank
Panelists :
o Dr. Maha Kayal, Al Fayha'a Union Municipalities, Lebanon: Social Safety Networks and Sustainable Development (Al Fayha’a Municipalities Union Model)
o Dr. Osman Nour, MENA CYI Consultant: Reintegrating School Drop-outs, case study of Karari and East Nile, Sudan (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Mrs. Naseem Al-Maliki, CPI coordinator in Sana’a, Yemen: Child Friendly Classes, a way of reintegrating vulnerable students in education (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Ms. Janine Nawfal, Accelerated Vocational Training Program Manager, YMCA, Lebanon: Remedial Classes to prepare vulnerable youth to the labor market (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Eng. Mervat Kamil Fahmi, Program Manager, Wadi El Nil Association for protection of Quarry Workers: A Field Study about the Reasons of Children Labor (Short Bio, Research paper, Presentation)
o Dr. Najwan Shamsuddin, Assistant Professor, Tabuk University, KSA & Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulmajeed, Associate Professor, Tabuk University, KSA: Integrating parentless youth in the society (Short Bio, Research Paper, Presentation)
Open discussion: (30 min)
Room: Sky Room - 3rd floor |
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14:00 – 15:30 |
Lunch at Hall of Fame Ballroom - 1st floor |
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15:30 – 17:30
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2nd Plenary Session :
Youth Voices: Promoting Youth Participation and Social Integration
Objective: A panel of youth speakers will share their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities they see and will offer their ideas on what is needed at community and national levels to help them realize their potential. In addition, this session will focus on successful initiatives that have embraced youth as partners and empowered them as leaders and catalysts of change. Panelists will discuss barriers that may exist in promoting youth participation and discuss program and policy strategies that involve youth, drawing on concrete examples from the region.
Moderators: Mr. Khalil Choucair, Member in Beirut Municipal Council and President of Youth & Sports Municipal Committee (Short Bio) & Mrs. Farah Hammoud, Ministry of Social Affairs, Lebanon
Panelists:
o Mrs. Charlotte Tanios, Program Coordinator, Mouvement Social, Lebanon (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Mr. Steve Haley, Lebanon Country Director, Mercy Corps, Lebanon (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Ms. Rania Sabaayon, Program Manager, Masar, Lebanon (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Mr. Gilbert Doumit & Ms. Sahar Frangieh: Beyond Reform and Development, Catholic Relief Services: Towards Empowering Young Municipal Councilors in Lebanon (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Maha Aba Hussein (KSA) (Short Bio, Speech, Presentation)
o Hanan Khatib (Palestine) (Short Bio, Paper, Presentation)
Open discussion (40 min)
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19:00 – 20:30 |
Dinner hosted by Beirut Municipality |
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20:30 – 22:30 |
Cultural night |
Tuesday, 07 December 2010
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Time |
Subject |
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08:30 – 09:00 |
Registration in the workshops |
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Day’s theme: “Creative Strategies for Supporting Youth Employment and Employability” |
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09:00 – 09:15 |
Review and Preview
A moderator will summarize the previous day’s discussions and preview the agenda for today.
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Turki, Executive Director of MENA Child and Youth Initiative |
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09:15 – 11:15 |
3rd Plenary session: Leveraging opportunities – Building public-private partnerships in support of youth employability
Objective:
This session will explore the dynamics of partnership development for youth employability programs. What are the appropriate roles, comparative advantages and potential contributions of public sector, businesses and NGOs? How can public-private partnerships contribute to designing high quality training and maximizing job placement success? What is the value and utility of working in partnerships in promoting sustainability and scalability compared to projects that use other approaches? What are strategies for sustaining and scaling programs through alliances or public-private-civil society partnerships?
Moderator: Dr. Elie Mekhael, Secretary General, Higher Council for Childhood, Lebanon
Speakers:
o Mr. Awais Sufi, Vice President, Work Programs, IYF (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Ms. Fareah Al Saqqaf, Vice chairperson & Managing Director, LoYAC (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Mr. Nicolas Rouhana, Director, Business Incubation, Berytech, Lebanon (Presentation)
o Mr. Nabil Tabet, Director of the National Employment Office, Lebanon
Open discussion: (40 min)
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11:15 – 11:30 |
Break |
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11:30 – 13:30 |
Breakout Sessions: Effective youth programming: Lessons learned, best practices, and opportunities
Objective: These practical sessions will focus on opportunities and best practices or “what works” in advancing youth entrepreneurship and job creation in the region. Looking at concrete examples or case studies, they will focus on practical aspects including designing, implementing and evaluating youth employability programs (both employment and entrepreneurship). What obstacles impede youth employment and entrepreneurship? What opportunities exist? How can programs and policies serve the needs of youth starting informal enterprises across the region? What are the gaps and challenges? What roles can various stakeholders play in these efforts?
1st Breakout Session:
What works in skills training and job placement
What are the key components of effective youth employability programs? What models have worked in the MENA region? How can program models from other regions be adapted to fit local circumstances? What is the role of soft skills, or life skills, in youth employability programs? What kinds of curricula and pedagogical approaches have been most effective? How are these skills integrated with technical training? To what extent have internship or apprenticeship programs been effective in providing work experience for youth entering the labor market? How have programs engaged formal and/or informal sector enterprises and employers? What roles can various stakeholders play in these efforts? How can schools provide effective career guidance? How can we use technology to improve youth employability programs?
Moderator: Mr. Awais Sufi, Vice President, Work Programs, IYF
Panelists:
o Mr. Maeen A. Aleryani, CEO, Education for Employment Foundation: Alleviating youth unemployment in Yemen (Short Bio, Research paper, Presentation)
o Dr. Parviz Piran, Faculty Member, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Iran: Youth Innovation Fund Network: Iran's Case (Short Bio, Research paper, Presentation)
o Dr. Wafâa Chafi Fathi, Secretary General, BMCE Foundation, Morocco: An initiative of enhancing youth employability: how to capitalize on their potentials: Case of Morocco (Short Bio, Research paper, Presentation)
o Ms. Narimene Bouraghda, Post-graduation student in private law at the University of Algeria, Algeria : Encouraging vocational integration of youth job seekers: Vocational Integration Institution (Short Bio, Research paper, Presentation)
o Dr. Mahmoud Mohamed Emam Amer, Associate professor of special education, Assiut University, Egypt: Half full half empty, Identifying strengths and difficulties in MENA children: Exploring the relationship between children's social, potential and emotional behavioral difficulties (Short Bio, Research paper, Presentation)
Venue: Red Room – 1st floor
Open discussion: (40 min)
2nd Breakout Session:
What works in promoting youth-led enterprise
This session will present concrete examples and case studies of program models and strategies for supporting youth entrepreneurship and enterprise development. How can programs and policies serve the needs of youth starting informal enterprises across the region, help them formalize their enterprises as they grow and potentially create jobs for their communities? What are the challenges as well as opportunities? What roles can various stakeholders play in these efforts?
Moderator: Mr. Robert Fadel, Member of the Lebanese Parliament, President of Young Entrepreneurs Program "Bader"
Panelists:
o Mr. Justin Sykes, Manager, Social Innovation, Silatech (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Mrs. Maha Al-Shaikh, Project Manager, AGFUND (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Mr. Loay El Shawarby, chairman of Nahdet El Mahrousa, Egypt (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Dr. Madiha El Safty, Professor of Sociology, The American University, Cairo: Youth participation for Development: The Egyptian Experience in Sinai (Short Bio, Research paper, Presentation)
o Eng. Mohamed Ahmed Melouk, Director General, External Relations and Technical Cooperation on building and development of the village in Egypt, Ministry of Local Development, Egypt & Mr. Mohamed Farag Abdul Wahed, Specialist planning on building and economic development of the village in Egypt Ministry of Local Development, Egypt: Small and micro finance and its role in youth employment & overcoming unemployment (Research paper, Presentation)
Open discussion: (40 min)
Room: Black Room – 2nd floor
3rd Breakout Session:
Keeping Promises - How do we know if we are achieving what we promised?
This session will explore the kinds of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems current training programs are using. What results are programs seeking to achieve? How do we know if our programs are achieving intended results? How can good M&E systems keep programs accountable for results? How do programs define success? What kinds of data are needed to assess program quality and relevance? What kinds of indicators should programs be using? How can programs enhance M&E systems? How can programs share information and best practices?
Moderator: Mr. Jack Boyson, Programs Director, IYF (Short Bio)
Panelists:
o Mr. David Newhouse, Labor Economist, Social Protection & Labor, The World Bank (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Dr. Nader Kabbani, Syria Trust for Development, Syria (Short Bio, Presentation)
o Ms. Muna A. Hamdan, Director of Research & Analysis Department / Arabian Business Consultants for Development (ABCD)-Jordan and Representative of “Youth, Technology and Career Program” / Save the Children / USAID: Evaluation of ‘School-to-Work' Program in Jordan (Short Bio, Research paper, Presentation)
Open discussion: (40 min)
Room: Sky Room – 3rd floor |
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13:30 – 15:00 |
Lunch at Hall of Fame Ballroom - 1st floor |
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15:00 – 16:30 |
Parallel Workshops: Identifying priorities for action and recommendations
These workshops will provide an opportunity to identify priorities of stakeholders for concerted action and offer recommendations to enhance youth employability in the MENA region, focusing on the areas of program design and delivery, research, and partnerships.
1st workshop:
Program design and delivery
Building on discussions in earlier sessions, how could meeting participants and stakeholders in the region work together to ensure that high-quality, relevant employability programs are piloted or scaled up? What kinds of training programs are seen to be most in need among youth? What are the key components that need to be included? What is/are the target group(s) of youth? What kinds of training providers need to be involved? What results are programs seeking to achieve? How do programs define success? How can programs share approaches and information? How to move forward? Key next steps?
Moderator: Mr. Jawad Al-Gousous, Director for Regional Programme Development, Questscope (Short Bio)
Room: Red Room – 1st floor
Format: Brainstorming session – open discussion (Reporter taking notes on discussion points and recommendations)
2nd workshop:
Research on youth employment / employability issues
What research is needed to understand better the issues of youth unemployment, employability, school-to-work transition, and child labor in Lebanon? What key research has been done? What are the gaps? Who should be involved? Who is the target audience? How can research as well as lessons learned from pilots and training programs be shared? Key next steps?
Moderator: Dr. Dany Daou, YMCA, Lebanon
Room: Black Room – 2nd floor
Format: Brainstorming session – open discussion (Reporter taking notes on discussion points and recommendations)
3rd workshop:
Partnerships to promote youth employability
What are our key goals, individually and collectively? In what ways can meeting participants and stakeholders work together to achieve better outcomes in youth employment and employability? Of the models discussed, what approaches might work well? What would be different? What stakeholders need to be involved? In what roles? What would we like to see come out of this meeting? What next steps should be pursued? How will this work?
Moderator: Mr. Gilbert Doumit, Managing Partner, Beyond Reform and Development, Lebanon (Short Bio)
Room: Sky Room – 3rd floor
Format: Brainstorming session – open discussion (Reporter taking notes on discussion points and recommendations)
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16:30 – 16:45 |
Coffee Break |
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16:45 – 17:30 |
Discussion Session: The way Forward – What next?
Moderator: Dr. Ibrahim Al-Turki, Executive Director of MENA Child and Youth Initiative
This session will call on reporters/moderators from the three break-out brainstorming discussions to report back to the larger group. Following the report-back from the brainstorming sessions, the moderator will facilitate a large group discussion of 1) possible collective actions that can be taken as a follow-up to meeting discussions; 2) maintaining momentum of youth employability efforts through follow-up initiatives; 3) recommendations for developing an action plan for next steps.
Discussants:
o HE Dr. Selim Sayegh, Minister of Social Affairs, Lebanon
o Dr. Ziad Al-Saegh, Advisor to the Minister of Labor, Ministry of Labor, Lebanon
o Ms. Haneen Sayed, MENA Region Youth Co-Coordinator and Human
Development Coordinator for Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, The World Bank
Room: Hollywood Auditorium - ‘E’ floor |
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17:30 – 17:45 |
Closing Remarks
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Turki, Executive Director of MENA Child and Youth Initiative |
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18:00 – 19:00 |
Announcing the Recommendations |
Wednesday, 08 December 2010
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Time |
Subject |
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Day’s theme: "Al Fayha’a Field Trip" |
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08:00 AM |
Departure from Beirut |
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09:00 – 09:30 |
Registration |
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09:30 – 09:45 |
Opening Ceremony
- Welcoming remarks by Dr. Nader Al-Ghazal, President of Tripoli Municipality and President of Al Fayha'a Municipalities Union
- Remarks by the Arab Urban Development Institute / MENA Children and Youth Initiative
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09:45 – 10:25 |
Presentations of Youth Employment Projects and Youth Voluntary Projects (5 minutes for each presentation)
- Vocational Training Center/ Tripoli Municipality: Presentation by Mr. Ibrahim Mallat, Director of the Vocational Training Center (Presentation)
- Reintegrating School Dropout and Vocational Training Project / Al Fayha'a Municipalities Union, MENA Children and Youth Initiative and Young Men’s Christian Association in Lebanon: Ms. Janine Nawfal, Accelerated Vocational Training Program Manager, Young Men’s Christian Association in Lebanon (Presentation)
- Job Opportunities and Youth Employment Survey Project in Al Fayha'a Municipalities Union / Al-Fayha'a Municipalities Union, MENA Children and Youth Initiative and the International Youth Foundation: Mr. Jack Boyson, Programs Director, International Youth Foundation (Presentation)
- Children Labor Surveillance System Project in Tripoli and its surrounding areas: Ms. Saba Mar'ashli, ILO (Presentation) |
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10:25 – 11:00 |
Coffee Break |
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11:00 – 13:00 |
Field Trips for Youth Employment Projects and Youth Voluntary Projects
- Vocational Training Center/ Tripoli Municipality
- Reintegrating School Dropout and Vocational Training Project / Al Fayha'a Municipalities Union, MENA Children and Youth Initiative and Young Men’s Christian Association in Lebanon
- Shababouna Project / Tripoli Municipality and Al-Safadi Foundation |
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13:00 – 15:00 |
City Visit (the Fortress, Al-Mansoursi Mosque, Khan Al-Saboon, Khan Alhkayateen, Bath…) |
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15:00 – 16:30 |
Lunch hosted by Al Fayha'a Municipalities Union |
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16:30 – 17:00 |
Visit to the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture / Business Incubation Association in Tripoli (BIAT): Reception and Presentation by Mr. Fawaz Hamidi, Director of BIAT |
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17:00 – 17:30 |
Visit to Historical Photographs Gallery / Glass Hall - Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture |
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17:30 |
End of Field Trip and Return to Beirut |
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