‘Youth overwhelmingly positive about future’

Qatari youth are ‘overwhelmingly positive about their futures and believe their government is putting the right policies in place to address their needs,’ according to findings from the 9th annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2017, released yesterday.As many as 96% of Qatari youth said that they believe the country has been heading in the right direction over the past five years, while 86% were confident the government is developing the right policies focused on the youth.Sheikha Hanadi al-Thani, founder and chairperson of Amwal, participated in the panel discussion at the 9th Arab Youth Survey launch event, focusing her remarks on education and unemployment. In the GCC states, 85% of young people are confident that their country has been heading in the right direction over the past five years compared with 52% for Arab youth across the region.  A total of 78% of GCC youth also believe their “best days are ahead of them” compared with 58% for Arab youth as a whole; and 82% of young people in the GCC believe their economy is on the right track versus 52% on a region-wide basis. Further, 86% of Gulf youth believe their governments are putting the right policies in place that will benefit young people – an opinion held by 57% of young Arabs across the whole Middle East. The survey reveals that, in 2017, support for the US has fallen markedly: 17% of young Arabs see US as their most important ally, down 8% points from 2016 and, for the first time, more young people see Russia as their top international ally – an increase of 12% points from 2016.  The threat posed by Daesh – viewed last year as the number one issue facing the Middle East –  is seen as diminishing, this year tying with unemployment as a top concern for 35% of the region’s young people. Most young Arabs (61%) also believe the terror group is getting weaker and, across the region, young people think education reform and well-paying jobs are just as important as military action in defeating terror and extremism.The quality of education is a cause of concern for young Arabs, particularly in non-GCC nations. Nearly half the Arab youth say they are not satisfied with the current level of preparation of students for jobs of the future.