Public, private and civil sectors leaders pledge to unify efforts in empowering youth to lead development.

Public, private and civil sectors leaders pledge to unify efforts in empowering youth to lead development.

First Nahdet El Mahrousa Annual Reception for Partners on “Youth's Responsibility in Egypt's development.”

Cairo, 22 April 2007: In the first partners meeting organized by Nahdet El Mahrousa NGO, over one hundred representative of the public, private and civil society and media sectors pledged yesterday to unite their efforts for Egypt's youth. The meeting, titled "Role of Young Egyptian Professionals in Egypt's Development", covered ways of empowering youth to bring real development in Egypt.

"Over 60 percent of Egypt's population is between the age of 18 and 30; we must develop this youth first, if we want to bring real development in Egypt," said Dr. Iman Al Kaffas, member of the National Youth Council and advisor of Nahdet El Mahrousa's Alliance for Education and Employment in Egypt, in her opening speech. "We cannot have a better Egypt without youth," she affirmed.

Mr. Ehaab Abdou –the chairman of Nahdet El Mahrousa (NM)-said "we have betted on those young Egyptian professionals who have had better education opportunity and possess the commitment and the will to bring change. They are the ones who have an even bigger responsibility and role and the ability to stir the wheel of development of Egypt. "The minds and genuine efforts of those intellectual and conscious youth will be our means to a better Egypt," he added.

Mr. Abdou introduced the unique approach of the "incubator" of young development ideas, which Nahdet El Mahrousa (NM) adopted since 2002. He also presented the impact of seven currently incubated projects at NM in the areas of youth education and employment, research and development, citizenship and respect of the other. "The incubator helped build a generation of conscious Egyptian youth that is active in the development of Egypt," stated Mr. Abdou.

During the meeting, a documentary film on the achievements of NM and its partners over the past four years was displayed. NM future strategic plan and recommendations for the coming five years was also presented. Participants, then, discussed potential areas of collaboration between the public, private, civil society, higher education, and media sectors, in order to address the needs of youth and activate the latter's role in development.

"We need to focus on three key areas in the coming period," said Dr. Kaffas. These are the knowledge and education of youth and their interaction with the outside world; youth skills; and finally youth sense of belongingness.

Among the participants were executives of private corporations, faculty deans at Cairo and Ein Sham universities, the Head of AMIDEAST – Steve Hunchy- among several directors of NGOs, donor organizations and the media, in addition to NM members.

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About Nahdet El Mahrousa:
Nahdet El Mahrousa (NM) is an Egyptian voluntary organization (registered in 2003) initiated by Egyptian youth and working as an incubator for ideas that supports successful youth development ideas to become models for national implementation. Made of a group of young university-educated Egyptians around the globe, NM has one vision: Egypt where the youth are active catalysts towards positive change. Nahdet El Mahoursa currently supports nine key projects in the areas of youth education and employment, economic and social development, art for development, and reviving scientific research.