Young people in the Arab States Some reflections based on the UN’s World Programme of Action for Youth Joop Theunissen Focal Point on Youth UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

What is youth? A statistical definition: years A period of transition from protection in childhood to self-determination in adulthood Why does the concept change? Changes in historical age Changes in social age

How do youth fit in globally? Children (<15)1.8 billion30% Youth (15-24)1.1 billion18% Adults (25-64)2.8 billion46% Elderly (65>)0.4 billion7% Total6.1 billion100%

Over 1.1 billion youth – 85 per cent in the South Asia and the Pacific659 million Africa161 million Latin America and the Caribbean 101 million Middle East and North Africa 34 million North America42 million Europe100 million

Ten priorities of the United Nations for youth – agreed in Education 2. Employment 3. Hunger and poverty 4. Health issues 5. The environment 6. Drug abuse 7. Delinquency 8. Leisure 9. Girls and young women 10. Participation in decision-making UN World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, General Assembly resolution 50/81

Hunger and Poverty How many young people live in poverty? Undernourished: up to 160 million On <$1 per day: 206 million On <$2 per day: 515 million = almost half of all youth! World Youth Report 2005, Table 1, page 5

How many in poverty: Middle East and Northern Africa region 2 million under $1 per day 12 million under $2 per day 7 million on poor nutrition

Coping with poverty Labour: “forced” entrepreneurship and self- employment in the informal sector Migration of young workers: Domestic: rural-urban migration (50-50 point rural/urban population was reached in 2002) International migration (175 million migrants in 2002)

Education – The Good News The “best-educated generation” ever : Since 1995, more children than ever complete primary school Four out of five eligible youth are in secondary education Some 100 million youth currently in tertiary education

Education – The Bad News Large differences globally: 130 million children currently not in school 133 million youth are illiterate Large gender differences Large differences between groups of countries

Employment 88 million young people were out of work in 2004 (up from 58 million in 1995) Youth are almost half of the world’s unemployed Globalization forces young people to become increasingly competitive internationally

Participation in decision- making Youth participation promotes social integration and cohesion in society 2 trends: New forms of participatory structures: away from membership-based organizations towards looser, network-based structures Yet, still very active spontaneous student movements that can bring about social change

Young people and health Reproductive health risks Maternal health: Behavioral risks 1 million deaths worldwide on accidents, violence, alcohol, tobacco and drugs Risk of poverty-related disease Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles, HIV/AIDS HIV: 2.5 mln deaths per year; 39 mln infected so far worldwide, 20 mln died so far; 10 mln youth infected; Malaria: 1 million deaths per year TB: 1.7 million deaths per year

Girls and young women Gender-based stereotyping, including discrimination Unequal treatment in the worlds of education and work Access to reproductive health services to prevent STDs and pregnancy Violence against women; female infanticide, genital mutilation; sexual abuse and exploitation

Five “New” Youth Issues since 1995 World Youth Report 2003: Youth and Globalization Youth and ICT HIV/AIDS Youth and conflict prevention Intergenerational relations

Youth and Globalization Economic globalization – two views: Benefits young people: they are quick adapters Hurts young people: they are being exploited Social aspects of globalization: young people come closer together: local issues become global issues vice versa: glocalization it has created a more uniform youth culture -> see next topic.

Information and communication technology Traditional forms of socialization of young people are being challenged New technology brings a uniform culture of Information Pleasure Autonomy  A new global youth culture, increasingly media- driven

Young people and conflict Young people are offenders and victims - they kill and are being killed, more than any other group. They play a disproportionate large role!

Youth and the MDGs An opportunity: Youth are a dividend to build long-term social capital to reach the MDGs and economic and social development. A challenge: Worldwide 200 million youth in poverty, 88 million unemployed, 10 million with HIV/AIDS Youth are a tremendous resource that needs to be unleashed.

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