LocationsLayal Wehbe, Project and Research Analyst, ShababEEK Project, UNDP RBAS
Photo credit: UNDP Lebanon
One year ago, we launched the UNDP regional NextGenYouth platform with a specific objective: to create a dynamic space where youth across the Arab region could connect, learn, and grow. We aimed to offer them more than annual events where a limited number of youth connect across the region and gain access to networking and growth opportunities. Instead, the idea was born a couple of years ago - from and led by youth - and the first prototype was built by them voluntarily. While this grassroots foundation makes our platform authentic, it also increases our responsibility to continuously deliver and meet youth expectations.
As we reflect on this first year, it is evident that platforms like ours play a critical role in empowering young people, fostering collaboration and amplifying youth voices—especially in times of adversity.
What is the NextGenYouth platform?
The NextGenYouth Platform supports youth at every stage of their journey, whether they are entrepreneurs, community builders, policy shapers, or young people seeking jobs and opportunities. Visitors can find valuable resources including visibility, networking, learning material, mentorship, and access to opportunities. The platform also serves as a repository showcasing UNDP’s youth-related work across the region.
The power of youth
Through our regional youth portfolio, ShababEEK, we work together with young people—and this proximity to their realities is what we value most. It grounds our work in real-life experiences and challenges, allowing us to witness firsthand both the frustration and despair, as well as the resilience and success stories of youth. We try to highlight both aspects through the NextGenYouth platform. The Arab region is diverse, and no single narrative fits all. Each country has its own rhythm and story, and the struggles of youth vary.
However, one common thread we observe is that youth remain optimistic. Even in countries facing insecurity, war, and economic crisis, youth show remarkable hope and perseverance. This phenomenon—unique yet universal—is what fuels our admiration and commitment daily, but it is also what makes us believe that youth need support; they need networks, data, and access to knowledge to thrive. We strongly believe that youth leadership and their potential to drive change must be accompanied by guidance and access to the resources, opportunities and knowledge they deserve.
Navigating a year of challenges
This past year has brought unprecedented challenges to the Arab region—wars, economic stress, and security concerns have deeply affected our communities, testing both the resilience of our youth and the capacity of our platform.
Despite these obstacles, our team put in many efforts to stay true to our mission. While struggling with personal and collective challenges, we recognized the importance of keeping the NextGenYouth
platform active. Our youth needed a safe space to connect, find support, and continue their work, even amidst uncertainty.
What did we achieve?
Throughout the year, we engaged with over 2,000 registered youth, 17,000 visitors and over 15 partners across the region to understand the needs and explore collaboration opportunities. The NextGenYouth platform has become a reliable resource in uncertain times, offering guidance and over 120 opportunities. The e-library provides access to 75 publications and 8 open-sourced courses and the mentorship module access to 80+ mentors. The platform also features a mapping of over 70 incubators and accelerators.
We also used it to showcase our work through the ShababEEK portfolio and highlight the work of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States, covering 12 regional initiatives, as well as over 72 youth initiatives across UNDP country offices. This consolidation of efforts to support youth in the Arab States region in one space has been an invaluable resource to youth and the greater ecosystem stakeholders.
Through collaborations, we connected youth—bringing together entrepreneurs, community builders, and policy shapers. We showcased over 22 success stories and provided youth with a space to share over 70 projects and their challenges through 50 blogs. Several webinars and competitions fostered cross-border discussions and led to innovative solutions.
A significant milestone has been our emphasis on data-driven insights. The Youth Factsheet –our latest addition—aims to highlight key data shaping the lives and futures of youth across Arab states, with comparisons to regional and global averages. While the upcoming polls section- to be launched in June 2025- will capture real-time youth perspectives, offering feedback to inform policy discussions and help stakeholders respond to actual needs and aspirations of the region’s youth.
Looking ahead
As we move into our second year, the ShababEEK team remains committed to expanding the NextGenYouth platform to better serve our growing community, despite ongoing challenges. This is not just another platform, this is a movement to empower young people across the Arab States region to thrive with new networks, resources and knowledge as entrepreneurs, community builder or policy shapers. Together with youth and partners, we will continue to generate new ideas, introduce innovative features, deepen our data-driven insights for youth programming, and strengthen partnerships that amplify youth voices and drive sustainable change.
