"We believe that youth can play important and pivotal roles in the development process, and that they are most capable of advancing development." Shamma Al Mazrui

“Youth are vital partners in achieving the SDGs. It is important that we continue to support and enable them so that they can contribute to local and global development.” Khaleda Bouzar

Dubai – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Arab Youth Center (AYC) signed today a cooperation agreement to launch the second edition of the Youth Development Delegates Programme in the Arab Region, in the presence of HE Shamma Al Mazrui, UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and Vice President of the AYC, Dr Khalida Bouzar, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States, and HE Saeed Al Nazari, Director General The Federal Youth Foundation, and Chief Strategy Officer at the Arab Youth Center.

Under the agreement, UNDP will appoint a second cohort of young people to work in its country offices in 13 Arab countries, with the aim of promoting their inclusion of in development work and empowering them with experience in various areas of development in the region. 

“Through the Youth Development Delegates Programme, young Arabs will be embedded in UNDP offices to acquire new skills, develop their knowledge and networks, and harness their learning experiences to implement initiatives that benefit them, their countries, and the whole Arab region,” Said, HE Shamma Al Mazrui. “We believe that youth can play important and pivotal roles in the development process, and that they are most capable of advancing development, tackling priority issues for their countries to address political, economic and social challenges.”

AYC and UNDP will continue their partnership to achieve their common vision of working with young people to enable them to be partners in development and help develop in their countries and the Arab region.

“Youth are vital partners in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is important that we continue to support and enable them so that they can contribute to local and global development,” stressed Dr Khalida Bouzar. “Delegates of the previous cohort have strengthened UNDP’s youth programming and brought energy and innovation to country- and regional-level work. We look forward to welcoming the new cohort and to continuing our fruitful partnership with the Arab Youth Center.”

The first cohort of youth delegates, who have served in 10 UNDP offices, in Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Somalia, Syria, and Tunisia, are graduating this spring. 

The new cohort is expected to start their assignments by the end of the summer of 2022, in the same countries with the addition of Algeria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. One delegate also serves at the UNDP Regional Hub in Amman, Jordan.

For more information, please contact: 

AYC     | Dana Ibrahim | Strategy Executive | delegates@arabyouthcenter.org

UNDP   | Linda Haddad    | Regional Youth Project Manager  | linda.haddad@undp.org