News
Silatech and Financial Times mobilize partnerships addressing young people and employment in the Arab World during Doha Summit.
Her Highness Sheikha Mozah of Qatar sets into action Silatech’s strategies to create new economic and job opportunities.
Doha, Qatar , 1 June 2008 - Under the leadership of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned and co-hosted by the Financial Times, Silatech is holding a two-day summit in Doha to launch commitments and action among international and regional leaders to spur investing in entrepreneurial economic opportunities for young people in the Middle East and North Africa.
The summit is gathering leaders from the private, public and civil society sectors to promote innovative large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship and access to capital and markets.
At the opening ceremony, Rick Little, Silatech Chief Executive said: “Silatech is about connecting young people to each other, to capital, to industry, to opportunity.” He added, “The Summit is about taking action. It is about making real commitments.”
During this summit, Silatech will unveil its strategy, discuss its action plan, announce its initial partners, introduce the Silatech ambassadors, announce the phase one ,pilot countries, share best practices and invite partners and investors to join the initiative and be part of the innovative opportunities that it presents.
In addition to the $100 million dollar private contribution made in January 2008 by His Highness the Emir of Qatar and Her Highness to establish Silatech, the summit will feature further partnerships and supporting endeavors, ventures and agreements by partner companies, foundations, individuals, commercial banks and governments to improve work opportunities for young people, first in the Arab World.
About Silatech
Established in 2007, Silatech is an innovative initiative that aims to improve the social and economic status of young people through the creation of progressive, entrepreneurial market, employment and business opportunities globally and in the Arab world.
The "Silatech" initiative was initiated and launched by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned at the Annual Forum for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations held in Madrid on January 15-16, 2008. It stems from Her Highness’ drive and determination to address the critical and growing need to create new jobs and opportunities for young people globally, starting in the Middle East and North Africa. It is a pragmatic initiative which aims to offset the lack of opportunity and economic marginalization of many young people throughout the Arab world by enabling systemic changes, in policy and mindset, at regional and global levels.
Silatech objectives include promoting market based job training; enabling state-of-the-art contact and counseling centres; experimenting with cutting edge technologies to connect young people with each other and potential employers; providing access to business development services and capital for aspiring young entrepreneurs; and breaking down cultural barriers to risk taking and entrepreneurship.
Silatech has established a network of stakeholder partners and support from other leaders and organizations regionally and internationally, including Cisco, the International Labor Organization, and the World Bank Global Partnership for Youth Investment, among others.
About Financial Times (FT)
The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business newspapers, is recognized internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, the newspaper is printed at 24 print sites across the globe, has a daily circulation of 448,241 (ABC figures, April 2008) and a readership of more than 1.3 million people worldwide. FT.com is one of the world's leading business information websites, and the internet partner of the FT newspaper. FT.com is the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community. FT.com attracts 6.2 million unique users, generating 48 million page views. FT.com has 101,000 subscribers.
For more information, please contact:
Sabrina Bhangoo/ Mittal Dave
FTSE Group
Tel: +020 7866 1821
Email: media@ftse.com
Silatech
P.O. Box 34111
Doha, Qatar
Tel : +974 (499) 4800
Fax : +974 (472) 7651
Info@Silatech.com
