We wanted to alert our website visitors to a fascinating resource which gives a snapshot of the challenges and context of creating new jobs in the Arab states. The Silatech Index (“Voices of Young Arabs”) was launched in 2009 and has consistently been an arresting read, giving as it does a flavour of what youth in the region are feeling about their prospects, opportunities and aspirations. Produced in partnership with Gallup, the Silatech Index has been designed to measure three indexes across MENA youth; The Mindset Index (measures young people’s views of the job climate, obstacles to employment, and their societies’ investment in young citizens), the Access Index (gauges young people’s attitudes about their countries’ current economic and business environment) and the Policy Index (measures young people’s views on market competitiveness and their perceptions).
The most recent report, released in April 2011, is underscored in its impact by recent events. As it begins:
“Emotions have erupted throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, after years of simmering just below the surface. Hundreds of thousands of young people have taken to the streets to demand change. Their passionate cries for greater freedom, opportunity, jobs, and hope should not surprise us. [...] The dramatic events unfolding in recent months across the MENA region offer the chance to do what should have been done long ago. Now is the time to invest in the region’s young people. That is the essential message of the young Arabs in the streets who are calling for change, and also of this report.”
The main finding of concern, from the point of view of those interested in Arab entrepreneurship ( like the Mowgli Foundation) is the drop of many countries we work in- Middle Income Countries- in their ‘Mindset Index’ rankings. There’s also a worrying trend whereby economic growth in the region as a whole has, according to the opinions of Arab youth, brought increases in living costs and a lower standard of living overall, rather than positive impacts in job creation. However, strong entrepreneurial aspirations overall across the region can be a force for change, if sustained by policy support for skills development and support for new business creation…
To download the report, click here (links to PDF).
If you have any thoughts or comments, do let us know by commenting below or tweeting @mowglitweets.
