It is indeed my great pleasure to congratulate the youth of the world, especially those in the 57 Member Countries of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), on the occasion of the International Youth Day 2021.  

The IsDB Member Countries are home to over one-fourth of the global youth population and, by 2030, they are projected to account for more than one-third of the planet's young population.

This year, International Youth Day 2021 is taking place in yet another difficult situation for all youth worldwide due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and its knock-on effects.

Over 18 months past the start of the pandemic, nearly one billion students are said to be still affected by either full or partial closures of schools, and the rate of youth not in employment, education or training (the NEET rate) has increased all across the world. Albeit containment and mitigation measures were loosened in many countries, unfortunately, the inactivity of youth has not yet been reversed.     

Labor markets around the world were negatively impacted by the crisis, harming youth and affecting their employment opportunities more than others. Youth employment, mainly in middle-income countries, fell by around 9% compared to around 4% for adults in 2020. This impact on youth employment could last for many years to come.

Given the fragility and uncertainty of the recovery, broader policy support continues to be needed, including measures that target the most vulnerable youth. To avoid long-term scarring effects, recovery strategies need to make youth employment a key objective, while taking into account several other relevant issues including the requirements for gender equality.

"Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health," is the theme for this year's International Youth Day underlining that the success of global efforts in securing healthier and sustainable food production will not be achieved without meaningful participation of young people.

We strongly believe that youth can contribute to transforming food systems just as they can contribute to transforming and impacting other systems such as the education and training systems that will equip the youth with the needed skills to lead their own initiatives to transform the food systems.

To alleviate poverty and the pandemic's impact on youth and communities; to ensure that measures taken by Governments and development actors are informed and meet the needs of youth; it is necessary to see the youth involved as equal partners and support them as initiators in the response and recovery efforts .

As the Chairman of IsDB Group, I would like to reiterate that my colleagues and I are committed to promoting the meaningful involvement of the youth in our 57 Member Countries and beyond through working with our global development partners to reform education and training systems to skill the youth to achieve their full potentials and enable them to transform food systems, reduce poverty, mitigate climate change, protect the planet, and provide cutting-edge solutions across different sectors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, in addition to annual scholarships programs for the youth, we continue to extensively support the presence of youth at institutional level through specialized programs like the Young Professional Programs, and Internships while organizing the Annual Global Youth Development Forum. Inclusive involvement of the youth has always been a central task for IsDB Group, and it will continue to be.

I would like to invite you all to join me, today, in recognizing the ingenious and active youth for their contributions during the pandemic, and I call upon you all to join hands for building a resilient recovery by preparing the youth to thrive via supporting their resilience and giving them the opportunity to demonstrate leadership in their communities and countries.

Thank you.

Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser

IsDB President and Chairman of IsDB Group