03.04.2012, Khartoum –
With a view to continually promoting youth involvement in the socio-economic development of member countries, the IDB Group organized the first international seminar on “Youth Development” on the occasion of its 37th Annual Meeting in Khartoum. The seminar witnessed two international experts and a number of youth representatives as panelists from different parts of the world share their ideas and concerns on the challenges faced by the younger generation and opportunities open to them in today’s world.

The experts presented their views on “The State of the Youth in OIC Countries” and "Successful Models of Tackling Youth Unemployment”. The youth panelists interacted with the experts bringing their regional, organizational and professional perspectives on these topics from their respective backgrounds in countries like Sudan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Uganda, etc.

The youth representatives from Pakistan and Indonesia referred mainly to illiteracy and unemployment as the main challenges ahead of the youth in their countries while the representative from Uganda elaborated on his successful experience in business which contributed to job creation for several youth in his country. The youth representative from Sudan who is also the Head of the Sudanese Youth Union suggested an Islamic model to face the challenges of youth in today’s world.

The IDB Group has initiated a number of programs to facilitate development of the youth in both member and nonmember countries. Some of these programs such as the Vocational Literacy Program (VOLIP), the US$250 million Employment Generation in Arab Member Countries program, and the SME Funds and the Education for Employment (E4E) initiative are at various stages of implementation in the member countries.