Under the Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah

Youth @ Work: Partnerships for Skills Development

21 -23 February 2012, Grand Hyatt Amman, Jordan

This conference, convened by the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI) and International Youth Foundation (IYF), will engage critical stakeholders from across the public, private, and civil society sectors who are supporting youth employability programs in the MENA region. The conference is part of an annual series of major conferences and learning events supported by the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Youth Employability (GPYE) (www.gpye.org). It also builds on critical support from The MasterCard Foundation, and the USAID‐supported Youth: Work program, a global public‐private partnership to promote employment and entrepreneurship for youth.

This is a critical moment in the Middle East and North Africa, when young people – many unemployed and without the skills to access the income‐generating options available to them – seek changes that will lead them to a brighter and more productive future. This conference will be an opportunity for practitioners in the region, the donor community, youth, and other key stakeholders to dialogue on practical approaches to meet this need and to plan work together to build effective, scalable, and sustainable youth skills development projects across the region.

The first two days of the conference will focus on promoting shared understanding and knowledge about how to properly assess youth skills development needs, design quality programs to address identified needs, and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of such programs. The third day of the conference will provide an opportunity for regional practitioners to work closely with their Jordanian counterparts to apply lessons learned in targeted learning workshops related to specific youth employment programming in this country. Youth from the region will play an important role in the all aspects of the conference – as emcees, moderators, panelists and participants. Finally, throughout all sessions, conference organizers and sponsors will seek concrete inputs from panelists and attendees to help inform new tools, programs, and studies that are planned for development throughout the year to promote effective regional youth employability practices.

For participation and more information about the conference, please contact AUDI MENACYI telephone + 966 1 480 8712  , Email: cpievents@menacpi.org

Draft Agenda