Arab Thought Foundation youth gathering on challenges of the Lebanese job market

Ghassan Haddad and Ziad Mabsout, the two ambassadors of the ATF Youth, convened last week an encounter in order to discuss job opportunities for young people in Lebanon.  The event which was held at the headquarters of the Arab Thought Forum in Solidere, included 15 young women and men who shared the challenges they are facing in finding work opportunities in the current sluggish job market namely because of the prevailing security situation, various livelihood challenges, high cost of living and the inability of the state and the public sector to create an atmosphere that is conducive for investments.  The aim of the meeting was to tease out suggestions related to the identified themes and which revolved around the role of private and public sectors, civil society organisations in creating an enabling environment that is conducive for the creation of jobs for the youth and the importance of collaboration between these various sectors.
This meeting is part of a series of preparatory events that are being convened by the ambassadors of ATF Youth, each in their own respective country, in preparation for the annual “Fikr 12” conference which will be held in Dubai in December 2013 and which will focus on creating new work opportunities for the youth in the Arab region.
Source: Al-Hayat, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar 27 August 2013