Jeddah (UNA) – As part of the 26th regular session of the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a panel discussion was held today, Sunday, entitled “Institutional Perspectives on Youth Rights: Challenges and Opportunities”.
The session, entitled “Youth Development in OIC Member States: Challenges and Opportunities from a Human Rights Perspective,” began today at the OIC General Secretariat headquarters in Jeddah and will continue until December 18.
At the beginning of the session, which was chaired by the Vice-President of the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission, Dr. Saidun Dogon Gida, the Director-General of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, reviewed the statistics concerning youth in the member states of the organization, indicating that the member states are the most youthful, with 380 million under the age of 24, representing one-third of the world's youth.
She stressed that there are great opportunities for young people if we provide them with support, emphasizing in this regard the importance of education and the need for it to be at the level of young people’s aspirations, in addition to working to enhance young people’s access to health services of all kinds, and providing suitable job opportunities.
The Director General of the Office of the Secretary General of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum, Yunus Sonmaz, gave a presentation on the topic of “Youth as Ambassadors of Peace, Tolerance and Human Dignity in the OIC Region,” stressing that empowering youth is not an option but a strategic necessity for sustainable development in our societies.
For her part, Alaa Abdel-Aal, Vice President for Strategy and Governance at the Digital Cooperation Organization, confirmed that the world is going through a structural transformation in the field of information, explaining that young people are the engine of the digital economy.
She pointed out that artificial intelligence enables young people to participate in the digital economy, noting that with this empowerment there is a large gap in access to artificial intelligence technologies.
She stressed that the digital economy will only be inclusive if young people are involved and considered active partners in it.
For his part, the head of the Youth Affairs Department at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Dr. Miga Boubaker, gave a presentation on “Activating the OIC Youth Strategy through Institutional Cooperation.”
He explained that the organization implements this strategy through three mechanisms: decision-making mechanisms, implementation mechanisms, and follow-up mechanisms. It also implements it through multiple axes, most notably: enhancing youth participation, providing job opportunities, and protecting against misguided and deviant ideas.
Amira Qattan, Projects Director at the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation, addressed the topic of “Empowering Youth through Sport: Building Character, Unity and Leadership,” emphasizing that sport helps young people define their goals, and when sport works properly, the youth of our nation flourish.
She revealed that the sports federation launched strategic programs to hear the voices of athletes and share their experiences with the aim of bringing about change.
Qattan urged addressing the challenges facing young people in the field of sports, particularly those related to infrastructure, governance, and the weak recognition of sports as a professional profession.
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