Young Entrepreneurs: The Power to Create their Own Solutions

The “Youth Problem” in the Middle East has received much attention and research from around the world. With 63% of the population in the region under 29 years of age, there should be millions of educated, able-bodied youth to actively contribute to society. Instead, over 25% are unemployed. Many complete a university degree, only to find that there are no available jobs, let alone ones that provide a deeper fulfillment by utilizing their higher education.

People reflexively look to the government for help. In a region dominated by the public sector as opposed to private enterprise, government jobs are highly sought after due to their security and prestige. Earlier this week, an article applauded the Tunisian parliament for “fighting youth unemployment” by passing a law that will allow earlier retirement for public employees. The new policy could potentially result in 7,000 vacancies primarily for new university graduates.

Though this will certainly help to alleviate youth unemployment in Tunisia to an extent, this type of program does not provide a long-term solution. The government can only support so many employees, and more civil servants will do little to increase the economic competitiveness of the Arab world. Instead, we must begin to look to the private sector – particularly that outside of the oil industry – as the future for economic growth and prosperity, more specifically encouraging new, entrepreneurial endeavors.

Arab business elites have already begun to recognize entrepreneurship as crucial to the future success of the region in the global market. Fadi Ghandour, CEO and founder of Aramex, one of the leading logistics and transportation companies in the Middle East and the first company from the region to go public in the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange, states that, “young Arab entrepreneurs are the future of this region…they are the job generators, they will, with their innovative and creative ideas have an impact on the direction our economies will take.” He calls on the private sector to “invest in its youth and…assist them to create their own future and compete in the global market.”

The necessity of increased entrepreneurship seems to be catching on. A recent TV series presented 16 Arab youth with weekly challenges in engineering, design, business, and marketing, culminating in a final original project. Such a large-scale public promotion of entrepreneurship is encouraging.

At Ashoka, we believe in the potential of youth also as social entrepreneurs, with the ability to provide innovative solution to some of the region’s most pressing problems. One of our current fellows, Ehaab Abdou, has also recognized this potential, creating a program that helps young social entrepreneurs generate and implement ideas for economic and social development. Another fellow, M’hammed Abbad Andaloussi is facilitating a connection between the private sector and the Moroccan education system, working to develop the entrepreneurial skills and capacities of students.

We must stop looking at the youth population as a “problem” and instead begin to view it a demographic with incredible potential: their own “solution”. Arab youth are more educated and technology-savvy than any previous generation, but this knowledge is under-utilized. The private sector, government, and citizens alike must work together to ensure that youth have not just the skills, but also the resources and encouragement to transform their innovative and creative ideas into reality. Youth are not just the future, they are the present, and we cannot afford to wait.

Creative Solutions for Affordable Housing: Fixing Egypt’s Housing Problem the Ashoka Way

Over the last week a lot of attention has been paid to Egypt’s housing issue. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif announced the government’s new plan to address the problem. Ashoka Arab World sent out a press release about its Housing For All Initiative. Daily News Egypt even published an editorial on “The Slums of Cairo.” The current discussion about Egyptian informal settlements and the poor communities who live in them highlights the need to move away from traditional solutions to the region’s most pressing concerns. It’s time to start looking at these crises from a new perspective, to involve beneficiaries in the solutions, and to make a lasting change. This attitude is exemplified by Ashoka Arab World’s Housing For All project.

The slums of Garbage City

The housing problem in Egypt has been building up for years. The country suffers from a fundamental mismatch between available housing and those who need housing. More than 11 million people live in informal slum settlements. 90% of Egypt’s housing is built informally and 10% is built by professional companies. Unfortunately, construction companies are building new homes primarily for the high-income market for the sake of profitability. This has lead to the creation of one million unoccupied apartments in Cairo while over five million people have been pushed into the cemeteries of Cairo’s City of the Dead.

The flaw of traditional solutions to this problem is not that they do no good. The Egyptian government’s new plan to deal with 29 slum areas includes giving out alternative plots of land and offering commercial, health, and sports projects to increase employment. There is no doubt that this plan will help people and have some benefits. However, it fails to address the core of the housing problem. The government’s solution is simply not the right answer; it will not give people safer, cleaner, and better homes. Moreover, Prime Minister Nazif’s idea, though extensive, may have the side-effect of placing some slum residents at risk of losing their homes all together.

That’s where Ashoka comes in. Ashoka Arab World is approaching this problem from an innovative angle: the Housing For All (HFA) initiative, called “El Dawar,” leverages the collective purchasing power of the poor to make them viable customers for construction companies. It will transform housing markets by providing a market-based model which creates low-cost housing solutions to low-income communities. Ashoka Arab World and four of its Fellows are partnering with local communities, the business sector, and the government to implement the project, which will create an estimated 3680 housing units over 2 years. The houses, which will be newly constructed or renovated, will be affordable, safe, and ecological. The initiative takes into account everything that obstructs impoverished Egyptians from living in proper homes: it provides affordable building materials through partner construction companies; it makes financing possible through microfinance institutions; and it makes building low-cost housing safer and more environmentally sustainable with the help of engineers and university students. Furthermore, HFA centers will help residents obtain some ownership over their new housing so they have greater control over their lives.

Ashoka Arab World is bringing in experts from all sides of the housing issue to make HFA an effective, comprehensive solution that is bound to go farther than governmental projects and traditional solutions. Ashoka Fellow Hany El Miniawy has built over 10,000 affordable housing units in the El-Monib, Imbaba, and Mansheyet Naser areas of Cairo. Waste disposal, which is linked to public health and environmental safety, will be addressed by Ashoka Fellow Sameh Seif Ghaly, who is introducing low-cost sewage systems in Egyptian villages. In addition, Ashoka Fellow Salah Arafa has experience with economic development and environmental protection of rural communities living in informal settlements in Bassayssa. Finally, Ashoka Fellow Maher Bushra is working to provide essential living needs to Egypt’s informal sector and to raise awareness among poor communities about their rights and resources. All of these Fellows understand that Egypt’s housing troubles are about much more than just homes.

By directly dealing with the issue of housing HFA can address many more closely linked problems such as poverty, public health, environmental sustainability, human rights…The list goes on.  Any solution to the housing problem must attack the fundamental challenge facing the inhabitants of Egypt’s informal areas; poor people cannot afford homes. Moreover, solutions to that long list of socioeconomic problems above must include a solution to the swelling of slums. In Egypt and throughout the Arab world, all of these problems are inextricably connected, and HFA finally looks at them as such.

Free Thought and Social Change: Lessons from Iran

Over the last few days the world has paused to watch the protests against the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Political figures speaking out against the government’s iron fist have been muted. Iranian football players making statements by wearing green wristbands during the FIFA qualifier have been retired. In addition to threatening, attacking, arresting, and detaining protestors and opposition supporters, the Iranian government has tried to block access to the internet. However, people in Iran are finding increasingly innovative ways to get their views known to the outside world. Academic institutions like Tehran University continue to be hotbeds of free expression. Social media tools like Facebook, Youtube, BlogSpot and Twitter are being used by the Iranian people to get around the internet blockade to broadcast their views on the election and images of the protest. Young Iranians are documenting the events with cell phones and cameras.The actions of those in power in Iran highlight a global problem of censorship and disrespect for freedom of expression. The Arab world is not exempt from this problem, with those in power in the region violating the individual’s rights to free thought and free speech everyday. Against the backdrop of Iran’s youth struggling to have their voices heard, the need for an environment that respects free thought to enable social transformation becomes clearer than ever.

The issue of censorship of free thought has motivated social entrepreneurs throughout the Arab world to protect the right to free expression. They are creating a safe environment for people to exercise their inalienable right to free speech so Arab societies can be transformed from within, just as the Iranian people are using their voices to express their desire for change. Emad Mubarak’ s organization, The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, is working to establish academic freedom as a right in Egypt, where the system of higher education is constrained by governmental and nongovernmental censorship. Emad’s strategy targets students by educating them about their freedom of expression. He also helps professors pursue research and teach without interference. These grassroots efforts to encourage healthy dialogue help combat injustice and give confidence to the next generation of leaders in Egypt.

The current situation in Iran shows us that social media and digital technology play a significant role in the struggle for change. Ashoka Fellow Ranwa Yehia is partnering with citizen sector organizations (CSOs) in Arab countries to hold Arab Digital Expression Camps that train young people in creatively using digital technology. Ranwa recognizes the importance of the internet in facilitating social change and free thought in the otherwise tightly-controlled public space in Middle Eastern countries. Through her camps, Ranwa is empowering youth by giving them the tools and the skills to use modern technology to communicate their opinions and to connect with others who share their views.

Ranwa and Emad, along with a number of other Arab social entrepreneurs, are helping young people see the value of their opinions and breeding strong leadership through their social ventures. Many thanks are owed to the brave people in Iran, who, instilled with the spirit of social entrepreneurship, risk their lives to tell the world their stories. Citizen leaders are helping people in the Arab world and across the globe to take a stand; these Changemakers are defending the right of every person to speak and to know the truth. When controversial views are stifled, people lose faith in their ability to change the status quo. Where freedom of expression is oppressed, the need to support social entrepreneurs that promote free thought and protect the individual’s right to speak differently is ever stronger.

2009 Silatech Summit introduces new strategies to empower Arab youth

A 2-day summit last week in Doha brought together regional and international experts on youth policy, organizations, thought leaders, policy makers and young people to discuss how to move forward for young people in the Arab world under the current dire economic circumstances. Participants included Martthi Ahtisaari, former president of Finland and the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ehaab Abdou, Ashoka Fellow and Founder of Nahdet el Mahrousa, and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar. 50 Young business leaders representing 14 countries across the MENA region had also been selected to share their views on the obstacles that are prohibiting young people in the region from more active social and economic participation. Unemployment can be a multi-year problem here, one that is hard to overcome due to lack of opportunities, little social mobility, little access to suitable training, and structural patterns of inequality. The Middle East and North Africa experiences the highest rate of youth unemployment globally, higher even than that of Sub-Saharan Africa. Archaic education curricula throughout the region stifle independence and creativity, and lead to young people graduating without the necessary technical and interpersonal skills to compete on the international labour market.

The Doha Summit on Young People, Enterprise and Employment was organized by Silatech; a non-profit initiative founded by Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned which aims to find bold new solutions to economic hardships young people throughout the region are facing. In addition to bringing together leading opinion and business leaders, Silatech also unleashed a number of innovative partnerships through which they will address the problem of youth unemployment on a comprehensive, regional scale. Through partnerships with key actors that share their vision and have the power to revolutionize patterns across societies – such as multinational telecommunication corporation Cisco, the International Labour Organization, and the World Bank Global Partnership for Youth Investment – Silatech will implement a series of programs in countries across the region to improve the employment and economic opportunities of youth.

One of these is a regional technology platform sponsored by Cisco which will connect youth to entrepreneurs and businesses across the region. Silatech will also partner with the Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation to build the capacity of the region’s youth by offering incentives to support small and medium sized enterprises. Another outcome is the launch of Taqeem, a new program that will evaluate existing local and region-wide policies and programs targeting youth, in order to distill best practices and give support to ‘hidden’ innovative approaches that have the potential to scale-up. These programs could provide the crucial technical and financial resources that would enable the success of Ashoka’s Youth Venture. Once it is launched, Youth Venture will invest in and inspire groups of young people in the Arab region to start their own social ventures. An article in the Financial Times states that “the region needs to look beyond broad growth-generating strategies to tackle the unemployment problem, combining efforts to create greater competitiveness, more flexibility in labour markets and in access to credit, and training schemes that can compensate for weak education systems.” Region-wide and multi-dimensional social ventures like those of Silatech and their partners and Ashoka’s Youth Venture could be the most viable solution to helping Arab youth fulfill their potential.

Fellow Maher Bushra recipient of International Award

Last week in Dubai, Maher Bushra and his organization Better Life Association for Comprehensive Development (BLACD) were awarded with a Best Practices Certificate in recognition of the important contribution BLACD has made to improving living standards in a local community. The certificate was specifically rewarded for his outstanding initiative entitled “Comprehensive Development of the Eastern Bank Area in the Minia Governorate, Egypt”.

The Dubai International Award for Best Practices was established by the later ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum, to recognize best practices in social initiatives. Best Practices are those that can be held up to others as an example to improve public policy, increase existing knowledge on the topic and raise awareness of potential solutions to common social, economic and environmental problems.

Players in Minya local football team wear t-shirts that show their objection to FGM

The Better Life Association For Comprehensive Development was established in 2003, and currently works with marginalized communities in over 30 villages in the Minya governorate through a network of over 300 volunteers. Rather than focusing on one aspect of social development, BLACD is working to comprehensively improve the quality of life of marginalized communities by empowering them. Their strategy is to support democracy at the village level, improve the livelihood of fishermen, install water and sanitation and improve housing in poor villages, empowering women, and improving the situation of child labourers.

President Obama and the Real Potential for Change

On June 4^th U.S. President Barack Obama will address the Muslim World in a speech from the grounds of Cairo University. The U.S. administration’s choice of venue for Egypt as the location for a long awaited speech on Muslim-western relations has been celebrated by Egyptians as an opportunity to receive the world’s attention for their country, including its problems, for a day. The spotlights of the international press will most probably cover the general fanfare surrounding Obama’s visit that day. What most likely will receive some attention as well are the demonstrations that syndicates, students, and political opposition have declared they will hold that day. When Thursday June 4^th comes to an end, however, so will the short-lived interest of the international community in opportunities for social change in Egypt and the Arab world.

Obama’s speech this Thursday is bound to be full of promises of change; change in US-Muslim relations, but also a change in the future of the Arab region. The wry thing is, is that the very movements that have the most potential to realize these promises of change, are receiving the least press coverage. They are those movements for social change that are taking place in the Arab region right now. They consist of civil society leaders, activists, organizations and associations that are committed to tackle systemic issues that their societies face using home-grown and innovative ways. Regardless of which of the twenty-two Arab states you look at, there are movements underway to address pressing social issue. In Egypt, for example, Ehaab Abdou is mobilizing disaffected young professionals to positively contribute to their country. Ehaab established ‘Nahdet el Mahrousa’ to engage young social entrepreneurs in Egypt and abroad and to push them to be responsible for creating the change they themselves hope for. Hisham el Rouby is another example of a committed leader that is giving youth a strong taste of civic engagement and social responsibility. Through his Youth Association for Development, Hisham is popularizing the concept of volunteer-service, an idea that has already led to the establishment of youth volunteer centers in Yemen, Egypt, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia since 2003. In Lebanon, Selim Mawad is creating a cadre of “agents of change” by providing young people with the skills  and knowledge necessary to teach their communities about the need for transparency and accountability in government. His country-fellow, Wael Hmaidan, is inspiring youth to become engaged in realizing social change by identifying and promoting ‘local heroes’. In the occupied Palestinian territories, Abdelfattah Abusrour is introducing Palestinian children in refugee camps to a non-violent form of channeling their frustration and anger by promoting a ‘Beautiful Resistance’ that uses arts and theatre.

Who are these civil society leaders, other than inspiring individuals? They are but some of Ashoka’s Fellows and the base of social entrepreneurs in the Arab world that are harnessing the talent and power of young people. These citizen leaders are showing the Arab youth that “Yes We Can” is not just a slogan that was popularized in the current U.S. President’s election campaign. It’s an unquestionable fact for young people in the Arab region. On this occasion here at Ashoka we are reminded of what is represented by the Ashoka Fellows, the social entrepreneurs of the Arab world, and the thousands of people they affect. They are the potential for a society controlled by the citizenry rather than a citizenry controlled by society. They are the hope for a better future free of injustice and fear. They are “Yes We Can.” They are the Changemakers.

Ashoka Founder & President Bill Drayton Awarded Highest Honor by Yale University

	Breaking News!

Yale Awards Highest Honor To Bill Drayton, Recognizes Ashoka

Monday, May 25, 2009 – Yale University awarded Ashoka Founder and CEO Bill Drayton an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters today at its 308th Commencement. These few honorary doctorates are Yale’s highest honor and are at the center of the annual graduation ceremony. Past recipients include Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Sandra Day O’Connor.

The degree was conferred upon Bill Drayton in recognition of Ashoka’s continued work to create and build the field of social entrepreneurship and its central contribution to a world where everyone, not just an elite few, can be powerful changemakers. In his citation, Yale University President Richard C. Levin noted, “You have defined and perfected the role of social entrepreneur, helping people around the world help themselves. As the founder of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, you have sought creative solutions to the most pressing social problem.” Earlier this year Oxford University similarly recognized Ashoka in making Bill a life Balliol Honorary Fellow.

Read more about the award here.

For more information contact:
Tyler Spalding
Ashoka Global Marketing
703.600.8240
tspalding@ashoka.org

Street-dancing Tofulty kids appear in Daily News.

Egypt’s only independent newspaper in English, the Daily News, was present to report on our ‘Sports for Gender Empowerment’  iniative.

“From the streets of black communities in the United States in the 1970s, hip hop has found its way to the streets of Helwan. Tofulty Foundation for Improving and Developing of the Family and Society has used the art of hip hop dance to empower street children.”

For the full article, click here.