Life lessons: Prepare our youth to become leaders of tomorrow

The annual World Government Summit tagline is that it is a global platform dedicated to shaping the future of government worldwide. Political, business and social leaders from all over the world gather to share their knowledge and insights into the current affairs of the world and discuss how we can build a better tomorrow.

The keynote speech of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, re-energised the crowds and reminded them of the importance of our vision and mission (and personally gave me goosebumps). Sheikh Saif bin Zayed took us down memory lane with some of the most important lessons the Founding Father Sheikh Zayed taught us through his life. However, it was the last session that really put a stamp on what this summit is all about, not the politicians and leaders today, but the youth who are going to be taking over tomorrow.

The final plenary session was on the Arab Youth Strategy led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed and Shamma Al Mazrui, the Minister of State for Youth Affairs. With them on stage were youth leaders from around the Arab world, Arab youth who were graduates of Harvard and MIT, Arab youth who worked at prestigious companies such as McKinsey, Arab youth who were building social enterprises trying to tackle the biggest problems facing youth in this region. Each young person on stage got a chance to address the leaders and decision makers in the audience. It was a truly powerful moment.

In the UAE, the leaders are out and about, engaging with people, getting a first-hand understanding of issues, trends and events taking place in communities around the country. A growing trend the UAE leadership has taken significant interest in is youth empowerment and engagement as a major part of the dynamic changes we are seeing in our society. In the UAE, the youth have always had access to the rights and privileges that enable them to grow and become positive, contributing members of society – things such as primary, secondary and higher education, scholarships and employment support. Now there is a strong transition by our government into empowering youth and giving them the tools with which to work and contribute to their communities.

When you look back at recent history, this has been brewing for some time. In 2010, when Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi was appointed Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah at 23 years of age, that made him the fourth Crown Prince – out of seven – in their 20s, along with Dubai, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain.

These appointments showcased a lot of characteristics being developed at the highest level, namely, timely succession planning, and the importance of engaging and training youth at an early age even for the most important positions. Government leaders should take note and pay close attention to this, because what it means is that if you are a leader and you are not preparing youth to take over then you are doing your organisation and your country a disservice.

More than 28 per cent of the population of the Middle East is between the ages of 15 and 29, which represents more than 108 million young people, the largest number of young people transitioning to adulthood in the region’s history.

The steps the UAE is taking to engage youth is what we need to maintain our progressive and proactive approach to national development. The economic and social requirements needed to incorporate and provide opportunities for this transitioning youth is a matter that governments must answer before the transition is complete to ensure that youth have the same hope and opportunities that we have become accustomed to.

That, in the words of Sheikh Mansour, is how we prepare to unleash the greatest resource this region has – its youth.

Khalid Al Ameri is an Emirati ­columnist and social commentator. He lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife and two sons.