The promises that swept the Arab Spring protests across the region in 2011 have all but faded for today’s youth. According to the eighth annual Arab Youth Survey conducted by public relations firm Asdaa Burson-Marsteller, only 36 per cent of respondents felt that the Middle East was better off today than at the start of the Arab Spring protests five years ago. There were several other findings, some surprising and others not.
Half of youth surveyed saw ISIL as the greatest threat to the region and more than three-quarters said they wouldn’t support the extremist group. The overwhelming majority of young people polled supported more improvements to personal freedoms and the rights of women. Unsurprisingly, more and more young people are getting their news online and from social media instead of traditional sources such as newspapers.
We know that the Middle East is in the middle of an extraordinarily difficult period. The past five years of dramatic events have clearly had a profound effect on our youth. While the long arm of ISIL, the spectre of failed states and growing sectarian conflict ensure that the short-term prognosis will remain sour, there are several spots of hope. After all, young people still want to live in safe places that allow them to pursue happiness with secure employment.
Like last year, the UAE remained the most attractive destination for young people to live and work. Respondents noted the country’s security, prosperity, quality of life and opportunities. While the rest of the region is embroiled in turmoil, the quality of life in the Gulf remains high and employment opportunities are bountiful.
This is the most important lesson of this year’s results. Youth want the room to grow, to find a job and to live a secure life. Cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi provide those options and as such their model should be exported across the region. Can Beirut, for example, become more like Dubai? Can Cairo emulate Abu Dhabi’s urban success? That is the prize question and the clock is ticking. The next generation wants their cities to become like our own.