UNICEF Egypt announced Sunday, the appointment of world top ranking squash player Ali Farag and winner of the Olympic gold medal in karate Kumite Feryal Ashraf as ambassadors for the Egyptian version of the UN Global Generation Unlimited initiative Shabab Balad.
It is the first Public-Private-Youth Partnership (PPYP) in the country aimed at upskilling and networking young Egyptians aged 10-24, numbering 28 millions, to opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, and positive social impact by 2030.
Shabab Balad was successfully launched during the World Youth Forum held in Sharm El-Sheikh last January under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah Sisi.
The global initiative targets all the young people in the world aged 10-24, with a total number of about 1.8 billion young men and women. In Egypt, this group represents 27% of the population. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is coordinating the initiative, in which many United Nations organisations participate.
In their new roles, Farag and Ashraf will support the UN Global initiative for the youth in Egypt and promote the importance of training, educating,, skilling and connecting them to the employment opportunities as well as instilling the concept of entrepreneurship among the youth.
UNICEF Representative in Egypt, Jeremy Hopkins, the Partnerships and Generation Unlimited Lead at United Nations, the Director General of Shabab Balad, Dr. Ghada Makday and representatives of several UN offices in Egypt were at the signing ceremony.
“I am really excited to be part of the efforts of Shabab Balad, and I am happy to participate in delivering its message and raising awareness of young people in Egypt with the opportunities for secondary education and qualification for the labour market”, said Aly Farag, the Ambassador of Shabab Balad.
“I strongly believe that empowering young people in Egypt is a pivotal step to enhance their participation at the national and global levels,” he added.
“Egyptian athletes have proved their great potential in the Olympic games once they have the proper qualification and I believe ‘Shabab Balad’ will help all Egyptian youth achieve their dreams,” said Feryal Ashraf, the Olympic Karate Kumite Champion and Ambassador of Shabab Balad.