Young people are an asset for governments

Youth must find a greater voice in diplomacy and government. Some might say that placing young people in positions of responsibility will lead to more chaos and destruction on the global stage. However, history has shown that most wars and conflicts are caused by the incompetence of senior figures in government, particularly those who are disconnected from the general public and their views.

More than 50% of the population in the Middle Eastern region are below 30 years, with 29 representing the average median in the Middle Eastern region. That is over 350 million young people, though most of the youth are in the following countries: Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Yemen. (Statista, 2020). Wealthier countries in the region tend to have less children in general. However, that does not mean that youth participation in diplomacy should be any less.

Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter today play an important role in communications. Public information and communication efforts that are tailored to the media habits of young people can result in an increasing uptake of opportunities to get involved and ultimately strengthen the legitimacy of political decisions and increase trust in government. This is not only important in countries in which a significant share of the total population can be considered “youth”, like in the Middle East, but also more globally as young people have expressed their discontent with existing mechanisms to raise their concerns and influence the decision-making process.

A large young population can be an asset for governments. They provide an active workforce that can drive economic growth and productivity and bring greater innovation to the economy. On the other hand, this demographic dividend is strongly dependent on sufficient economic opportunity being available. The youth population also represents an important share of voters and can play an active part in shaping political and social discourse. Yet in many countries youth populations also express frustration with political systems. Ensuring the active engagement of young men and women in advancing an open government agenda is therefore essential to mitigate the risks of political, economic and social marginalization, and to assume agency in shaping their lives, societies and economies.

- Khalifa Alzaabi is an Emirati student doing his bachelor's degree in International Relations and Computer Science. He is based in Moscow