Omani youth and 10th Five-year Plan
Oman attaches a special focus on youth development, considering the fact that the future belongs to the youth. There is an emphasis on their all-round development in education, health and skill development, which are part of the Sultanate of Oman’s 10th Fiveyear Plan.
“The Sultanate of Oman’s firm belief is in the vital role of the youth in continuing the country’s renewed renaissance, setting their aspirations and hopes for a brighter future in which they contribute to the Sultanate of Oman’s advancement and prosperity,” HH Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, said on the occasion of the Omani Youth Day.
The government has been paying great attention to young people since the beginning of the blessed renaissance. It has been harnessing all possibilities for them to carry out their responsibilities.
Oman celebrates Omani Youth Day on October 26 every year. The day reflects the importance that the country and its ruler, His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the Supreme Commander, attach to the aspirations of the Omani youth.
The Tenth Five-year Plan has created a special group to develop the youth within the work groups for the first time in the history of the five-year plans, as it works to ensure the involvement of the youth in developing programmes and initiatives that achieve the highly anticipated goals of Vision 2040.
The focus of the country towards youth development is manifold. It encourages the participation of young people in several specialised areas, such as scientific research and development, entrepreneurship, technology, communications and many others.
National data shows that the total number of Omani youths, according to the 2020 survey, has reached 549,969. Youth aged between 18 and 29 years constitute 19.4 per cent of the Omani population, while 268
Omani youngsters have registered in the Business Opportunities Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES). In addition, there are 4,687 young Omani artisans in the country.
The Tenth Five-year Plan is keen to provide the Omani youth with diverse and sustainable funding sources that support applied scientific research that enhances innovation in various fields, documenting and promoting the bonds of true partnership between academic and research institutions and private sector institutions, as well as concerted efforts between various stakeholders.
The local programmes and competitions have created more than 260 emerging and innovative researchers among youth. Some of them include the ‘The Falling Walls Lab’ competition, the ‘Biodiversity Ideas Marathon’, the ‘Chamber’s Innovation Award’, the ‘Programme for transforming student graduation projects in the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) into start-up companies’, the competition to ‘create smart applications to confront the Covid-19 pandemic’, the ‘London International Forum for Young Scientists’, and the ‘Lindau Forum of German Nobel Laureates’, to name a few.
Fetching the fruits of the national focus on youth empowerment, Sumayya al Siyabi was recently crowned the first Arab woman to win first place in the ‘Stars of Science in the Environmental Field’ bio-analysis of microplastics in a new way of biological and nanotechnology. Innovation, as a major driver of economic development, establishes an integrated system of work tools in all sectors, and its economic and social objectives can only be achieved if it represents a basis for creativity and innovative production that competes nationally and globally.
The ‘Youth Centre’ was opened under the auspices of HH Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, which includes halls and integrated facilities and provides services for young people in various cultural, artistic and technical fields.
“The Youth Centre reflects the lofty interest of His Majesty the Sultan on the importance of youth and ensuring their participation in making the future of the Sultanate of Oman in line with their aspirations and ambitions,” said Zaid bin Abdullah al Salmani, Executive Director of the Youth Centre.
In terms of the science and engineering outputs index from the total number of graduates, the Sultanate of Oman is ranked first globally, and in the government spending index per student globally, it ranks third, according to the results of the Global Innovation Index for the year 2022 issued by the World Intellectual Property Organisation.