$500m a year pledged towards scholarships at home and abroad
Half a billion US dollars will be provided annually by the UAE to support Arab youth in studies at universities in the UAE and abroad, the Minister of State for Youth announced yesterday.
Speaking at the World Government Summit, Shamma Al Mazrui said the Young Arab Pioneers initiative, launched by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, will be the largest of its kind and that it will source and foster young Arab pioneers.
“It will have a high impact on Arab youth,” she said.
“You can imagine what hundreds of thousands [of young people] can achieve in a short period of time. I am one of the lucky ones who received a scholarship thanks to the efforts of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed – I got a masters from New York University in the US, which is one of the most prominent universities in the world.”
Ms Al Mazrui said the Arab world is strategically located and the UAE has the potential to become among the best nations in the world.
“We’re here to show the world the power of Arab youth initiatives,” Ms Al Mazroui said.
“Arab [ young people] have every right today to dream to be astronauts, leaders, sport champions, and our young Arabs could win the Oscars and create innovations that are deserving of Nobel prizes.”
Anas Ashraf from Sudan, a young Arab pioneer, developed one of the most popular platforms for book sharing. “It’s important to invest in youth,” he said.
Omar Al Garnas, a Saudi Arabian architecture graduate, is a project manager in his home country. Outside work, he helped develop a plot of land to build an Arab Youth Centre. He said: “It is designed entirely by young people and it is the most opportune platform to work, study and achieve things together – I never dreamt of such an opportunity and now I’m thinking of creating thousands of opportunities for youth.”
Ahmad Yousry from Alexandria, Egypt, worked in special effects in cinemas, including films such as The Fast and the Furious, Mission Impossible, Interstellar and Hugo, two of which received an Oscar for best special effects.
“My message to young people is … we can be leaders and we are hoping to see our young people on international platforms celebrating success.”