ALGIERS, Algeria, May 19. It is essential to build ecosystems that generate sustainable jobs and enhance the workforce readiness of the youth, said Rami Ahmad, Vice President for Operations at the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), at the 13th Youth Development Forum held as part of the IsDB Annual Meetings in Algiers, Trend reports.
“We cannot build the future we seek by working in silence. Today's challenge demands cross-sectoral approaches and youth-centered leadership. I am glad His Excellency the Minister and the Ministers are much younger than I. The leadership really needs to be with the youth, not as participants, but as co-architects of the solutions that will define their world.
As someone who began his career and journey in an institution as a young professional many years ago in IDB, I have witnessed firsthand what is possible when institutions are intentional about inclusion. When belief in the youth is not just a policy, but a principle in motion,” Ahmad said.
Opening the panel discussion, the VP raised three fundamental questions.
"First, how can we design employment ecosystems that are proactive by anticipating structural shifts rather than merely reacting to disruptions? And ecosystems that not only produce jobs, not for employment, but for employability, so the youth will always be adaptable to change with the shifting changes of technology and other environmental factors driving. And we need to talk about decent jobs, as per SDG number 8. Not any jobs, jobs that are seasonal or low-paying, not sustainable. We need to think of decent, sustainable jobs. And these are the ecosystems that we need to create.
Second, what will it take to reposition youth not only as beneficiaries of policy but as co-authors of the development pathways that shape their futures?
And third, how do we ensure that the tools and opportunities for future readiness are equitably distributed, becoming not a privilege for the few in some of the rich countries or the rich pockets in a country, but the foundation for all young people across our member countries," he added.
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