Global Perspectives on the Youth Bulge and Opportunities for U.S. Engagement

Samantha Constant, Associate Director of the Middle East Youth Initiative, participated in a private panel convened by the International Labor Affairs Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor on December 18 titled "Transforming the Youth Bulge into a Worker Bulge."

Samantha presented findings from the Middle East Youth Initiative's research on the challenges and opportunities facing the over 100 million young people in the region. Samantha's presentation drew from the Middle East Youth Initiative's new book, Generation in Waiting: The Unfulfilled Promise of Young People in the Middle East, edited by Navtej Dhillon and Tarik Yousef (Brookings Press, 2009).

Also joining her on the panel were Tim Cross, President, YouthBuild International; Marc Sommers, Associate Research Professor of Humanitarian Studies at the Fletcher School, Tufts University; Adaku Uche Ekpo, Manager, International Development, Junior Achievement Worldwide, representing INJAZ; and Pamela Young, Senior Technical Advisor, Orphans and Vulnerable Children's Education, CARE. The panelists presented global perspectives on the youth bulge based on their research and experiences leading programs in the field. Lili-Marguerite Stern, International Relations Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor, hosted the discussion.