The accolade places the organization on par with world-leading NGOs including, Oxfam, Doctors without Borders, TED Talks and the Wikimedia Foundation amongst others. INJAZ Al-Arab is additionally one of the only two organizations from the MENA region to join the global ranking, reaffirming its commitment, dedication and influence in tackling the grave issue of Arab youth unemployment. The second MENA organisation listed is Mideast Youth, set up by Esra’a Al Shafei.
“Across the region Arab youth have stood up and actively stated ‘we need work, we need opportunities’ – it is now time for governments to answer them. However the solution is not that simple and governments cannot provide jobs for everyone, nor can the private sector,” Soraya Salti, Regional Director of INJAZ Al-Arab and Senior Vice President of MENA for Junior Achievement Worldwide, said.
“At INJAZ Al-Arab we believe that all sectors of society have a role to play in harnessing the power of our youth and that creating employment opportunity is the responsibility of all. By working together with the government and the private sector and by providing better standards of education we can create an eco-system that supports entrepreneurial activities. In doing so youths will be able to channel their energy and become entrepreneurs in their own right, which in turn makes than an asset to society.”
“Our organization firmly believes in the capabilities of today and tomorrow’s youth and I’d like to thank The Global Journal for their recognition of our teams’ hard work and promotion of our cause to a wider audience. I’m immensely proud of everyone who works at, and with, INJAZ Al-Arab and I thank you for your tireless efforts and contributions – we would not be able to reach out to youth without your support.”
INJAZ Al-Arab is unique in the sense that it emphasizes the importance of education and career initiatives to young Arabs, providing equal opportunities to them regardless of gender, background or social status.
“Today we have reached one million students – it took us nearly eight years to get there. IN the future we want to reach one million youth on an annual basis. Immediate action is needed as 100 million graduates are expected to enter the labor market in the next 15 years – all of whom will want jobs,” added Salti.
Now in its sixth year, inJAz Bahrain earlier announced that it was intensifying its school outreach for the academic year 2011/2012, with a total of 13,632 students targeted for its programs, compared to 9,200 students the year prior. The organization offers three focus pillars: Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy and Work-readiness.