A ‘mini-parliament’ is at the heart of the debate on youth empowerment at the Global Industry Summit

Young people from all over the world led an early morning parliamentary debate on key industry topics, such as the future of work, skills, entrepreneurship and innovation.

But more importantly, from the point of view of Abdulaziz Al-Jaoud, the young Saudi man who was one of the main interlocutors in the discussion, “How to empower young people to access opportunities”especially in the field of entrepreneurship.

Al-Jaoud said in his interview with us during a break from the lively discussion: “The main point that I also focused on in the discussion was how to facilitate the way for students to access available opportunities, and to have clarity about the availability of those opportunities that many do not know about.”.

A day for young people

Opportunities and addressing the challenges facing young people were the focus of the fourth day of the conference, which was held under the name “Global Industry Summit”.

The opening high-level session of the day was filled with messages emphasizing how Member States can empower youth to lead a comprehensive and sustainable industrial transformation.

Delegates and participants from various sectors explored topics such as digital literacy and adaptability, as well as the skills needed for young people to succeed in the future, and how to prepare for this. Participants also examined how young people can succeed in today’s rapidly evolving industrial environments by acquiring the relevant skills.

Prepare for the future by developing skills

Many of the young people who came to the conference are working on arming themselves with these skills, and they have excelled in their fields and came to share their experiences with their peers and the entire world, including Areej Al-Muqbel, a student and researcher from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Columbia University in the United States.

Al-Muqbil shared her experience with the attendees in a session held in the heart of the main hall of the conference, where participants gathered around to listen to the best ways to “To prepare for the future, and unleash a global talent pool”.

She said: “Today I came to share my experience, and how giving a chance and producing ideas on the ground can have beneficial results.”Pointing to her fruitful research journey between Saudi, European and American universities.

She gave an example of her recent research on spontaneous biocarbon capture, which… “It contributes to reducing emissions, which helps develop sustainability.”.

The future of industrial development

In another location within the conference halls, the delegates stressed the importance of the future and its generation, with a tangible step embodied in the launch of UNIDO’s 2050 vision for the future of industrialization and what it means for development, as well as its report on industrial development for the year 2026.

After launching the vision and report, attendees discussed a number of pressing issues, most notably policy priorities for building future-ready industries at the national level, the necessary measures to ensure a fair and clean energy transition, while reducing poverty and hunger, promoting fair and sustainable supply chains, and the challenges and opportunities specific to each region to expand and develop future industrial capabilities.

Support to solve big problems

Between the discussions about the new vision for UNIDO, and what is expected after the conference, which concludes tomorrow, Thursday, young people and their future were not lost on everyone present, including Sam Magee, Director of Creativity and Entrepreneurship at the Harvard Lehman Creativity and Entrepreneurship Program in the United States.

Magee told UN News: “What I find with young people who want to make positive social change is that they are looking for a little guidance, not a lot, to take the next steps.”.

He added that from this standpoint, “The best thing I’ve found I can do for young people is just being there with them and acting as a liaison to the resources they actually need, rather than them being solopreneurs trying to solve big problems on their own.”.

In turn, and before concluding her meeting with us, Areej Al-Muqbel confirmed that her advice to all young people around the world is: “Always look for opportunities, exploit them and produce in order to be a contributor to your community, whether at the national or global level.”.