“World Government Summit”.. Khalfan Belhoul presents 3 major future opportunities for Arab youth

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Young Arab Leaders, Khalfan Juma Belhoul, presented 3 major future opportunities for Arab youth, stressing that every transformation carries an opportunity that must be seized and exploited.

He explained during his speech at the “Young Arab Leadership Forum” as part of the preliminary day of the World Government Summit 2026 that the first opportunity for Arab youth is embodied in the question: “What if university became a measure of quality, not the number of years?” He said: “Imagine a university that begins with a global founding year that focuses on humanity, arts, and social sciences, cultivating self-awareness and human understanding before specialization, and imagine that universities transform from mere centers of indoctrination into centers for creating solutions. Then education becomes a path to reality, not a temporary stop before it.”

As for the second opportunity, it is: “What if foresight became a skill rather than a government job?” He said: “Many decisions are still being made under the pressure of the moment and without awareness of the future, and the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 confirms that the world is not on the right track to achieve the 2030 goals. This means that the traditional approach to management and planning is no longer sufficient, and we need to transform foresight into a general skill. Imagine that every Arab project, agreement and decision is made through real future scenarios. Then our youth will not be recipients of change but rather partners in designing it.”

As for the third opportunity, it is: “What if the Arab world launched an experimental environment (Sunbox) from our region to the world?” He said: “One of the biggest challenges of our societies is the dispersion and lack of harmony and integration between different systems and regulations, which leads to unintegrated markets. Therefore, we need an integrated experimental environment that supports innovation at the regional level, reduces bureaucracy, and enhances the smooth transfer of services and innovative ideas.”

Belhoul stressed that the Young Arab Leaders Initiative represents a platform for reality, and the initiative is working on a new, more influential and clearer stage in measuring the actual impact in Arab societies. He added that the network today includes more than 700 members, with plans to expand during the current year to reach 3,000 members, and build 1,500 active memberships with a tangible impact, in addition to highlighting 10 Arab success stories to establish a new Arab model that creates and leads the future.

He stressed that the greatest real investment is investing in people, and building youth leaders who possess the vision, skill, and ability to deal with a reality that is changing at an unprecedented speed, calling on Arab youth to be partners in designing the future, not just recipients of it, and capable of changing reality today before tomorrow.