UNICEF, EAA, Silatech to develop youth-led green initiatives in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan

AMMAN — Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, Silatech, and UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU) on Monday announced the signing of an agreement to train and mobilise 565,670 young people to access education, tackle climate change, and become community volunteers and entrepreneurs driving sustainable development efforts across Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. 

Announced against the backdrop of the Summit of the Future at the United Nations General Assembly, in response to urgent calls for a new consensus to tackle global challenges, the new three-year, $33 million partnership with equal contributions from UNICEF, EAA and Silatech, will support access to education and empower young volunteers and entrepreneurs with the training, resources and mentorship they need to take climate action, according to a statement for The Jordan Times.

In this context, a high-level roundtable was convened to discuss ways to provide educational and employment opportunities for youth in their communities through strategic and local partnerships to support the economies of their countries and empower youth with methods to protect the environment and address climate change. 

The session was chaired by Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN Sheikha Alya Thani and featured participation from Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation Lolwah bint Rashid Khater, alongside numerous ministers, distinguished figures, representatives from the United Nations, youth advocates. 

During the roundtable held on the sidelines of the "Summit of the Future," EAA CEO Fahad Sulaiti said: "This partnership is a testament to the power of collaborative efforts in providing quality education for children and empowering youth to develop green skills in real life," according to the statement.  

"We aim to address issues in local communities and lead sustainable initiatives, in addition to presenting innovative solutions that contribute to expanding the beneficiary scope through impactful and quality projects, thus achieving sustainable development and enhancing the outcomes of the Future Summit," Sulaiti added.

Silatech CEO Hassan Mulla said: "This collaboration with Education Above All Foundation and Generation Unlimited marks a vital milestone for us all." 

He added that this cooperation also highlights shared ambition for sustainable impact through the extension of value chain by investing in youth at an early stage to ensure their readiness for the job market and through investing in the green economy for a sustainable future for generations to come.

The Green Visions and Thriving Futures programme reflects a growing recognition that the path to net-zero and climate resilience depends on whether today’s young people gain the skills and knowledge to drive the green transition, the statement said.

“Green skills and access to green opportunities at scale through holistic, integrated solutions, enabled by global public-private-youth cooperation, are essential for moving towards a climate-resilient future,” said UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited CEO Kevin Frey. 

Frey added that this new partnership is about creating actionable strategies to prepare young people for the opportunities of tomorrow, opportunities that "don't just sustain economies, but also our planet.”

UNICEF Representative to Jordan Philippe Duamelle said: “Tomorrow’s world belongs to today’s young people. Therefore, it is of critical importance that they contribute to shaping their future. The ‘Green Vision and Thriving Futures’ programme will enable some 160,000 young people in Jordan to lead advocacy efforts in their communities towards environmental sustainability and youth-led green economy initiatives.”   

The new programme will support 370,000 young people across Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt in greening actions to protect biodiversity, manage waste and conserve water in local communities, with 60,000 participating in a climate action curriculum in preparatory schools. 

Another objective of the programme is to support an additional cohort of 195,670 youth in Egypt to transition from learning to earning, through placement in jobs or self-employment in sectors such as ICT, healthcare, engineering, and agriculture. 

This includes 22,500 young people who will develop specific skills in climate action, participate in greening initiatives, and secure green jobs.

With a focus on equipping young people with essential green skills and connecting them to opportunities in the green economy, this new partnership will empower the next generation to confront the urgent challenges of the climate crisis, according to the statement.  

By linking environmental sustainability with job creation, the partnership aims to demonstrate that economic development and climate adaptation can work hand in hand, creating a foundation for a world that thrives both economically and environmentally, the statement said.