Muscat Youth Summit - Investing in Youth

Organized by the Public Authority for Investment Promotion & Export Development (PAIPED) MYS will focus on enterprise, urban art and culture, road traffic safety and media.

The international four-day residential program receives significant support from an array of public and private sector organizations that include: The Sultan Qaboos Centre for Science & Culture; Ministry of Education; UNESCO; Oman National Commission for Education Culture & Science; National Youth Committee; The Young Foundation; Nawras; OMIFCO; Khimji Ramdas; Oman Air; Omran; The Wave Muscat; Qalhat LNG; Oman Daily; The Oman Observer; Al Wisal; Merge 104.8; and the Millennium Resort.

"We've an outstanding set of 37 workshop presenters lined-up which includes representatives from The Young Foundation; Injaz; Knowledge Horizon; Maslaha; The National Youth Committee; Omran; 23 Degrees North; Aedas Architects; SBTV; and London's leading youth magazine Live. In fact, we're ramping up the business and enterprise content of this year's Summit with the aim of inspiring more young Omanis to set-up start-ups," said His Highness Sayyid Faisal Al Said, PAIPED's Director General of Marketing & Media and the man spearheading MYS.

According to Sayyid Faisal, "The Summit has been designed specifically to build young people's leadership and communication skills coupled with effective business development techniques. "Our youth have a unique advantage, a combination of mobility, language, education, a thirst for knowledge and a tech-savvy nature. We've everything to play for."

In economic circles, it is generally accepted that youth is one of the most important forces and resources any nation can have and by nurturing and supporting their qualities, skills, interests and talent Oman will become a smarter, healthier, wealthier and more competitive country. "It's a win-win scenario," smiled PAIPED's Director General of Marketing & Media.

Alya Al Hosni, PAIPED's Director of Communications and External Affairs, added, "Given the economic challenges the world faces today it's crucial we invest in our youth and encourage them to be more innovative, entrepreneurial and creative. Indeed, we all recognize that enterprise creation spurs trade, employment, empowerment and prosperity which in turn lead to greater wealth and a more competitive nation."

Asked why MYS was pushing a stronger enterprise agenda this year, Al Hosni said, "Firstly, by nurturing youth start-ups we ensure a pipeline of business enterprises and the momentum of Oman's economic growth is sustained. Secondly, youth-run start-ups tend to incorporate local dimensions of entrepreneurship much more than larger and established firms. For example, the use of local resources, talent and grass root innovations. Thirdly, they tend to be more innovative, bringing new ideas and solutions to market, responding more swiftly to the demands of consumers, employees, the community and other stakeholders."

Al Hosni went to say, "This is our fourth MYS and we're proud of our achievements. However, we fully realize that none of this could have been accomplished without the support of our partners - we value their enthusiasm, input and commitment to our goals; and we value their belief in the potential of Oman's youth."

Another key topic at this year's MYS is Road Traffic Safety. Around the world, road crashes are still the biggest cause of death and disability for young people. And it is estimated that those aged between 18 - 25 face almost twice as high a risk of dying in traffic accidents.

On this note, Sayyid Faisal said, "The tragic loss of young lives on Oman's roads is simply unacceptable. We're very proud of the important road traffic safety work being carried out by the Royal Oman Police and the Research Council. Nevertheless, there's still a long way to go. Only by changing young people's driving mentality can we continue to save lives. Through a set of fashion design, publishing, social enterprise, graffiti art and urban development workshops we'll be challenging Summit participants to create campaigns to raise awareness of road traffic safety."

Sayyid Faisal concluded by saying: "In order to reduce the number of deaths on Oman's roads, young people have to be actively engaged. Our youth must be encouraged to contribute to road safety, for example, by sharing their ideas on new ways forward - and this is exactly the approach MYS will be adopting."