I am honored to be with you today and to see so many friends and colleagues. 

While we were serving on the high level group of the Alliance of Civilizations, we often expressed the opinion that the best counter narrative to the privilege tales of clash, violence and despair is action. We also said that we have to actively engage young people as a strong force in redirecting the course of globalization to a more people centered and equality based agenda. I know we, as leaders, have not done this. In fact, we have failed in our responsibilities to our young people. 

Over the next decade alone, the International labor Organization expects 1.2 billion young people to enter the labor force and nearly 85% percent of these job seekers will live in the developing world. The situation in the Middle East and North Africa is particularly alarming. 

To fail these young people would be a terrible mistake. Lack of opportunity and economic marginalization can lead to frustration and loss of hope resulting in a continuing cycle of poverty along with economic, social and political unrest. If we act now, we can turn this around. We can transform the failure into a success story. In order to do this we require serious systematic changes at both global and national levels. We require a multi- faceted, innovation strategy that engages the public and private sectors along with civil society. And this is exactly what SILATECH intends to do. 

  Today I am delighted to announce that His Highness and myself are putting an initial investment of one hundred million dollars towards Silatech – a new initiative for the youth of our region. Silatech is a MENA wide initiative of global focus. Its aim is to connect young people to enterprise and employment. This initiative will be supported by individuals, companies, foundations, commercial banks and governments. A wide variety of organizations is already stepping forward to join partnership in this new effort. 

And what will be the priority focus of Silatech? Well exactly as our name suggests. The name comes from the Arabic name Silah, meaning connection and Silatech means “Your Connection”. Our mission is all about connection: connecting young people to employment and enterprise; connecting young people to each other, to capital, to industry, to opportunity. To achieve these ends Silatech will promote creative ways to provide business development services, unlock capital for investment in youth entrepreneurship, and connect young people to employers and training. We intend to mobilize international partnerships in the service of the young people of our region. 

Our methods will be simple. By conducting quality research on youth labor issues we will take an informed approach to offering solutions; solutions which focus on bringing best practices to scale and reaching the previously unreachable in creative and systematic ways. We will harness the latest in youth friendly technology, including state of the art call centers, internet portals, mobile technology and other developing technologies. 

Silatech will not be a magic pill. But Silatech will send a clear message: that by investing in our youth we are investing in the security and development of our nations, and only secure and confident nations can build alliances based on mutual respect and common objectives. 

Isn’t this what an Alliance of Civilizations is all about?