H.E. Shamma Al Mazrui, UAE Minister of Community Development, Vice-chair of the Arab Youth Center and COP28 Youth Climate Champion, confirmed that technology, and its advanced applications, is the foundation for the future of economy that achieve a balanced development for all and facilitate access to essential services, along with catering to various community needs. She also highlighted the leading role of youth in transforming promising technological opportunities into successful developmental projects.

“Today, young talents lead in shaping the future in various areas such as smart mobility, the usage of large data, and clean energy. From our side, we strive to broaden this leadership in different specialties by collaborating with technology-focused leaders and global organizations through advanced training programs related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). As a result, the efforts of the youth and their technological innovations become the nucleus of urban communities that holistically benefit from the digital transformation,” said Al Mazrui.

Meanwhile, Jack Uppal, President, and Managing Director of GM Africa & Middle East, highlighted, “With 50% of the Arab population under the age of 35, we see immense value in investing in human capital. The future workforce will be instrumental in bringing about the transformation of the automotive industry. Spearheading our dedication to help build an equitable STEM pipeline, this partnership with the Arab Youth Center is another step towards inspiring future leaders in the region and beyond. Our ambition is to continue to champion STEM career paths for youth by building a strong foundation for the next generation of innovators as we drive towards our vision for an all-electric future.”

The new phase offers direct learning opportunities provided by experts in the mobility industry and future technologies related to it. The guidance program lasts for three months with the enrollment of 5 distinguished trainees, and more to join as interns, who had completed the first phase of extensive sessions offered by experts from the renowned global innovator. All participants who finish the program will be awarded practical experience certificates.

The first sessions of the program covered vital topics, spanning the future of mobility underpinned by artificial intelligence, the importance of partnerships with start-up projects, and ways to enhance growth, innovation, and professional development. The discussion panels also covered several issues including the enhancement of women’s leadership in the field, the role of digital transformation and automation, and new business systems that inspire positive change within operations and manufacturing.

The second phase of the ‘Arab Youth Technology Fellowship’ program offers a space to look for opportunities, business incubators and training apprenticeships with partners. It also gives members the chance to develop projects, over the course of the program, supported by experts and specialists from the program partners, such as GM. Their progress will be closely followed over the training apprenticeship, giving rise to future work opportunities.

The first phase of the fellowship program covered topics such as skills needed for the future, the way technology leads the future of mobility, the importance of diversity at the workplace, ways to empower the youth in leadership thinking, and understanding the value of developing partnerships to achieve personal, institutional, and societal objectives.