Students outside the BBC Arabic set before the town hall meeting with IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn (photo: IMF)
The IMF and Civil Society
IMF Youth Dialog on Middle East
April 09, 2010
A roundtable with a group of 35 university students from eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa focused on critical issues like youth unemployment, and the connection between the business environment and educational systems.
On Sunday April 4, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn met with a group of university students at a town hall meeting broadcast live by BBC Arabic held in Amman, Jordan.
Students from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates were selected from university roundtables held in each country to participate in the Amman town hall. In addition, young people from many other countries across the region put questions by phone, SMS, email, videophone, and satellite connection from such countries as Iraq, Kuwait, Syria and Morocco.
“You are the future leaders of your countries,” Mr. Strauss-Kahn said. “It is important for us to have your opinion about this multilateral institution because it is your institution.”
The students participating in the Dialog brought great enthusiasm to the weekend in Amman. They held a roundtable discussion with the Managing Director, Middle East Department Director Masood Ahmed, and External Relations Department Director Caroline Atkinson; toured the city's archaeological sites; and spent several hours with the BBC Arabic staff in preparation for the broadcast.
Most importantly, they quickly formed bonds of friendship with each other and spent as much time as possible socializing. IMF staff involved in the Dialog also found the enthusiasm to be very contagious.
The BBC broadcast itself was a freewheeling event. Many of the students raised tough questions with Mr. Strauss-Kahn, and during the course of the program referred back to earlier questions to clarify his answers. In addition, the perspectives from viewers across the region broadened the scope of the program. There was broad unanimity across the Middle East and North Africa about many of the crucial issues that are hindering employment growth.
The solution lies in the linkage of improved business environment and educational systems focused on providing needed job skills. “The less restrictive regulations are, the more business will come,” Strauss-Kahn said. “And the more you have a good business environment with universities providing the skills you need, the more business will come.”
The IMF Youth Dialog is built around an online forum that enables a broader audience of young people across the region to communicate their views of economic issues with each other and IMF staff. The website—in Arabic, English, and French—offers discussion boards, blogs, videos, and accounts of the university roundtables. The Youth Dialog allows young people to interact among themselves and put questions and comments to IMF staff using social media.
On IMF Governance
On the issue of IMF governance, the students questioned the role of advanced economies in the Fund, and called for developing and emerging market countries to have a larger voice. Mr. Strauss-Kahn said that this is a major issue for the institution, but also pointed to changes underway since 2008 to better reflect the weight of the developing countries in the global economy.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn also addressed the selection of IMF management by saying, “I may be the last European as Managing Director for a long time. It is probably the right time for candidates from developing countries as Managing Director.”
The students also told Strauss-Kahn that they think that the IMF should play a more active role in promoting job growth and strengthening private sector development in the Middle East and North Africa. They called for broadening the representation of developing and emerging market countries in the IMF to enhance the institution’s effectiveness.
Managing Director and 40 Students from Middle East on BBC Arabic. Live April 4, 2010 in Amman, Jordan (photo: IMF)
IMF Youth Roundtable in Amman, Jordan(photo:IMF)