Saudi youth across the Kingdom are being rallied to observe the United Nations International Year of Youth starting August 12, 2010 by engaging in volunteer work and thus contributing to the development of the country. “We are initiating this movement to place our young men and women in the front line of developing this country, given the fact that 70 percent of Saudi Arabia's population are below 20 years of age,” said Najeeb A.R. Al-Zamil, a member of the Saudi Shoura Council and a leading social activist. Al-Zamil is spearheading the movement toward a robust empowerment of Saudi youth. “The demography of the Kingdom is getting younger and younger, hence, we should be preparing our youngsters to take the front seat in the overall development of the country,” Al Zamil said. “The older generation is a thing of the past, and therefore a new thrust that will be led by the younger generation should now be the priority agenda,” he added. He said the initiative toward volunteerism will be with the observance of the International Year of Youth which has already started in the Eastern Province and Riyadh. He said the volunteerism movement in the Eastern Province is headed by Mohammad Al-Bughairy, while in Riyadh the movement is being spearheaded by Mohammad Al-Mutairy. The movement in Jeddah is now being finalized, according to Al-Zamil. A delegation of selected Saudi youth will be formed to participate in the various activities that will usher in the UN International Year of Youth, including the Fifth World Youth Congress from July 31 to August 13 in Istanbul, and the World Conference for Youth in Mexico City from Aug. 24 to 27. Both gatherings will focus on youth and sustainable development in the context of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals which seeks to cut the social problems of the world, ranging from poverty, hunger, maternal and infant mortality to the lack of access to education and health care hopefully by the year 2015. The launching of the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore from August 14-26 will seek to inspire youth around the world to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. “Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the region, a country with huge resources; yet our young people are not being encouraged to seriously participate in our national development,” Al-Zamil said. Al-Zamil said Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, Vice President of Saudi Youth Welfare, has already highlighted the importance of rallying Saudi youth to actively participate in the various activities leading to the world observance of the year of youth.
