(DR. Saleh A. Alnassar)
The Saudi youth represent one of the biggest growth areas of Human Resource within the Kingdom and they are also by far the best educated generation in the country. They have a massive influence on workforce opportunities and have more desire to be innovative and absorb changes more than the rest of the community. They are also more capable of interacting and responding to the outputs of education and technology. We are now entering a period where the youth are becoming more receptive to the social, political and economic thread of the wider community through individual and community work.
The Youth are now seen as the most important age group within the Kingdom owing to the increase in the birth rate, progress in their health conditions and the development of more cultural awareness protocols that has been witnessed in the Kingdom over the past several years. The latest statistics that have been produced by the Ministry of Economy and Planning(1429H) has highlighted that 78% of the Kingdoms inhabitants are below the age of 39 while the 15 to 24 year old age group accounts for 20% I.e. 4.134.942 of the overall Saudi population which is 20.702.536 of its inhabitants.
Whilst the Kingdom is witnessing a qualitative shift in various social, economic, cultural, scientific and civil life issues, this rapid development lies in the hearts and minds of its men and youth who are looking towards a prosperous future. This now calls for the initiative to start putting in some concrete efforts in education, training, employment and the social development of the youth's health and psychological conditions. This investment will make a significant contribution to the development of the youth and the state will also get the added benefit of this process having their young people being healthier and giving them access to better employment and training opportunities.
The youth's development will include procedures and investment that will move them into adolescence in a steady and effective way and profiting by the opportunities through social and human capital in the course of their endeavors. Moreover, the youth's development requires the need for the public and private sector to set up user friendly policies and implement programs that will nurture and protect the youth from social and environmental issues that could spoil them from moving into a healthy adolescence.
When the society make available the key directives and instructions that will enable the youth to engage in more satisfactory opportunities, then this in turn will enable growth in education, health, employment and other social and recreational activities. This will then help build the capacity for youth at an early age so they can accomplish growth at a more productive and realistic pace.
The authors of the "United Nations Report on Youth" (2007) highlighted that in order for societies to bear profit from the youths capabilities they should guarantee the consolidation and protection of the youths opportunities of active participation in development. Alternatively, the youth could be excluded and marginalized, which in turn could deprive the youths energy, vitality, and their capacity to innovate. The report also highlights that the youths capacity to contribute in developing their communities could be thwarted not only by the lack of capability amongst the youth, but as a direct result of the opportunities being restricted to share in the development when global, economic, social and political institutions undergo major changes. Thus, there is a relevant need for policies that would not only adopt the youth's capabilities, but also open the door for their contributions in areas such as development, civil and political participation and voluntary work. It is also mandatory to create a suitable environment that would give the youth opportunities to listen to them, and perceive them as active participants in social and economic development.
On the other hand, the "Initiative of the Middle East Youth" report (2008) indicates that the Middle East region is facing a new developmental challenge, which is to do with how to create a better system for young people to become more active citizens in harnessing the economic and social opportunities that will meet their educational needs and expectations. This is the challenge that will help integrate the youth, which can be defined as the creation of opportunities that will enable the youth to actively participate in pre-determined roles and activities according to adopted criteria.
Finally, in order to achieve the optimal profit from the youth in its developmental stage, it is mandatory for the communal educational, cultural and social institutions to play an active role in setting up plans that will encourage a better future for the youth. One of the best ways of doing this would be via collaboration with specialized centers such as the National Center for Youth Studies who are experts in providing scientific studies to study the youth's current and future issues.