Legacy Events - Do They Succeed or Fail in Providing Employment Opportunities for Young People?

LONDON, March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --



Leaders from Europe and the Arab world investigate

Legacy events often initially provide employment in construction, tourism and infrastructure but can fall short in their provision of longer term opportunities. Once the audiences have left, efforts to maintain the drive and enthusiasm to continue the legacy commitments can often stagnate.

With the recent London Olympics, Sochi Winter Olympics and the forthcoming Brasil World Cup. People are looking to events like the Qatar World Cup to make the employment opportunities more sustainable and have longer term impact.

Qatar ‎is investing billions of dollars over the next 5 years to transform Qatar into a commercial and sporting hub. The Qatar National Vision 2030 hopes to "prepare Qatar's students to take on the world's challenges and become tomorrow's innovators and entrepreneurs...and to equip Qatari youth with the skills and motivation to contribute to society".^[1]

Common Purpose, the global leadership development organisation, is bringing together 45 leaders from across Middle East & North Africa, and Europe to solve the challenge: "For every 10 million Euros invested in legacy events, how can we ensure that 100 direct jobs are generated by and for young people in business and social enterprise?"

This cross-sector group of leaders will be taking part in Itijah, a four-day Venture run by Common Purpose, in partnership with Shell and Silatech.  

"Youth unemployment is an increasing issue for both regions and as cities invest heavily in large scale events, there is a potential for them to generate employment and help to address youth unemployment in particular" says Sir Graham Boyce, Senior Adviser, Bank of America Merrill Lynch & Chair of Itijah Advisory Group. "Itijah brings together bright new leaders from a wide range of disciplines and nationalities. I believe they will be able to give political leaders fresh ideas on how to meet this challenge."

Participants on the Venture are from Alexandria, Amman, Amsterdam, Doha, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, and Tripoli, and are representing organisations as diverse as Alexandria Business Association, Jordan River Foundation, Mastercard, Ozyegin University, Biedermann Consulting, Arab Youth for Climate Movement and the British Council.

The sponsors supporting the leadership initiative are Silatech, Shell, the Emirates Foundation, PwC, DLA Piper and Cisco;  

"We are proud to support this unique initiative" says Rob Sherwin, Deputy Country Chairman and General Manager Corporate Affairs, Qatar Shell. "Nurturing the skills of emerging leaders from Qatar, the wider Arab world, and Europe, and encouraging links between the two regions is an important outcome of the Common Purpose Itijah Venture. It is aligned with Qatar Shell's focus on human capacity building in support of the Qatar National Vision 2030. The employable population in the Arab world will show dramatic growth over the next ten years; given this growing window of opportunity for youth, the Itijah Venture will play a key role in developing the skills of these emerging leaders."

"Silatech is delighted to partner with Common Purpose for the Itijah program, bringing together young leaders from throughout the Arab world and Europe to find workable solutions to address what is perhaps the most pressing need for both European and Arab economies today--job creation." says Dr. Tarik M. Yousef, Chief Executive, Silatech. "In addition to addressing the urgent need for more employment opportunities, the Itijah program helps cultivate the development of young leaders in civil society, an objective shared by both Silatech and Common Purpose. We look forward to seeing the outcomes that emerge from this exciting challenge."

PwC Qatar Senior Partner Stephen Anderson said, "We at PwC globally and in the Middle East are proud to support Common Purpose initiatives, and today the initiative we are investigating is of high importance to the region to what it holds. Successful mega event delivery organisations set strategy, plan, finance, develop and operate in the context of the legacy of the event. Legacy includes the long term use of infrastructure in their post event incarnation through to the delivery of socio- economic and cultural changes."

"The 1992 Barcelona Olympics is the gold standard in regeneration, transforming post-industrial areas to facilitate a dramatic development of the city as a tourist destination. London 2012 has helped transform a derelict area of east London whereas the Germany FIFA World Cup 2006 had a softer legacy of changing global perceptions of Germany. In the Middle East mega events - as a catalyst for change - is a new phenomena. Qatar 2022 aims to provide a broad legacy ranging from a radical overhaul of infrastructure through to domestic sport participation and the international perceptions of the region. Expo 2020 provides the catalyst for a rejuvenated Dubai."

Itijah, meaning 'direction' in Arabic, is part of a series of Ventures run by Common Purpose that will expand, enrich and energise relations between two or more locations. It will take place at the Qatar Shell Research & Technology Centre in Doha from 31 March to 3 April 2014.

Other Common Purpose Ventures include Dishaa (India, UK) and Dao Xiang (London, Shanghai).

1. http://www.gsdp.gov.qa/portal/page/portal/gsdp_en/qatar_national_vision/Human_development

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Notes to Editors  

Common Purpose

Common Purpose is an international organisation dedicated to leadership development. We give people from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors the inspiration, skills and connections to become better leaders at work and in society. Common Purpose is both local and global. We run local courses for leaders in 35 cities (and growing) across the world and global programmes for leaders from over 100 countries across six continents. 4,000 leaders each year become Common Purpose alumni.

http://www.commonpurpose.org  
@CommonPurpose

Shell 

Shell is one of the largest private oil and gas companies in the world with over 93,000 full-time employees and active in more than 90 countries. In the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, Shell has over 4,000 employees with more than 90% of the employees native to the region. Working hand in hand with governments and local partners, Shell is proud to support the oil and gas industry in the MENA region, both in the upstream and downstream sectors.

Shell's relationship with the UAE dates back to 1939 as a shareholder of Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Ltd. Today, Shell is a joint venture partner in the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) and in Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (GASCO). Through our partnerships with ADNOC, ADCO and GASCO, we have sought to share learnings from our unique global experience to add value in three key areas: technology, best practice and competency development.

Shell not only looks to partner with host governments and national enterprises, but also believes in supporting local communities and environments in the countries in which we operate. Shell has developed a number of social development programmes in the MENA region, focusing on providing training and learning opportunities for local talented youth focused on three themes: human capital development, environmental awareness and road safety.

Silatech 

Silatech is a dynamic social initiative that works to create jobs and expand economic opportunities for young people throughout the Arab world. It promotes large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship, access to capital and markets, and the participation and engagement of young people in economic and social development. Founded in 2008 by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Silatech finds innovative solutions to challenging problems, working with a wide spectrum of NGOs, governments and the private sector to foster sustainable, positive change for Arab youth.

"Silatech" comes from the Arabic word "Sila," which means "connection." In Arabic, "Silatech" means "your connection." Silatech brings NGOs and civil society, governments and the private sector together to address youth unemployment issues from every angle.

Their mission is to connect young people with improved opportunities for employment, enterprise and civic engagement. We do this by mobilizing knowledge, investment, technology and networks, and by influencing mindsets and policies that are key to unlocking wider impact.

Contact: Rosa Scheepers, +44-(0)20-76088118, rosa.scheepers@commonpurpose.org