Spain event to discuss Mediterranean youth unemployment

By Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA (AA) - Political and business leaders from around the Mediterranean region will meet in Barcelona on Nov. 29 to discuss solutions to the region's youth unemployment problem.

"The three-day Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders [MedaWeek], one of the major economic events in the region, is strongly committed this year to young people and their employment opportunities," the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME), said in a statement Thursday.

Anadolu Agency is the “Global Communication Partner” of the 10th MedaWeek. This is the second time the agency is participating in the event as a global partner.

According to United Nations, nearly 500 million people live in the region, including almost 200 million as part of eight EU member states.

Youth unemployment is an urgent issue in many countries across the Mediterranean region where the proportion of young people not part of any educational, employment or training opportunities has increased since the financial crisis.

For example, youth unemployment in Greece and Spain is almost at 43 percent; it is almost 20 percent in Turkey, according to the World Bank.

"One of the biggest concerns in the Mediterranean region today is, undoubtedly, the problem of youth unemployment.

“Youth unemployment, especially those involving university graduates, is currently at almost 50 percent in the region," the association said.

It warned the issue represented a time bomb for the Mediterranean and Europe regions and its socio-economic development, which the public sector could not cope without the active role of the private sector.

"It is urgent to design and implement real alternatives for this new generation of young people with higher qualifications, compared to the traditional and almost exclusive way of insertion into employment as salaried employees of the public sector," it said.

The first Mediterranean startups, social economy and human capital forums will be hosted in the week, ASCAME added.

The leaders’ forum would be co-organized by the ASCAME, Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Union for the Mediterranean, in collaboration with the European Institute of the Mediterranean, and other prominent regional and international organizations.