In a meeting attended by H.E Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, members of the second edition of the “Technical Fellowship Program for Arab Youth” organized by the “Arab Youth Center” were briefed on the strategic vision of the UAE to enhance the country and the Arab region’s contribution in the field of artificial intelligence, programming, and future skills to empower Arab youth with programming capabilities and the opportunities associated with them.
This came after the Arab Youth Centre – responsible for organizing the program with the participation of 53 young men and women from 15 Arab countries, with the cooperation of the Office of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, the Mohamed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence and major international technology institutions and platforms – signed a partnership with the Office of Artificial Intelligence to train and empower distinguished Arab students and provide them with opportunities associated with the digital future, programming languages, tools and advanced applications in the smart economies and societies of the future.
The cooperation agreement was signed by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama and Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Vice President of the Arab Youth Center.
Meeting via visual communication technology, H.E. Omar briefed the members of the second edition of the “Technical Fellowship Program for Arab Youth” on the qualitative and promising opportunities that such specialized skills will provide youth in the future, especially in the sectors of the digital economy, applications of artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies.
Supporting the economy and the labour market
H.E. Omar stressed that the UAE government, led by H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, God bless him, is adopting advanced technology and artificial intelligence solutions to explore new opportunities, find the best solutions to challenges and create a better future for the coming generations.
H.E. referred to the UAE’s pioneering experience in enhancing the use of artificial intelligence applications and digitization tools to achieve digital and technical superiority, enhance the country’s competitiveness and global position, as well as boosting efforts aimed at empowering youth with skills and opportunities.
Furthermore, from the moment the country launched the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence early in 2017 and accelerated the implementation of development programs and projects as well as the provision of innovative work environments and promising new markets with high economic value.
H.E. also pointed to the importance of youth possessing the necessary skills and technologies to keep pace with the requirements of the labour market, which is expected to change radically in the future and become more focused on skills rather than information, in addition to learning programming languages available to everyone from various fields, to support the digital economy and build a better future.
Different fields
“We have many initiatives in the UAE focusing on empowering young cadres and capabilities in various fields of programming and artificial intelligence, including empowering one million Arab programmers, and using artificial intelligence in medicine, transportation, aviation, and tourism,” said H.E Al Olama.
“There are many agreements with countries around the world to exchange and benefit from experiences in the field of artificial intelligence, and we will work with distinguished youth to utilise their energy and capabilities to enhance the competitiveness of the Arab region in these promising sectors,” he added.
In addition, he pointed to the “100 Coders Every Day” project launched by the UAE government in 2021 as part of the ” Projects of the 50″, outlining the features of the next fifty years of development and growth leading to the UAE Centennial 2071.
For his part, the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications pointed out that artificial intelligence applications are an integral part of daily life, both in terms of providing navigational maps, visual content tools, digital shopping platforms, e-commerce, or means of communication and human interaction.
“Our role lies in setting legislation and launching initiatives that contribute to creating a positive movement in the field of artificial intelligence in the UAE and the Arab world, We are always glad to see young people looking forward to future technologies and keen to benefit from what is around them, as many world leaders, institutions and giant companies today say that artificial intelligence is the most important technology in the last 100 years” he added.
H.E. stressed that the most prominent elements of the UAE’s strategy for the digital economy, adopted last April, aimed at doubling the percentage of the digital economy’s contribution to the GDP from 9.7% to 19.4% over the next decade, which opens up promising horizons for young talent.
Furthermore, he reaffirmed the pivotal role of youth in activating opportunities for the digital economy and sustainable development by diversifying the economy based on knowledge, innovation and smart technology.
Localizing opportunities
For her part, Shamma Al Mazrui stressed that young people are the most capable of adapting and developing programming tools, technology solutions and artificial intelligence to build smart and sustainable future societies and economies based on innovation, technology and knowledge, in addition to achieving their goals and aspirations and employing their creativity to bring about a qualitative technological shift locally and in the Arab world that keeps pace with the rapid worldwide technological development and digital transformation.
“Technology and its applications create opportunities, accelerate the process of bridging the digital divide, and empower talent with basic skills that make a difference, foremost of which is mastery of programming languages, and the ability to employ artificial intelligence applications in various sectors,” She said.
Furthermore, she lauded the cooperation with the Office of Artificial Intelligence, which offers its advanced expertise to empower Arab youth in their countries and shares the pioneering Emirati model in localizing artificial intelligence opportunities and involving youth in creating the future, saying “We will continue to work with all partners in the Arab region and the world to qualify leaders who can keep pace with future economies based on innovation, technology and knowledge”.
Exclusive training session
This comes within the exclusive training activities provided by the Arab Youth Center for young talent from various Arab countries in the fields of technology and artificial intelligence within the “Technical Fellowship Program for Arab Youth”.
Under the concluded memorandum, which strengthens the partnership of the Center and the Office of Artificial Intelligence, the two parties will cooperate in preparing young Arab leaders specialized in the field of artificial intelligence and technological innovation by focusing on developing and enhancing their talents, and providing a platform for training and developing the skills of Arab youth in the fields of technology, artificial intelligence and programming, in addition to organizing training courses for youth to enhance their employment opportunities.
Furthermore, they will develop training programs to up-skill Arab youth to meet the requirements of future technology and bridge the skills gap in the capabilities of youth in the region.
According to the memorandum, the two parties are coordinating their efforts to support youth by providing communication opportunities and learning about the latest innovations in the field of artificial intelligence and programming, especially “Python” programming language, and introducing them to the technology initiatives launched by the UAE government in the fields of artificial intelligence and programming, while supporting start-up youth projects and companies in the fields of technology, particularly artificial intelligence and programming.
A Promising forecast
A research paper issued by the Arab Youth Center and prepared by “Why5” estimates that artificial intelligence technologies will provide $13 trillion for the global economy by 2030 and that artificial intelligence technology cadres will support the budgets of governments of the middle east by up to $7 billion annually, in addition to estimated annual growth of 20-34 % in the Middle East and North Africa.
Comprehensive application
Rashid Al Suwaidi, Assistant Project Manager in the Office of Artificial Intelligence briefed members of the Technical Fellowship Program for Arab Youth on the benefits of simple programming languages in creating multiplying opportunities and accelerating the growth of projects and innovative ideas.
In a specialized session on the promising prospects opened by the use of the programming language “Python” in various sectors, Al-Suwaidi showcased the capabilities of developing key smart applications using programming languages and pre-made algorithms that contribute to the expansion and development of these applications in the service of wider segments, categories and sectors.
The Technical Fellowship
The Technical Fellowship Program for Arab Youth provides a bridge to keep pace with the rapid progress taking place in the technology sectors, bridge the digital divide, and promote development by taking advantage of the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution, digital transformation, and the new economic prospects that it opens up for youth.
The Technical Fellowship Program for Arab Youth from the Arab Youth Center aims to produce young Arab leaders in the field of digital technologies, in addition to preparing a generation of Arab youth who can monitor emerging skills needed in such fields, as well as provide a training development platform for Arab youth in cooperation with local and international partners, and providing an opportunity for Arab youth to learn from the experiences of a group of the most prominent experts in the field of digital technologies.
The new edition of the program focuses on building the skills of youth in the fields of artificial intelligence and programming in the Python language, and preparing an empowered batch of young people who are familiar with the latest programming languages and applications of artificial intelligence that enhance production mechanisms, facilitate the provision of services, improve the quality of life and create opportunities for young talent.
