The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States will hold on 24 and 25 September 2019 the first consultative meeting of Arab, regional and international organizations and unions to develop a joint action plan for the implementation of Resolution No. (64) of the fourth session of the Arab Development Summit, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat.
Her Excellency Ambassador / d. Haifa Abu-Ghazaleh, Assistant Secretary-General of the Social Affairs Sector of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, said that the General Secretariat is keen to develop the technical and vocational education system in full implementation of the decision of Arab leaders and to integrate the efforts of partners and actors in this field. The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (Social Affairs Sector - Department of Education and Scientific Research) will hold on the 24th and 25th of September 2019 at the headquarters of the General Secretariat the first consultative meeting for Arab, regional and international organizations and unions to develop a joint action plan for the implementation of Resolution No. 64 of the Fourth Session The Arab Developmental Summit: Economic and Social, that was held in Beirut during January 2019, which stated:
- Stressing the importance of improving technical and vocational education in the Arab world.
- Call on the General Secretariat to convene a meeting of experts concerned with technical and vocational education in the Arab countries in coordination with the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science and the participation of the concerned authorities in this regard to develop a comprehensive development plan for technical and vocational education in line with the needs of the labor market and the mechanisms of their implementation and follow-up and presentation to the Arab countries
The meeting will be attended by specialized Arab organizations and unions related to technical and vocational education and a number of regional and international organizations, led by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Abu Ghazaleh highlighted the importance of the meeting, especially in light of the increase in the unemployment rate on the one hand and the apparent shortage of human cadres working in the technical and vocational field on the other hand and the suffering of the region from the lowest level of labor force participation among young people in all disciplines, which has led to an increase in unemployment among young men and women alike, hindering the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, which requires high-level technical employment and effective organization of occupations whereas the investment in technical education reduces unemployment, increases state resources, achieves human, social and economic gains for citizens and directly affects the performance of production and service sectors.
Ambassador Haifa Abu-Ghazaleh added that technical and vocational education is a gateway to the real development of our Arab countries, while many Arab countries suffer from armed conflicts and struggles and the decline of the global indicators in this regard. She concluded her speech with the importance of joining forces to overcome obstacles to the development of the Arab technical and vocational education system together to keep pace with global systems and create this development in practice.
