The Arab Spring: What comes next?

Delivered by Dr Tarik Yousef

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Jointly presented with The Social Innovator Dialogues

Allan Scott Auditorium, UniSA City West campus, rear Hawke Building, 50-55 North Terrace, Adelaide

Dr Tarik Yousef will share his experience and insights from the "Arab Spring" and will offer his explanation of the astonishing changes of the past year and what they will mean for the people and governments of the Middle East.

A Harvard-trained economist and a leading expert on economic policy in the Middle East, Dr Yousef is especially well qualified to explain some of the big questions, opportunities and risks that pervade the "Spring" and its longer term implications.

Formerly Professor of Public Policy at the Dubai School of Government, Dr Yousef now heads Silatech, one of the region's leading social enterprises whose mission is "to connect young people, 18-30 years old, with employment and enterprise opportunities." The organisation has a commitment to "mobilize interest, investment, knowledge, resources and action to drive large-scale comprehensive employment and enterprise development programmes".

You may also be interested in the International Women's Day event with Jane Hutcheon as she reflects on Women and the Arab Spring held on Wednesday 7 March.

The Social Innovator Dialogues is a unique and groundbreaking collaboration between The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI), Centre for Social Impact (CSI) and Australian Social Innovation Exchange (ASIX).

The Social Innovator Dialogues brings international thought leadership and expertise to Australia through a series of events. Including cutting edge thinkers and doers on innovation in public sector policy, social justice and sustainable design, the series addresses the big issues affecting decision makers across the public, private and third sector and encourage changemakers in Australia to wrestle with the opportunities and challenges of innovation that are remaking the world as we know it.

Biography

Dr Tarik Yousef is CEO of Silatech and formerly Professor of Public Policy, Dubai School of Business.

Prior to becoming Chief Executive at Silatech, Dr. Yousef was the founding Dean of Dubai School of Government from Georgetown University, where he held the positions of Associate Professor of Economics in the School of Foreign Service and Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Professor of Arab Studies at the Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies.

A leading authority on the economies of the Arab world, he received his PhD in economics from Harvard University with specialization in development economics and economic history. His current research interests include the dynamics of labour markets, the political economy of policy reform and development policies in oil-exporting countries.

Dr. Yousef's research and policy experience includes working as an economist at the Middle East Department of the IMF, Visiting Professor in the MENA Region of the World Bank, and Senior Advisor for the UN Millennium Project. Presently, he is a Senior Fellow in the Wolfensohn Center for Development, Brookings Institute, and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

"Silatech is an innovative social enterprise . The word Silatech (Your Connection) comes from the Arabic word Silah, meaning connection and this concept defines what we do at every level.

Silatech was established to address the critical and growing need to create jobs and economic opportunities for young people. The initiative promotes large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship, and access to capital and markets for young people, starting first in the Arab world, where the highest rate of youth unemployment exists Silatech's mission is to connect young people, 18-30 years old, with employment and enterprise opportunities. Its commitment is to mobilize interest, investment, knowledge, resources and action to drive large-scale comprehensive employment and enterprise development programmes."

While the views presented by speakers within the Hawke Centre public program are their own and are not necessarily those of either the University of South Australia or The Hawke Centre, they are presented in the interest of open debate and discussion in the community and reflect our themes of: strengthening our democracy - valuing our diversity - and building our future.

The copying and reproduction of any transcripts within the Hawke Centre public program is strictly forbidden without prior arrangements.