Soraya Salti « Skoll Foundation

INJAZ Al-Arab

Skoll Entrepreneur(s): Soraya Salti
Change(s) Addressed: Economic & Social Equity

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Soraya Salti took over a floundering educational non-governmental organization program in Jordan — INJAZ — in 2001 and turned it into a national entity that now reaches 68,000 students a year. Raising her sights to the regional level in 2004, she has since led the expansion of INJAZ into 12 Arab countries and brought INJAZ to more than 300,000 Arab youth. Soraya has been recognized as a 2006 Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year and as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS OF 2010

INJAZ al-Arab has reached 500,000 Arab youth in 13 countries, making significant strides in spreading a culture of entrepreneurism, financial literacy and work readiness throughout the Middle East and North Africa, where the world’s highest youth unemployment has become an intractable issue with serious repercussions.
At the 2009 Annual Battle for the Best Arab Student Company, a team of young girls from a rural Omani public high school won both the best Student Company and Student CEO of the Year, becoming an inspiration for Arab women and demonstrating to the region the opportunities missed by having the lowest female labor market participation in the world.
INJAZ al-Arab has become a “thought leader” in a region where 72% of private sector CEOs now express a desire to improve the quality of education and the ability of students to transition from the classroom to the workplace. INJAZ’s pioneering public-private partnerships have brought over 10,000 corporate volunteers into public school classrooms and encouraged 13 Ministries of Education to seek innovative solutions through partnership to address the skills gap Arab graduates face.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR WORK:

In the middle east 70% of the population is below the age of 25 and most of them do not, and will not find jobs. School curriculum may remain traditional leaving graduates unprepared to compete effectively in the global market, or to create the buisnesses that will generate new jobs on the scale required.

Innovative approach engages leaders from the private sector to introduce entrepreneurship, work and life skills education into the school systems throughout the Middle East.

Injaz has reached more than three-hundred youth in the Arab world, engaged more than 10,000 volunteers from the corporate world and expanded the programs from Jordan to 11 other Middle Eastern and North African counties.

Ladies and gentlemen. I want my colleague and partner. I could packed above with this stand up which means book evening.
I want to start with a story. In 2001, I, there was a group of of young girls coming into her office from all across the Jordan and one of them was completely vailed.

The only two sparkling things that I could feel were two black eyes in front of me.

And, I was trying to understand what she was trying to say to me but the cars kept bobbing up and down and I finally said "Could you just feel drop from me what indulge means to you?", and she drew this bright the yellow sun and called it Injaz and drew a boy, not even a girl, with short-sleeves and shorts. And then she wrote on the side and she said, "I looked to the outstanding, to the freedom full with energy and power. This is what I want and this is the life I want and to live." And she signed it Selsen Petra school.

It was such an incredible experience for me just to see her soul and what she was crying for. To be liberated. The private sector volunteer, a female walking into her classroom in Petra. Her only hope to equip her with the skills she needs to break out and to break through.

What is most incredible about the Arab youth is how excited and thrilled they are to see a glimpse of hope. And they hold onto it with their life, to take on that opportunity.

All we've done is just open the door for private sector leaders, like Fabu Handur, who was here this evening, and his staff. To just tap into to the energy and enthusiasm of the Arab world's youth.The excitement that they have. They want to explore, and to see what strength they have, and to live productive lives.

The Skoll Award will help us reach one million Arab youth. We are coming to Libya. You are going to help me. Yemen , Algeria, and Syria, and also to empower as many youth as we can and mobilize as many business leaders across the Arab world.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much

Skoll Foundation

INJAZ Al-Arab

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Highlights From the Skoll World Forum Opening Plenary

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Henry R. Kravis Prize Awarded to Soraya Salti and mothers2mothers

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