Egypt launches a Global South Youth Bureau

The Cairo Civil Education Center on Friday witnessed the launch of the Global South Youth Bureau at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, coinciding with the International Day for South-South Cooperation.

The ceremony began with the playing of the Egyptian national anthem, and was attended by the executive and legislative officials, led by Ambassador Amr Aljowaily, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs and International Security, Major General Ismail Al-Far, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports for Governmental Relations and Supervisor of the Youth Sector, anthropologist Hassan Ghazaly, Director of the Global South Youth Bureau, and a constellation of young leaders, graduates of the African Youth Bureau programs over the past 10 years, in addition to young diplomatic attachés (batch 56).

At the beginning of his speech, Major General Ismail Al-Far, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports for Youth Sector Affairs, conveyed the greetings of the Minister of Youth and Sports, adding that the ministry pays great attention to developing programs and initiatives aimed at empowering youth at the national, regional, and international levels. Al-Far said in his statements: “The launch of the Global South Youth Bureau comes within the framework of the ministry’s vision to enhance the role of youth in leading the development process and building a sustainable society. We are committed to providing full support to this office to be a beacon for transferring experiences and expertise between youth in the Global South countries.”

Al-Far added that the new office will play a vital role in youth diplomacy and in bringing about a qualitative shift in cooperation with partner countries, by providing interactive platforms for youth to present their ideas and contribute to achieving the common goals between the countries of the South.

For his part, Ambassador Amr Aljowaily, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs and International Security, highlighted the great attention paid by Dr. Badr Abdel-Atty, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, and Affairs of Egyptians Abroad, to Egypt’s leading role in enhancing the role of the Global South in the multilateral system in general, and the United Nations and its agencies in particular, praising the initiative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to establish the Global South Youth Bureau as a platform for communication for Egyptian youth with their peers in the Global South countries, and noting the prominent position held by youth in the Global South, as the largest and most promising demographic component, compared to other geographical regions of the world that may not enjoy the same demographic advantage.

The Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs reviewed the leading role that Egypt continues to play in strengthening the leadership of the Global South, starting with its participation as a founder of the Non-Aligned Movement, which is primarily concerned with political and strategic issues, and the Group of 77, which is concerned with economic and development issues and is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this year, in addition to many other international cross-continental developing forums, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

 Al-Jowili also presented some examples of institutions working to enhance cooperation among the countries of the South, including the South Center in Geneva, which was previously headed by Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who also served as the first Secretary-General of the International Organization of La Francophonie, whose members are mostly from the Global South, and the South-South Cooperation Office at the United Nations Secretariat, which was previously headed by Egyptian diplomats.

Hassan Ghazaly, Director of the Global South Youth Bureau, presented in his speech the vision aimed at empowering youth in the Global South countries by creating bridges of communication between Egyptian youth and youth in sister countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Ghazaly affirmed that the office has been a natural extension of youth diplomacy for a decade (2012-2024), where, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and with the support of the Minister of Youth and Sports, it was able to achieve tangible successes in strengthening international partnerships, especially through leadership programs such as the “Gamal Abdel Nasser Fellowship for International Leadership,” the “Pan African School 2063,” the “Nasser Youth Movement,” African Union Volunteer Programs, the Model African Union, Nile Valley Peoples’ Solidarity Project, and support for African students, among other programs that created generations who believe in the African circle in the determinants of the Egyptian personality and policy.

In the same context, during the event, a lively discussion session was held, during which Ambassador Amr Aljowaily presented a panoramic view of the concept of the Global South, emphasizing that its basic demand is to achieve justice, fairness, the rule of law, and equal participation in multilateral relations and the international system as a whole. The young attendees raised many questions about the role of the Global South Youth Bureau in empowering youth and expanding the scope of programs to include all governorates, especially in Upper Egypt.

They also referred to the vital role of the National Cadre Preparation Project – Bozoor for students of foreign languages, such as Swahili, French, Spanish, and Urdu, in enhancing communication between young people from different cultures.

In their interventions, the attendees, graduates of the office’s programs, praised the impact of the office’s initiatives on their career paths and the development of their skills and empowerment and stressed the need to activate training programs targeting people with disabilities.

They also praised the role played by the office in preserving the national identity and raising awareness among youth about issues of international cooperation. They considered that such initiatives contribute to developing the capacities of youth at the level of the Global South countries, which enhances cooperation and creates opportunities for joint growth.

At the end of the event, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, represented by Major General Ismail Al-Far, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports, honored Ambassador Amr Aljowaily in recognition of the support provided by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which contributed to the success of youth initiatives over the past years.