WEBINAR | COVID-19 and Arab Young Adults: Addressing Dropout, Un-Employment and Crime – April 5, 2021

Hassan Tawafra, Dr. Nasreen Hadad Haj’Yahya, and Ariel Dloomy discussed the role of gap year programs in providing a framework for Arab 18-24 year-olds and their potential to mitigate the current economic crisis for the coming generations of Arab citizens. A breakdown of the discussion is below:

• Hassan Tawafra, the new Director-General of the Authority for Economic Development for the Arab Sector in the Ministry of Social Equality. Hassan will introduce his vision for the authority and what government plans can be expected for young adults ‘Not in Education, Employment or Training’ (NEET).
• Dr. Nasreen Hadad Haj’Yahya, Director of Jewish-Arab relations at the Israel Democracy Institute, Partner at the Portland Trust, and principal at NAS Consulting. Nasreen will present insights from her seminal research on the NEET phenomena in Arab society and how COVID-19 exacerbated existing disparities.
• Ariel Dloomy, Co-Executive Director of AJEEC-NISPED. AJEEC-NISPED currently runs the largest gap year program for Arab young adults. Ariel will present insights from developing and implementing the current model and the challenges and opportunities for making these programs available nationally.