Experts Call to Empower Youth and Promote Meritocracy

Doha, May 10 (QNA) Investing in human capital, empowering youth, promoting creativity, meritocracy and establishing political and economic mechanisms are keys to managing change, experts told 11th Doha Forum and the conference on Enriching the Middle East s Economic Future being held here Tuesday.
The panellists discussed the challenges established and emerging economies are facing post global crisis and effective strategies needed to prosper in the long term on the second day of the conference .
Potomac Capital Chief Executive Officer Dr Hani Findakly, who moderated the discussion, said in his prologue, "The Arab world is facing dual challenges a discordant global economic environment and social and cultural issues at the domestic level.''
Former Secretary of State for Business in the UK Lord Peter Mandelson, the first speaker of day, said, "The countries of this region are facing huge economic pressures from larger, rapidly growing economies of the world notably Asia alongside huge internal pressures which we have seen in the popular uprisings."
These pressures stem from the process of globalization, the collapsing of borders which had previously separated economies, peoples and information and the progressive convergence of values, aspirations and economic models, he said. "As a result of globalization all of us share more, trade more and depend upon each other in the global economy more than ever before," he said. "We are all tending to be governed by the same global rules, both political and economic''. "Those who do not organise themselves to take advantage of the global rules of openness and freedom whether in economics or politics will not flourish," he cautioned.
On how to take advantage of the process of globalisation, Lord Mandelson who was EU Commissioner for Trade (2004-2008) mentioned three issues the short versus the long term, open versus closed and state versus markets. Short term production, consumption and subsidies do not make economies more competitive or grow faster.
"To succeed in the long term creativity must be promoted; a genuine culture of meritocracy should take root and investing in factors that will sustain growth like education, energy, transport, technology and infrastructure. Closed economies do not flourish," he said.
Regarding the state's role in spurring free market, Lord Mandelson said the state should use openness and competition to remove barriers to market entry for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the expense of insider monopolists.
For his part, Former French Member of Parliament Alain Marsaud talked about the Arab spring a metaphorical phrase used by commentators to describe the events happening in the Middle East saying it will not be a one season wonder. "We are still facing the consequences of the global crisis and the industrialised Europe should wake up to the reality of the emerging new order where the Middle East has a great role to play," said Marsaud.