Aly Farag, Feryal Ashraf appointed ambassadors for UN Global Initiative in Egypt ‘Shabab Balad’

Cairo - 13 June 2022: The world top ranking squash player Aly Farag and the winner of the Olympic gold medal in Karate Kumite, Feryal Ashraf, were appointed as Ambassadors for the UN global initiative Generation Unlimited in Egypt “Shabab Balad”. 

Shabab Balad is the first Public-Private-Youth Partnership (PPYP) in the country aiming to skill and connect all of the young people in Egypt aged 10-24, numbering 28 millions, to opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, and positive social impact by 2030.

Launched during World Youth Forum held in Sharm el-Sheikh last January, Shabab Balad operates under the auspices of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah Sisi, and targets 28 millions in Egypt. 

The global initiative targets all the young people in the world aged 10-24, with a total number of about 1.8 billion young men and women. In Egypt, the target group represents 27 percent of the population. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is coordinating the initiative, in which many United Nations organizations participate.

In their new roles, Farag and Ashraf will support Shabab Balad work for the youth in Egypt and promote the importance of educating, training, skilling and connecting them to the employment opportunities as well as instilling the concept of entrepreneurship among the youth.

The signing ceremony was attended by UNICEF Representative in Egypt, Jeremy Hopkins, the Partnerships and Generation Unlimited Lead at United Nations, the Director General of Shabab Balad, Dr. Ghada Makday and representatives of several UN offices in Egypt.

"A key component of the Shabab Balad initiative is for young people to be front and centre in charting out vision for young people that will complement Egypt’s vision 2030 and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Our very talented Shabab Balad ambassadors will be critical in bringing this conversation to young people in Egypt and to ensuring that young people’s voices are heard at the policy table. I am delighted that Aly Farag and Feryal Ashraf have joined the ‘Shabab Balad’ initiative and look forward to working to working together in this important UN Public-Private-Youth partnership.” said Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF Representative in Egypt.

“I am really excited to be part of the efforts of Shabab Balad, and I am happy to participate in delivering its message and raising awareness of young people in Egypt with the opportunities for secondary education and qualification for the labour market”, said Aly Farag, the Ambassador of Shabab Balad.

“I strongly believe that empowering young people in Egypt is a pivotal step to enhance their participation at the national and global levels,” he added.

“Egyptian athletes have proved their great potential in the Olympic games once they have the proper qualification and I believe ‘Shabab Balad’ will help all Egyptian youth achieve their dreams,” said Feryal Ashraf, the Olympic Karate Kumite Champion and Ambassador of Shabab Balad.

“I am happy to be part of ‘Shabab Balad’ because I strongly believe in the prospects that the initiative opens to the youth in Egypt. I am really excited about my new role and will do my best to help make the youth of Egypt connected and involved with the promising initiative."