My keynote, titled ‘Decent Work and the Future of Work Agenda in the MENA Region: Opportunities, Challenges & Strategies’, examined the link between Sustainable Development Goal 8 (decent work and inclusive growth) and the future of work agenda in the Middle East and North Africa. In my remarks I explored the region’s pressing challenges, from high youth unemployment and gender gaps to AI ‘automation anxiety’, and spotlighted opportunities in digitalisation, entrepreneurship and the green economy.
I spoke through the lens of my work over the last three decades and drew from the advocacy and extensive work of the Arab International Women’s Forum and our partners to further the decent work agenda in the Arab world. I was especially proud to participate in today’s Sustainability Forum and to speak about the subject of decent work as the only Arab Commissioner to serve on the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work (2017-2019), the ILO having set the Decent Work Agenda in its call for a more human-centred future working world.
It was truly an honour to have contributed to the ILO’s flagship future of work report published in January 2019 which is a blueprint for the global decent work agenda. It was indeed a pleasure to share my insights on what ‘decent work’ means for the MENA region at this critical juncture, amidst ongoing challenges related to women’s labour market participation, youth unemployment and the risks and opportunities presented by the emergence of AI. Investment in skills, social protection and women’s economic participation will be critical for unlocking inclusive prosperity, and I called for stronger partnerships between governments, the private sector, universities, and civil society to ensure that the future of work in MENA supports dignity, stability and sustainable growth and that the benefits of economic transformation are shared equitably towards a more peaceful and prosperous Arab future.
