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MBRF-organised Youth Knowledge Forum commences in Egypt

The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sports,

along with several other ministers and senior officials, including Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population; Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hanno, Minister
of Culture; and Counsellor Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs.

The inaugural session was also graced by the presence of Jamal Bin Huwaireb, CEO of MBRF;
Dr. Mohamed Sami Abdel Sadek, President of Cairo University; and Eng. Hany Torky, Project

Manager of the Knowledge Project at UNDP, as well as a distinguished group of partners and
experts. Furthermore, attendees enjoyed a vibrant lineup of musical and artistic performances
by the ‘Percussion’ troupe.

Dr. Ashraf Sobhy stressed that as the host of the Forum’s fourth edition, Egypt has
demonstrated its strong commitment to investing in human capital and capacity building.

Moreover, he stated that the knowledge economy is the backbone of the nation’s ongoing
development efforts.

He further stated: “The forum serves as a dynamic platform for impactful dialogue and youth
policymaking, redefining benchmarks of how government institutions should engage with youth
in an era of digital and knowledge transformation. Through such initiatives, we strive to enhance
the creativity, awareness, and leadership qualities of Arab youth, since empowering them today

is fundamental to building a cohesive society and a sustainable, competitive economy.”

Jamal Bin Huwaireb, CEO of MBRF, expressed his delight at the Forum’s return to Cairo,
following the success of last year’s edition. He further underscored that Arab youth
empowerment remains a cornerstone of the Foundation’s strategic vision.

Meanwhile, Eng. Hany Torky, Project Manager of UNDP’s Knowledge Project, emphasised that
the world’s greatest challenge today is not a lack of professional opportunities, but a growing

skill gap, which is hindering individuals’ ability to keep pace with digital transformation and
artificial intelligence.

Following the opening, the first session titled ‘Knowledge Economy and Human Development’
was moderated by Mostafa Magdy, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports for Strategic Affairs
and Information, and a member of the Technical Secretariat of the Ministerial Group for Human
Development. The session explored the importance of formulating a comprehensive vision for
the knowledge economy and examined the role of Egypt’s development policies in supporting

the same.

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