This report, The Silatech Index: Voices of Young Arabs, a Silatech study prepared in partnership with Gallup, measures and analyzes attitudes of almost 20,000 young Arabs with respect to their hopes and desires in life, human capital, work, entrepreneurship, and obstacles to success.

Findings from the report underscore the importance of looking at young people as today’s vital partners with a stake in their societies, rather than viewing them as tomorrow’s beneficiaries for whom employment must be found. The report attempts to capture the voices of young people across the Arab world. Between February and April 2009, Gallup interviewed 8,597 national youth (aged 15 to 29) across 19 countries that are members of the Arab League and the Somaliland autonomous region. In addition, 9,590 nationals aged 30 and older were also polled during the same period. The survey will be repeated two times per year to gauge young people’s views over time.

Through public opinion research, the report provides action-driven findings about the perceptions and views of young Arabs that can help national governments and policy-makers develop and implement comprehensive initiatives to create environments for the full utilization of human capital among youth. Drawing from its deep experience in survey research, Gallup designed the Silatech Index Model (SIM), which relies on four main constructs of Mindset, Policy, Access, and Decent Work.