DIRECTORY 549 Youth, Economics & Violence: Implications for Future Conflict April 26 to May 1, 2015 Schloss Leopoldskron | Salzburg | Austria Session 549 | Youth, Economics & Violence: Implications for Future Conflict 2 Salzburg Global Seminar is grateful to the following organizations for their generous support of Session 549 Youth, Economics & Violence: Implications for Future Conflict Salzburg Global Seminar would like to thank all participants for donating their time and expertise to this Session. 3 Session 549 | Youth, Economics & Violence: Implications for Future Conflict Participants Assem Abu Hatab, Sweden Assem Abu Hatab is a researcher in the Department of Economics at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Uppsala, Sweden. He is also researcher at the Center for Middle East Studies at Lund University and an assistant professor at Suez Canal University in Egypt (currently on leave). Prior to holding these roles, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, USA, as an assistant lecturer at Northwest A&F University, China, and as a visiting scholar at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Corvinus University of Budapest. Dr. Abu Hatab’s research interests include agri-food production, consumption and trade, and their linkage with food security in the Middle East. Exploring the impacts of China’s involvement in developing countries is a strong dimension in his research agenda. Moreover, his work in recent years has focused on the impacts of food price volatility on the emergence of political unrest in the MENA region. Dr. Abu Hatab holds a B.A. in agricultural sciences and an M.A. in agricultural economics from Suez Canal University in Egypt, and a Ph.D. economics and management from Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University (NWAFU), China. Katherine Aquirre-Tobón, Colombia Katherine Aguirre-Tobón is an associate researcher at Igarapé, where she focuses on issues of citizen security, monitoring drug policy, and violence diagnostics. Her research emphasizes empirical methods to establish factual foundations to guide effective policy-making in the fields of violence reduction and development. In addition, she coordinates a project that centralizes and disseminates economic research in Colombia. Previously, Ms. Aguirre-Tobón worked with think-tanks in Colombia, such as the Conflict Analysis Resource Center and CERAC, and with Small Arms Survey in Switzerland. She has extensive experience working with violence data, monitoring violence prevention and reduction initiatives, studying post-conflict violence, data visualization (GIS), and online mapping. She also has experience in quantitative research (including database management, statistics, econometrics, and geo-statistics) as well as qualitative methods. Ms. Aguirre-Tobón holds an M.A. in development studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Switzerland. 4 Participants Leena AL Olaimy, Bahrain Leena Al Olaimy is a co-founder and managing director of Triple Bottom Line Associates (3BL), a Bahrain-based strategy consultancy and think-do-tank, which addresses a multitude of interconnected sustainable development issues spanning youth empowerment, social inclusion, peace, climate change, and health, and recognizing that in a world of complexity cross-cutting issues cannot be solved in silo. Ms. Al Olaimy’s research interests and practical methods for engaging marginalized youth through innovative and constructive ways, particularly through social entrepreneurship, are the factors that contribute to Islamic fundamentalism, particularly alienation, humiliation, conflicted identities, and a perception of moral injustice. Ms. Al Olaimy started her career as a communications consultant for a leading global PR firm developing strategies for blue chip companies and Fortune 500s. She also managed high-profile events convening dignitaries like Middle Eastern Heads of State, G8 Foreign Secretaries and the World Bank President, and worked for the Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is on the Board of Trustees of the Bahrain Foundation for Reconciliation and Civil Discourse (BFRCD). Ms. Al Olaimy holds a B.Sc. in culture and interpersonal communications from New York University, USA, and an M.A. in globalization studies from Dartmouth College. Additionally, she has studied at Harvard Business School, and at the THNK School for Creative Leadership in Amsterdam. Ahmad Alhendawi, USA SESSION CO-CHAIR Ahmed Alhendawi is the first-ever United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth since February 2013. In this role, he addresses the development needs and rights of young people, and brings their voices to the United Nations System. Mr. Alhendawi works with different UN Agencies, governments, civil society, academia and media stakeholders towards enhancing, empowering and strengthening the position of young people within and outside of the United Nations System. He is a youth advocate at the national, regional and international levels, having co-founded the Youth for Democracy Network at the Jordanian Commission for Democratic Culture and the International Youth Council, based in New York. Mr. Alhendawi was previously a team leader for the World Bank funded program to the League of Arab States on institutional development to strengthen Arab policy and participation. Prior to this, he served as the youth policy advisor in the League of Arab States in Cairo and as an officer in the Technical Secretariat of the Arab Youth and Sports Ministers Council. Past experience also includes serving as a team leader for the National Youth Policy Project in Iraq, a youth programme associate at the Iraq office of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and as an emergency programme officer at the non-governmental organization Save the Children. As a regional consultant, Mr. Alhendawi has also supported the Danish Youth Council’s projects in the Middle East and North Africa. Mr. Alhendawi holds a B.A. in computer information systems from the Al-Balga Applied University in Jordan, and an M.A. in advanced European and international relations from Institut Européen in Nice, France. 5 Session 549 | Youth, Economics & Violence: Implications for Future Conflict Participants Wagdy M. Al-Kadasi, Yemen Wagdy M. Al-Kadasi is a co-founder and vice-president of the Yemeni Youth Development Centre, Social Democratic Forum in Sana’a. He is also a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at Sana’a University and a neurosurgical resident in King Hussein Hospital in Amman, Jordan. He is responsible for preparation of projects and papers pertaining to Yemeni youth development, youth and the fight against corruption, youth economics and social realities, and the involvement of Yemeni youth in political issues. Interested in community issues, Mr. Al-Kadasi has worked with the student union at the Sana’a University, served as secretary general of the medical society and as media supervisor at the university, organized workshops and symposiums aimed at enhancing medical education, health education, and community participation of students, and served as an editor for the medical journal published by his faculty. Prior to co-founding the Yemeni Youth Development Center in 2006, he was involved in organizing regional and local workshops concerning human rights and youth development issues. Motahar Amiri, Austria Motahar Amiri is a photographer at the Fotohof Art Gallery in Salzburg, Austria. His main field of research is the anthropological approach on religion, politics, and social policy, which had mostly found its subjects among marginal groups, minorities, and human rights. Since 2009, Mr. Amiri works for Aftab News Agency and several newspaper in Tehran as a reporter, translator, and columnist. For the past three years, he has been traveling the world, at the same time running an NGO called Untold Stories. He has organized more than 40 workshops and produced movies in eight countries, one of which is still in production. Mr. Amiri holds a B.A. in sociology from the University of Allame Tabatabaii, and an M.A. in cultural studies from the University of Science and Culture in Tehran. Erum Aziz, Pakistan Aziz is a program associate at Pakistan Alliance for Girls Education (PAGE), a platform for policy makers, donors, and development experts to align their synergies towards bridging the gender gap in education. Her work focuses on linking financial and human resources in a way that can promote effective enforcement of education policies and formulate innovative approaches to boost female literacy. Ms. Aziz is currently pursuing an M.A. in development studies. She is interested in examining youth vulnerabilities and looks to find ways that can help youth in becoming successful leaders of tomorrow, as politicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, thinkers, and change agents. She is also interested helping to empower women by providing them the necessary entrepreneurial skills and access to capital to make them dignified partners in amplifying economic growth. Previously, Ms. Aziz had an internship at the American Refugee Committee, where she developed the initial concept for “Noah’s Ark “, a contingency model designed for school children. 6 Participants Kiran Bali, United Kingdom Kiran Bali is the chair of the world’s largest interfaith organization, United Religions Initiative, which operates in 94 countries. She has addressed the UN General Assembly on women’s empowerment and community challenges through impactful actions,