UAE’s Minister of Youth to speak at unveiling of 8th annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey

April 11, 2016

The UAE’s first Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Shamma bint Sohail Faris Al Mazrui, will be the keynote speaker at the unveiling of the 8th annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey on Tuesday, April 12.
At 22, Al Mazrui became the youngest minister in the UAE Cabinet when she took up the post announced by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in a reshuffle in February.
Sunil John, CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said: “We are delighted, and honoured, that Her Excellency Shamma bint Sohail Faris Al Mazrui will be delivering the keynote at the event. There are 200 million people under the age of 30 across the Middle East and North Africa. Understanding their hopes and aspirations is extremely important for policymakers, and businesses, across the region. It is clear the at the leadership of the UAE understands this, and the appointment of such a qualified person to this newly-established post is a testament to how seriously the government is taking youth issues.
The UAE’s first Rhodes Scholar, Al Mazrui holds a Masters of Public Policy with Distinction from Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government, and a Bachelors degree from NYU Abu Dhabi, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in the university’s inaugural class.  At NYU Abu Dhabi, Al Mazrui conducted extensive research on Emirati females’ perceptions of the labour market.
Al Mazrui, who worked as an equity analyst prior to her appointment as Minister is a recipient of the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Distinction Award, the Coutts Future Leader 2015 Award, the UAE Distinguished Student Scholarship of His Highness the President of the UAE, and the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Scholarship for Exceptional Emirati Students.
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller will unveil the results of the 2016 Arab Youth Survey at a gala client event at the Ritz-Calton, Dubai International Financial Centre. The findings will be debated by a high level panel comprising  Khaled Al Maeena, former editor in chief of Arab News and the Saudi Gazette; Sara Al Sarah Yousef Amiri; Head of the Council of UAE Scientists, and Science Lead, Emirates Mars Mission (Hope Mission); Faisal Al Yafai, Chief Columnist, The National newspaper; and Chaker Khazaal, writer, spokesperson, reporter, and Huffington Post contributor. The panel will be moderated by Alaa Shahine, Editor for politics and macroeconomics in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey at Bloomberg.
Launched in 2008, the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey presents evidence-based insights into the attitudes of Arab youth, providing public and private sector organisations with data and analysis to inform their decision-making and policy formation.
For this year’s survey, international polling firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively Arab national men and women aged 18-24 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain; Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen. The interviews were conducted from January 11 to February 22, 2016.
In-depth results from the 8th Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey, including survey highlights and a white paper in Arabic and English, will be available on www.arabyouthsurvey.com after the findings are unveiled.

ENDS

About ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller:
Established in 2000, ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller is the region’s leading public relations consultancy, with 11 fully-owned offices and 10 affiliates across the Middle East and North Africa. A WPP company within the global Burson-Marsteller network, the agency provides services to governments, multinational businesses and regional corporate clients through its seven practices in the sectors of Technology, Finance, Healthcare, Energy & Environment as well as Consumer Marketing, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. The firm’s services include reputation management, digital communications, media relation, media monitoring & analysis, design services and event management. For more information visit www.asdaabm.com.
About Penn Schoen Berland:
Penn Schoen Berland (PSB), a member of Young & Rubicam Group and the WPP Group, is a global research-based consultancy that specialises in messaging and communications strategy for blue-chip corporate, political and entertainment clients. PSB’s operations include over 200 consultants and a sophisticated in-house market research infrastructure with the capability to conduct work in over 90 countries. The company operates offices around the world, including in Washington D.C., New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, London, Hamburg, Madrid and Dubai, which are supported by in-house field capabilities and fully equipped to provide the complete creative solutions PSB clients need. More at www.psbresearch.com.
For further information, please contact:
Sunil John/ Bashar Al Kadhi
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
Dubai, UAE
T: 971 4 4507600
E: ays@bm.com
www.arabyouthsurvey.com