Middle East and North Africa

Skills for the future initiative (SFI) aims to prepare the youth of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to compete in the global economy by equipping them with skills necessary for the future of work, including essential cloud computing skills and 21st century skills. In the changing future of work, skills that can be substituted by technology are fading in demand but skills that complement technology are becoming highly valued.

The objective is to develop a detailed note intended to provide a guide to Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries looking to develop or improve their national quality assurance systems for early childhood education (ECE). The primary audience for this note will be high-level officials from Ministries of Education in MENA countries, entrusted with improving the quality of ECE in their respective countries.

A government's provision of complementary public goods, such as roads and bridges, facilitates the development of markets leading to long-term economic growth. Private enterprise, by itself, is unlikely to provide such public works. Likewise, a government's investment in social infrastructure, such as education and health, is critical, particularly for conflict-ridden populations deprived of adequate services. Furthermore, scaling-up public investment is central to development, especially in in FCV contexts, which are often left with rudimentary or badly-damaged infrastructure.

This engagement note provides education sector policymakers with an overview of the status of education across the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and offers insight into the World Bank’s strategies and approaches to supporting education reform in the GCC region. While the Gulf countries are similar in many ways, each country has its own contextual factors and socioeconomic dynamic that may affect the process of education reform.

More than 10 million school-age children have been forced out of school in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) due to armed conflict in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and other countries. Most are displaced internally but others have fled across borders to seek refuge. As governments and international agencies struggle to ensure these children a safe learning environment and a good quality education, many look to information and communications technology (ICT) to provide at least part of the solution.

In October 2009, the World Bank, together with the European Investment Bank, the Governments of Egypt, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, and the city of Marseille, launched the Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration (MCMI). The Center will facilitate access to best knowledge and practices and improve cooperation to support development policies geared towards greater integration and convergence in the Mediterranean region.

This brief summarizes some of the significant constraints women in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) face: limited labor market mobility, a mismatch between skills acquired in school and what is in demand in the labor market, and legal or institutional factors related to cultural norms, all of which inhibit the transition from school to work. The brief identifies various policy options and outlines the World Bank's strategy for supporting governments in achieving gender parity in the region.

The objective of this Fast Brief presented in two parts, is to illustrate several concrete examples from MNA, ECA and LAC of youth-focused AAA, investment lending, and grant-funded engagements, which can inform the growing work program in the region.

The objective of this Fast Brief presented in two parts, is to illustrate several concrete examples from MNA, ECA and LAC of youth-focused AAA, investment lending, and grant-funded engagements, which can inform the growing work program in the region.