The first Youth Summit of the Islamic Development Bank Group Annual Meeting brought together youth leaders, influential thinkers, policy makers, entrepreneurs and international development policy experts to discuss critical matters of relevance to youth in IDBG member countries. The delegates at the two-day Youth Summit, begins today, drew attention to the key role of youth in overcoming development issues in areas ranging from education, employment, entrepreneurship, networking to financial inclusion.

Forget that fancy word ‘smart city’. A country or community must have uninterrupted electricity 24 hours a day, clean water, knowledge of agricultural pattern to grow crops through the year and no wastage of water. Securing these few resources (water and energy in the form of food and electricity) are essential for sustainable living.It’s when a community does not have these resources that migration to regions occur triggering a domino effect of over population, and a high pressured race to grab resource now under supplied. 

A cultural diplomacy is the need of the hour to correct the West's misconceptions about the Arab world, said panelists at a session on the second day of the Arab #Media Forum in Dubai on Tuesday. During the session titled 'The Arab Image in the West' moderated by Saudi journalist Faisal Abbas, Nathan Tek, US State Department spokesman for the Middle East and the Gulf; Mark Donfried, executive director and founder of the Berlin Institute for Cultural Diplomacy; stressed the need for innovative efforts to change the negative image of the Arab world in western media.

Stopfake.org, a group of researchers from the Mohyla School of Journalism in Kyiv, have identified two strong narratives in their study of Russian propaganda about the Euro Maidan: first, that it was a coup d’état directed by the U.S.; and second, that power was seized in Kyiv by a fascist regime. [...] With a lack of clear narratives and facts from the Ukrainian government, the Western media fell for the Kremlin’s skillful falsehoods.

"I think it's a great idea, when civil society takes the initiative in resolving this long 'frozen' conflict. [...] I am absolutely sure that if public diplomacy starts its work, this should lead to tangible results, because it usually becomes a signal for the government to start an active resolution of existing conflicts."

A return to basic local organizing practices may be in order for many human rights organizations. And at the same time, trends in technology, philanthropy, business and society present novel opportunities to improve human rights efforts that may enhance their impact, sustainability and resilience. Given the significance of the current threats, it is worth reconsidering the prevalent human rights “business model.”