As the Twitter generation among the demonstrators in Cairo and Tunis will readily agree, we now live in an interconnected world. Thanks to rapid advances in communication and information technologies, individuals and organizations from wherever they are can now rapidly and cost effectively collaborate with their peers to carry out common projects of any size and complexity.
Resources
Likewise, with increasing interdependence and shared interests, nations recognize the need to pool resources and collaborate in times of crisis such as the one faced by Egypt today. And Egypt is neither alone nor isolated. The overwhelming outpouring of support that was expressed by the major powers and her neighbours for both the demonstrators and the government is evidence that the country has built a large reservoir of goodwill among nations. We witnessed an example of a fruitful multilateral collaboration in London during the recent financial crisis when the group of 20 leading economies held meetings of heads of state, finance ministers and central bank governors to work out a common response to the crisis.
Aid
Now that the youths have spoken, tempers have cooled and the elders in Cairo have begun to put their own house in order, what does the international community need to do next? The task of responding to the causes at the root of this crisis may probably be too daunting to be left to Egypt alone. Friends of Egypt among the major powers and her neighbours in the region could consider pooling resources and providing the country with urgent aid akin to the post-WWII Marshall Plan of the last century. This aid could be required to help the country cope with the global food crisis and lower the 25% unemployment rate. The funds could be utilized to help with:
- Construction of infrastructure.
- Modernization of agriculture and small holder farms.
- Renovation of facilities in the tourism industry.
- Construction of new hotels and resorts.
- Loan guarantees to small and medium enterprises (SME).
Funds could also be utilized to improve the delivery of social services in such areas as:
- Education.
- Primary healthcare.
- Independent Judiciary.
Training
Demonstrators and the military appeared to get along quite well together. The military could harness this synergy by establishing a compulsory 2-year national youth service for both men and women, without exception. The youths would undergo basic military training for a few months and spend the rest of the time in vocational training in preparation for jobs or self employment as fishermen, computer programmers, website designers, mechanics, electricians, painters, masons, carpenters, chefs, salesmen, chicken farmers, organic vegetable farmers, foreign language speakers for work in call centres and tourism, etc.
Employment
The youths who will eventually graduate from the National Youth Service proposed above will either be assisted by the military to enter the jobs market or be provided with loan guarantees by the central bank to set up their own businesses throughout the country. They could later continue their workplace skills training and advance themselves by, for instance, taking free online courses.
Gordian Kankiko - Gordian is an e-Learning and online community facilitator.
