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November 15, 2011 Issue 194

A QUESTION OF YOUTHWords | Paul McLoughlin Photography | Jerzy Wierzbicki

Anyone with kids of their own, or younger siblings for that matter, will know that getting an honest opinion from a teenager is often a matter of probability. A shrug of the shoulders is often the best you can hope for, from an honest query about their opinions. But perhaps it’s not the answer which is wrong, or the question for that matter, but the way it’s said. Just switch on the TV and you will see that the youth in the region are certainly not short in expressing their opinions, and the medium of the internet, blogs, social media and forums, have been the catalyst for such change in the Middle East. Brand Oman has long been at the forefront here in Oman in empowering youth, as well as encouraging debate and thought amongst this generation through platforms such as the Youth Summit, the next instalment which will take place from 4th to 7th December (you’ll hear more about this in the following issues of Y). Generation Z, as those born after 1995 are often referred to, have incorporated social media into their everyday lives and through this medium Brand Oman have thought of another ingenious way of reaching out to the youth of the country for their thoughts and opinions.

A nationwide youth survey was recently launched by Brand Oman which is one of the first assessments of its kind in Oman, to find out the thoughts and habits of today’s 15-24 year olds. It includes questions on health, leisure activities, how they gather information and their future career options. HH Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said told us a little about the aims and objectives of the survey: “It’s the Youth Summit that provoked us to want to learn more. When we found out that young people have a lot of concerns we thought ‘what would it take to know how many of these perceptions are out there?’ The

survey is in Arabic and English because we didn’t want to miss out on anyone. It’s for anyone who resides here, in Oman.”

HH Sayyid Faisal thinks the survey will go a long way to bridge the gap between the opinions and concerns of youth in the country, and the actions of key decision makers in the private and public sectors. He says, “We want to invoke that sense of responsibility; are trying to do decision

makers a favour by highlighting certain areas without going into details, too in-depth. We try at a macro-level to touch base on common perceptions." HH Sayyid Faisal adds, “We hope that the findings would be something that the decision-makers take into consideration when they plan. If 80 or 90 percent see that the sports facilities in the town or village are not adequate, then that would give decision-makers the idea to see what can be done to fix this.”

One of the most interesting findings HH Sayyid Faisal hopes to find out from the survey, is the future career plans for the youth in Oman: “We want to see if the youth see the government as the main job provider. Surprisingly, I just had a talk with a few friends from the private sector who said they were looking forward to reading the results of the survey because they want to positively contribute to Omanisation and try to change perceptions about the private sector. By sharing your perceptions you are giving me the chance to understand you better. The private sector does have a stake in this.”

And following the recent Shura elections, the decision makers in the public sector, too, will undoubtedly find the results of huge interest, as are we in the media.

If you’re aged between 15 – 24 years old and are an Omani citizen or resident in the country, you take part in the youth survey by logging into http://brandoman.om/survey/

We’re told that there has already been fantastic feedback from the public through this poll, so don’t miss your chance to let your voice be heard.