TYO Recommends: Friday, August 3
This week, TYO looks at the new phenomenon of women outnumbering men in Middle Eastern universities, the New York Times calls Ramallah the Silicon Valley of the Middle East, and our own Suhad Jabi speaks on Al Jazeera!
The World's Silent Epidemic. Depression, stress and mental illness are not just first world problems, contrary to what media and stigma would have you believe. TYO's Suhad Jabi spoke on Al-Jazeera English about the affects of MENTAL ILLNESS in Palestine, and the challenges of identifying and aiding community members in a culture which writes off mental challenge as laziness or worse, insanity. Watch the full segment below.
[youtube https://youtu.be/35KfpkNvpYE 585]
MEPI and TYO! TYO PARTNERED with the Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) to support the Youth Leadership Committee and our young volunteers. Together, says MEPI, we are "empowering university students in Nablus to become the next generation of leaders and bring about change in their communities." And we make a great team!
Silicon Valley of the Middle East? That's what the New York Times is saying about RAMALLAH, and emerging hotspot for innovation in the growing Palestinian technology industry. “This is a sector that has no borders,” observes Murad Tahboub, director of a small tech-start up. “You just need electricity and a telephone line.”
Winning in Education, Losing at Work. Women's enrollment now OUTPACES men in Middle Eastern undergraduate institutions, and more women are completing degrees now than ever before. So why are they still such a small fraction of the workforce? CNN breaks down the numbers, and examines the societal challenges that keep educated women confined to the house.
And Advancing in Parliament? Women have made incredible advances in government in the last five years: they now hold 20% of the world's parliamentary SEATS, and an average of 42% in Nordic countries. But the Middle East, while progressing, still lags behind. The Economist asks: What are the percentages like in the Arab World? Can quotas help women at the polls? And is the Arab Spring a chance to turn electoral politics in their favor?