The 100 Million Stars
Incubator Lab: May 2021 (online)
Impact Lab: December 2021 (at the EXPO2020 in Dubai)

Given the projected demographic change in the Arab world and Africa and the resulting “youth bulge”, these regions are expected to experience a 100 million youth unemployment challenge in the next ten years.

The 100 Million Stars initiative, was initiated by GDL Member Nihel Chabrak, CEO of the UAEU Science and Innovation Park. It is aimed at transforming the 100 million unemployed young people in the Arab world, Africa and the South Asia region (AWASAR) into 100 million shining stars, thus mitigating the risk of youth radicalisation in these regions. The 100 Million Stars Labs are supported, among others, by the Federal Foreign Office.

Building on the GDL approach, the 100 Million Stars Labs are aimed at:

1. identifying, engaging, training, and supporting bright young people from different countries to come up with solutions to the youth unemployment challenge in the AWASAR and to become the first 100 Million Stars Ambassadors,
2. approaching and engaging a federation of organisations and forming the 100 Million Stars Alliance, whose role will be to help implement the initiatives co-created in the labs,
3. supporting the young lab participants in drafting the 100 Million Stars Charter,
4. supporting the young lab participants in establishing mechanisms to sustain the 100 Million Stars initiative in the future through co-creating the 100 Million Stars Ambassadors Programme and a platform for future forums and actions to plant the seeds for the 100 Million Stars Movement.

The targeted role of the team of experts, consisting of GDL members, is to design and lead the labs.