Across the MENA region, Arabic remains strongly present in the daily lives of youth and an integral part of their identity. However, according to research from Strategy& and Ipsos many young people see English as essential to building their future, highlighting a gap between Arabic’s cultural importance and its practical role in work.
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Unveiled at the 2026 Congress of Arabic & Creative Industries this week, the report finds that Arabic dominates at home for MENA youth, but the balance shifts where they study and work: 91% use Arabic at home, falling to 64% at work, university or school and 60% in online learning, as English rises from 7% to 33% and 36% respectively.
At the same time, 77% say English is essential to achieving their goals. The report draws on the views of more than 4,000 people aged 18–25 across 10 MENA countries.
The authors highlight that the current generation is not turning away from Arabic. Almost three-quarters, 74%, want Arabic to evolve to better reflect how they learn, create and work, while 76% say the language connects them to their roots. Instead, they point to a challenge of utility: ensuring Arabic remains relevant not only to young people’s identity, but to their ambitions and opportunities.
“Young people are not turning away from Arabic; rather, they aspire for its tools and its presence to keep pace with the rhythm of their lives, and for Arabic to be present in every field in which they learn, work, create and shape their future,” said Ali Bin Tamim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that this deep connection with the Arabic language is matched by opportunity, by strengthening its presence in education, technology, knowledge production and the creative industries. Arabic has always been a language of knowledge and creativity, and by listening to this generation and responding to its aspirations, we can ensure that Arabic continues to have a meaningful place in their future, while empowering them to contribute to shaping it with confidence.”
AI a priority area for Arabic
Half of young people surveyed identify technology and AI as the leading priority for greater investment in Arabic, ahead of schools and universities at 42%, government and public services at 39%, and media and entertainment at 32%.
The report also points to gaps in Arabic-language AI, noting that many large language models underperform in non-English and low-resource language contexts and are often insufficiently attuned to cultural context. It calls for shared Arabic language technology infrastructure, including high-quality datasets, language models, speech-recognition tools, and translation resources that can be used across sectors and dialects.
An ambitious generation
Youths in the MENA region are ambitious about their future while remaining strongly connected to their heritage. Some 81% believe they have the power to shape their own future, while 77% say balancing tradition and modernity is important in their career choices.
That ambition sits alongside a strong attachment to Arabic and concern about its future. More than three-quarters, 76%, say Arabic connects them to their roots, while 70% are concerned about losing traditions and values and 66% about the declining use of Arabic.
Young people also want the language they value culturally to feel contemporary. While 77% feel proud when they see Arabic used in modern contexts, 67% say the Arabic content they find feels dated compared with English.
“Young people across the region are ambitious about their future without wanting to leave their heritage behind. Arabic remains an important part of who they are,” said Nay Abi Ramia, Partner at Strategy&. “The opportunity now is to ensure the language has a meaningful place in the technologies they use, the content they consume and create, and the education and career pathways they pursue.”
Ali Bin Tamim and Nay Abi Ramia
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Five recommendations
To make Arabic more usable in the environments shaping young people’s futures, the report sets out five actions: connecting Arabic education to real-world applications and professional use; building shared Arabic language technology; turning Arabic digital standards into measurable user outcomes; helping build modern Arabic content ecosystems and sustainable creative career pathways; and assigning clear ownership, measuring outcomes, and scaling what works.
In education, the report recommends giving learners more opportunities to use Arabic in areas such as AI, STEM, entrepreneurship, media production, and the workplace. In technology, it calls for shared infrastructure, including high-quality datasets, language models, speech-recognition tools and translation resources that can improve the quality and accessibility of Arabic-language digital tools across sectors and dialects.
Importantly, greater investment alone will not close the gap. Initiatives should be measured against whether they lead to greater use of Arabic and better experiences for Arabic users, allowing successful approaches to be identified and scaled. “This means setting clear measures from the outset, identifying what works, and scaling the initiatives that demonstrate meaningful impact,” said Abi Ramia.
The MENA region is a battleground for information warfare. Independent media struggle against well-funded, state-backed digital platforms that use visual formats to spread partisan agendas and coordinated disinformation.
The media and information landscape across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has undergone a profound transformation in recent years. It shifted from building stronger media ecosystems to responding to the realities of war and information warfare.
This is one of the key findings of the State of Media Development in the MENA Region report which draws on interviews with 10 leading media development organizations from across the region.
Over the past year, active conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and parts of Syria, along with the regional spillover of tensions between Iran, the United States and Israel, have reinforced the perception of MENA as one of the world’s most volatile regions. While North African countries have largely been spared from armed conflict, they are experiencing growing authoritarianism and increasing restrictions on media freedom. According to Reporters Without Borders, nearly every country in the region continues to experience democratic backsliding, with Syria standing out as a rare exception where the recent political transition has created cautious optimism for a freer media environment.
The conflicts unfolding on the ground are mirrored online. “Everybody in the media speaks about Russian initiatives to influence elections in Germany or France. But our region is the Wild West. This is where state actors and non-state actors alike are involved at levels that defy logic,” said Ayman Mhanna, executive director of the Samir Kassir Foundation in Lebanon. These actors invest heavily in sophisticated digital influence campaigns, often specifically designed to capture younger audiences on social media, which mimic journalism while advancing political agendas. The rapid spread of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made producing convincing fake content easier than ever.
Funding shortages and changing needs
Media development organizations have struggled to keep pace with these rapid transformations. At the same time, the sector itself has come under growing pressure from authoritarian governments and shrinking international funding.
The abrupt suspension of USAID funding in early 2025 sent shockwaves through the ecosystem. Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) (Jordan/regional) reported losing “25% of our budget overnight,” while Beam Reports (Sudan) was forced to halt projects mid-implementation after receiving closeout notices immediately following the change in the US administration.
European donors remain the region’s primary source of financial support, but they have been unable to fill the gap, because of shrinking aid budgets, the reallocation of resources toward Ukraine, political sensitivities surrounding the war in Gaza, and growing domestic security priorities within Europe.
Beyond funding shortages, many organizations argue that donor approaches have not adapted to the realities of working in conflict zones. Journalists increasingly need protective equipment, internet access, emergency shelter and rapid logistical support, yet donors “were not able to move with agility,” said Raghdan Orsud of Beam Reports (Sudan), because of rigid administrative procedures.
“But if you work in fragile contexts, you must have procedures in place,” she added.
Fighting for a seat at the table
Local organizations are working to make the media development sector more relevant to today’s realities.
They are actively advocating and pushing to be involved in the design of the projects, and not just their implementation. “Sometimes donors have their own agendas that they want to implement in local contexts because they think this is the way things should be. They don’t really take into consideration the local values, the local needs, the local culture and mindset that we are part of as local organizations,” explained Vanessa Bassil of Media Association for Peace.
Hania Bitar of Pyalara (Palestine) also pointed to the fact that organizations that have mastered donor language and reporting requirements are often better positioned to win grants, while smaller grassroots organizations struggle to survive.
Still, interviewees see signs of progress. Pyalara cites DW Akademie’s support for its “Digital Village” in Palestine as an example of a donor funding a locally designed solution rather than imposing an external model.
On the other hand, local organizations are also pushing for a better seat at international decision-making tables. Layal Bahnam of Maharat Foundation (Lebanon) explained that producing policy papers and research has been essential to have them serve on the boards and steering committees of organizations such as IFEX, the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), and the Forum for Information and Democracy. In 2025, ARIJ’s Rawan Damen was elected chair of GFMD.
Despite these advances, many organizations still feel their participation remains superficial.
According to Orsud, local organizations are frequently invited to surveys, webinars and consultations, yet their contributions are often treated merely as “feedback” or “local input” rather than as the perspectives of equal stakeholders shaping decisions. Practical barriers such as expensive travel and lengthy visa procedures also prevent many organizations from participating in international forums.
Adapting to the new realities
Faced with these challenges, media organizations across MENA are reinventing themselves.
One major shift has been expanding audiences beyond traditional journalists. Many organizations now train content creators, influencers and community leaders, recognizing that they have become central actors in shaping public opinion, even though “European-supported institutions focus only on traditional media,” said Abu Bakr Ibrahim Oglo, CEO and co-founder of MENA Editors.
AI has become another area of experimentation. Organizations such as Munathara (Tunisia/regional) are exploring AI-powered fact-checking, multilingual translation and tools that encourage healthier online conversations. Others are investing in staff training, internal AI strategies and ethical guidelines before rolling these practices out to journalists.
Yet, as Yara Bader of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression points out, there is a certain irony in teaching journalists advanced AI verification tools when many cannot access a stable internet connection, especially in conflict-affected countries such as Yemen, Syria, Sudan and in Palestine.
And finally, to reduce their dependence on international aid, many organizations are experimenting with new business models, developing commercial services that subsidize their public-interest work. The Samir Kassir Foundation has launched an advertising agency that helps independent media secure branded content, alongside a stock photography marketplace for local photographers. Beam Reports is building data analysis and media monitoring services for embassies, international organizations and businesses. In Yemen, Media SAC rents out co-working space and plans to develop a multimedia studio that can generate additional income.
As Carsten von Nahmen, managing director of DW Akademie, put it: “Never waste a good crisis.”
Organizations in the media development sector in MENA are rethinking how they operate, finance themselves and support journalists working amidst conflicts. The coming years will determine whether this period of disruption can become an opportunity to build a locally driven media ecosystem capable of responding to the challenges of an increasingly authoritarian world and a region shaped by conflict.
MJ Daoud Image: Media Lab Cindy Ngo
MJ Daoud is the editor-in-chief of The What If. She is a Beirut-based editor, journalist and trainer with over 17 years of experience covering business, social conflicts and entrepreneurship in the Middle East. She is passionate about solution-based and constructive journalism. At The What If, she draws on her experience reporting from conflict zones to explore how narratives shape conflict, and what can be done to transform them.
LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – The global deployment of renewable power must more than double to meet a climate pledge on renewable growth by 2030, even though it hit a record level last year, a report by renewable groups showed on Monday.
More than 100 countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai in 2023 agreed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The world added just over 690 gigawatts of renewable power capacity in 2025.
It still needs to accelerate installations to roughly 1,200 GW on average, every year through 2030, to meet the tripling pledge, the report compiled by the International Renewable Energy Agency, the COP31 Presidency and the Global Renewables Alliance said.
Total global installed renewable capacity reached 5.15 terawatts at the end of 2025 — still less than half the 11.2 TW target needed to meet the pledge.
Energy efficiency measures are also falling short, with energy intensity improving by about 2% in 2025, below the 4% annual rate needed to meet efficiency-doubling commitments.
“Renewables can still close the gap towards 2030, but energy efficiency is falling behind, electricity demand is rising faster than expected, and the grid infrastructure has failed to keep pace,” Francesco La Camera, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, said in the report.
Nearly $1 trillion a year on average is needed in grid investment between 2026 and 2030, the report said, up from $525 billion in 2025.
Ben Backwell, chair of the Global Renewables Alliance, said governments needed to “make renewables a national economic priority,” including by expanding grids, deploying storage and electrifying homes, transport and industry.
This year’s COP climate talks in Turkey in November are expected to focus on using electricity to power more sectors and push for a new target of electricity meeting 35% of global final energy consumption by 2035.
Reporting By Susanna Twidale; editing by Barbara Lewis
AI and digital twins enable cities to anticipate and respond to crises by providing predictive analytics and virtual simulations of infrastructure performance, shifting from reactive maintenance to proactive, data‑driven resilience.
The cities of the future will not only be strong but also resilient, anticipating disruptions well before they happen and maintaining service continuity even under dire circumstances. As infrastructure becomes increasingly interconnected, the risks also increase. From extreme weather and ageing assets to cyberthreats, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty, these challenges are essentially reshaping how infrastructure projects are planned, designed and operated.
These shifts have prompted developers to rethink the true definition of resilience across infrastructure assets.
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Debu Chakraborty, Senior Regional Director, MEA, Bentley Systems
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Traditionally linked to only the physical strength of built assets and their ability to withstand stress, true resilience now indicates critical infrastructure’s capacity to anticipate issues, adapt in real time and continue delivering essential services even when the unexpected occurs.
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The focus therefore needs to shift from building stronger infrastructure to building smarter, more predictive infrastructure, leveraging advanced technologies such as AI and digital twins to prepare cities for crises even before they occur.
As cities grow complex, traditional approaches to infrastructure management become less effective. However, many infrastructure operators still follow scheduled inspections and respond only after a fault has already occurred. This ultimately leads to costly repairs, service disruptions and increased risks to public safety. AI empowers property owners to prevent this by identifying potential issues well before they escalate into major failures.
Recognising this, the UAE is expanding its transport networks and scaling smart cities, while investing in clean energy, utilities and digital infrastructure. At the heart of this vision are ambitious national initiatives such as the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) and UAE Net Zero 2050, guided by which the nation is also laying the foundation for long-term economic development.
AI leverages real-time data from connected assets to analyse patterns, detect anomalies and predict when maintenance might be required. This enables operators to prioritise repairs, optimise resources and minimise unplanned downtime, ensuring that critical services remain operational even during periods of disruption.
Debu Chakraborty, Senior Regional Director, MEA, Bentley Systems
However, the true value of AI extends beyond this. It empowers city authorities to move from reactive maintenance to proactively preparing for disruptions. When combined with predictive analytics, AI enables decision makers to analyse how infrastructure is likely to perform under different scenarios, allowing them to make faster, more informed decisions before a crisis unfolds.
Digital twins support this by providing a conducive environment for the practical application of AI. A digital twin is much more than just a 3D model – it is a dynamic, data-driven representation of a physical asset that continuously reflects its real-world conditions throughout its lifecycle.
By integrating engineering, operational and sensor data, digital twins allow infrastructure owners to simulate how assets will perform under diverse scenarios. Whether preparing for floods, extreme heat, transport disruptions or utility failures, city authorities can test response strategies in a virtual environment, understand how failures may cascade across interconnected systems and make informed decisions without disrupting real-world operations.
The shift from reactive crisis management to predictive scenario planning enables infrastructure operators to respond swiftly with confidence and seamless coordination in the face of disruptions. As cities continue to expand and evolve, engineers should leverage AI and similar digital technologies to evaluate how infrastructure will perform over its entire lifecycle. This is key to building resilient buildings of the future rather than simply designing for today’s requirements.
Predictive modelling and simulation empower project teams to assess how assets will respond to changing environmental conditions, increasing urban populations, evolving mobility patterns and unexpected disruptions. It further enables designers to optimise infrastructure before construction begins, reducing carbon footprints, future operational risks and improving long-term resilience. The focus should shift from merely developing an asset to determining whether it can continue performing reliably over the next several decades despite an increasingly uncertain operating environment.
Resilient infrastructure depends on both strong physical assets and reliable information flow. During an emergency, multiple stakeholders, from infrastructure operators and government agencies to emergency responders and utility providers, need to coordinate and make quick decisions. This becomes difficult when there is a lack of access to accurate and connected data.
Within a connected data environment, all stakeholders are provided with a single, reliable source of truth across the infrastructure life cycle. Moreover, by integrating engineering, construction and operational information in one place, decision makers can gain greater visibility into asset conditions, ongoing risks and system-wide impacts, enabling faster and more coordinated responses during periods of disruption.
However, with infrastructure systems becoming increasingly interconnected, reshaping data silos has become just as important as strengthening physical infrastructure. This is because modern cities rely on interconnected networks, from airports, ports, water networks and power grids to telecommunications infrastructure; all rely on one another and a single disruption in one system can quickly escalate into a much wider issue. It is high time that data is treated as a strategic asset like any other physical assets.
Debu Chakraborty, Senior Regional Director for MEA, Bentley Systems
In such a scenario, AI and digital twins empower infrastructure operators to continuously monitor these assets, predict maintenance requirements, optimise operations and identify vulnerabilities, to prevent possible service disruptions. This shift towards predictive operations also helps reduce downtime, improve public safety and ensure that essential services continue functioning even during periods of uncertainty.
It is evident that the objective isn’t to simply prevent infrastructure failures anymore – it is to maintain the continuity of critical services when communities need it the most. Furthermore, as the frequency and complexity of disruptions continue to increase, cities can no longer choose to respond only once the crisis has already unfolded. AI, digital twins and predictive analytics support this by providing governments with the tools to anticipate risks, evaluate different scenarios and make better decisions before problems escalate.
In particular, as nations like the UAE heavily invest in smart cities and next-generation infrastructure, it is critical to embed AI into physical assets as a means to ensure long-term resilience, sustainability and economic growth. Ultimately, the cities that thrive in the future will not simply be those with the newest infrastructure, but those that are equipped to continuously adapt and respond to changes through data-driven decision-making.
Effective resource planning and mobilization are crucial for ensuring that development benefits reach every part of the country. The census plays a vital role in maximising resource use to help every household, including those in remote areas, while considering diverse age groups, genders, education levels, and skills. As one of the greatest administrative efforts globally, the Indian population census collects and analyses demographic, social, and economic data of all genuine citizens within a specific period.
The census, conducted under the provisions of The Census Act, 1948, and carried out by the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, plays a crucial role in shaping political representation, as it determines the distribution of power in the country’s governance system. Regions receive representation in the state and national legislatures based on population size.
Census data is essential for pinpointing families affected by displacement, ensuring that disadvantaged groups such as the poor, elderly, ill, and marginalized communities are not excluded. Household data—covering income, livelihood sources, family size, and housing—helps officials verify and accurately prepare beneficiary lists before distributing compensation and welfare schemes, thus reducing fraud. Remote villages gain inclusion in the census database, allowing the government to better plan and oversee the development of schools, roads, healthcare, and other infrastructure, while also safeguarding welfare benefits from abuse.
By supporting livelihood mapping, the census helps the government, development agencies, and planning bodies quantify the youth population, their educational levels, and skills. This information is vital for developing appropriate future employment strategies. Census data further assists in evaluating educational proficiency, literacy rates, and the number of dropouts in specific areas, enabling targeted interventions in regions with low educational achievement. It also reveals opportunities for vocational training, offering dropouts and underqualified youth skills such as carpentry, tailoring, or plumbing. Additionally, census insights guide decisions on establishing technical institutes like ITIs, polytechnics, and nursing colleges. It also facilitates assessing the potential for incubation parks, where support services, business education, and programs on financial literacy and digital marketing can empower educated youths to become self-employed rather than seek jobs elsewhere.
Large projects such as the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) often require long-term rehabilitation efforts to support the affected communities, in addition to financial compensation for land and livelihood losses. In this regard, socio-economic and village census data enable policymakers to better assess household economic conditions and access to education, markets, and transportation—especially critical in Arunachal Pradesh’s remote mountainous areas. Mapping villages and their population distribution helps government agencies plan infrastructure development, such as roads and connectivity projects, promoting overall growth by improving mobility and access to education, healthcare, and jobs. Health data guide the establishment of healthcare facilities such as PHCs, maternity services, and emergency services. Information on household size, income, and other factors helps develop housing solutions suited to local environmental conditions.
In a culturally rich state like Arunachal Pradesh, major projects such as the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) should aim to safeguard indigenous and tribal identities while fostering modernization. It is well known that all indigenous communities share a profound emotional and spiritual bond with their ancestral lands, and this must be taken into account to prevent cultural alienation. Careful planning based on census data allows authorities to implement heritage preservation initiatives that promote inclusive development.
Since women and youth make up a significant portion of the population in any state, accurate census demographic data help the government implement welfare and employment programs more effectively. It assists policymakers to-
Design region-specific employment schemes to target areas with high unemployment.
Formulate women- and youth-centric welfare and financial measures
Regularly track the progress of different schemes and implement updates to enhance their effectiveness.
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) is of strategic importance, as it will help minimise the impact of floods caused by China’s sudden release of water, thereby preventing loss of human life and other assets. It will also help maintain water levels during the dry season, mitigating the drinking water crisis. In addition to helping counter the Chinese ploy to weaponize water resources against India, the project will also help generate power to the extent of 11200 MW, depending on the availability of water.
The genuine success of the SUMP will depend not just on building infrastructure or generating power but equally on how well the displaced people are rehabilitated and compensated. This includes not only monetary support but also access to housing, education, healthcare, employment, and other social services. Ultimately, the project’s success will be measured by how seamlessly the displaced individuals can restore their lives and live with dignity.
(The author is the Deputy Commissioner Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh)
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