The results of the annual BCW Echoes poll for Arab youth 2019 showed that the overwhelming majority of Arab youth considers Saudi Arabia a stronger ally than Iran for their countries, and that the Kingdom is the most influential Arab country in the Middle East region during the past five years. This came during the first session of the "Saudi Media Forum" which will be hosted by the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on December 3, 2019.
The survey is based on 3,300 personal interviews conducted by international research firm Bean Schoen & Berland Research during 2019, with equal proportions of Arab young men and women from the 18-24 age group in 15 countries in the MENA region.
In total, 80% of Arab youth considered Saudi Arabia an ally of their countries, compared to only 32% who chose Iran instead. When asked about the most influential Arab country in the Middle East region over the past five years, 37% of Arab youth chose Saudi Arabia as a first choice, too. Almost half of Saudi youth (45%) pointed to the increase in Iranian influence as one of the three main concerns that concern them.
These results, which included new insights about Saudi youth revealed by the survey during 2019, were presented at the forum by Sunil John, founder and CEO of Echoes Pearson-Marsteller and President of Pearson Cone & Wolf Middle East.
Away from regional tensions, the survey showed that the biggest concern of Saudi youth is concern about the high cost of living, despite their great confidence in the Saudi government, which in their opinion is able to steer the country and its economy on the right track.
While 61% of Saudi youth believe that the biggest obstacle facing the Middle East region is the high cost of living, 83% of these young people believe that their governments have the appropriate policies to address the most prominent issues for young people. Moreover, 93% of Saudi youth expressed their satisfaction with the direction in which their country is heading, while 83% of them expressed their satisfaction with the path of the Saudi economy. 83% of Saudi youth support this idea, as they are betting on the success of the Saudi Vision 2030 by ensuring their country's economic future.
According to the survey, the likelihood of the Saudi youth resorting to the Internet as a source of news is increasing compared to their counterparts in other Arab countries, where 93% of Saudi youth chose the social networking platform "Facebook", while 79% of them chose online sources to know the latest news, compared to 80% and 61% on Respectively for Arab youth in general. This is in complete contradiction to the results of 2015, when only 18% of Saudi youth chose "Facebook" or "Twitter", while 23% of them chose online sources to get the news they wanted.
In this regard, Sunil John said: "The Arab Youth Survey revealed a set of important visions during the past 11 years, and has proven to be an effective tool for dialogue between Arab leaders, academics and other policy makers. And by reviewing the views of Saudi youth in 2019 during the 'Saudi Media Forum' 'We hope to obtain more effective data and insights about the region, and to inspire policy decisions affecting the public and private sectors.'
The "Saudi Media Forum", which was held under the slogan "Media Industry .. Opportunities and Challenges", is one of the most important initiatives launched by the "Saudi Journalists Association", which in turn is one of the most important civil society institutions in the Kingdom. The forum aims to gather thought, culture and media leaders annually to overcome the challenges and limitations facing the media sector, while also focusing on the important opportunities offered by the information revolution and rapid digital development.
The Arab Youth Survey was launched in 2008 to provide insights into the hopes and aspirations of the largest population segment in the Middle East represented by young people. The poll, in its current form, embodies the largest and most influential study of youth in the region, as it contributed to leading extensive dialogues during a number of special events that were held to discuss the survey, including an event hosted by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London, and a special session organized by the International Monetary Fund During their annual meetings with the World Bank Group in Washington, both are organized by the prestigious The Hill magazine in Washington.
The survey of Arab youth in its eleventh edition reveals the hopes and aspirations of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 years. The poll this year was titled "A Call for Reform", as it was conducted between 6 and 29 January 2019. Its results for this year cover many topics, such as religion, the role of government, opinions on economics and international relations, in addition to many other topics.