What a Seminal Survey Tells Us About the Views of Arab Youth

Intelligence Matters

CBS News

(154991), News, Cbs, Politics, Government

4.6 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2021

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Sunil John, a leading public relations executive in the Middle East and the driving force behind the Arab Youth Survey, a seminal piece of public opinion research on the views of the largest demographic group in the region. John explains how the survey is administered – in person and across 17 countries – and how it has for years provided an incisive and nuanced look at the thinking of the more than two hundred million young Arabs living and working in the Middle East. John tells Morell how perceptions of the United States have evolved in recent years, explains the “Trump effect” on the views of young Arabs, and addresses what he says are important opportunities for the Biden administration to pursue.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Intelligence Matters with former acting director of the CIA, Michael Morrell.
0:06.5	Brought to you by Lockheed Martin.
0:08.6	Your mission is ours.
0:10.2	When you really look deep into the region, you see that the demographics of the region distinguishes it unbelievably.
0:19.5	You know, 60% of the population of the Arab world are below the age of 30.
0:25.4	The 200 million people kind of explore their hearts and minds.
0:29.9	It's a story of hope.
0:31.6	It's a story of the real issues.
0:34.4	It's a story that forces governments to look at this demographic and directs them in terms of the policies that it needs to make.
0:42.4	The top finding really that surprised us was the finding on migration.
0:50.3	The finding that nearly half of young Arabs across this vast land want to migrate out to their home countries.
0:59.5	Now that is a very shocking, a little over 40%.
1:05.1	So we went out there and said, let's find out what these young people in these countries, as well as the rest of their world, feel about protest.
1:12.9	And what we found out is, as young people said, yes, we support the protest and we believe protest will bring change.
1:22.6	Religion is an important factor that is central to the personal identity of young Arabs, more so than family or even nationality.
1:35.2	Most Western media defines as the stereotype of, have the men being subjugated or not having enough rights.
1:43.6	And we asked these people, how do they see in terms of their gender rights?
1:49.2	And nearly 70% of the young women said, we have equal and in some parts more rights than men.
1:57.8	Sunil John runs the Middle East group of Berson, Cohen and Wolf, one of the leading public relations firms in the world.
2:08.9	He is the founder of one of the top PR firms in the Middle East and a leader in public opinion polling in the region.
2:15.3	Sunil has been the key driver behind the annual Arab youth survey, which is one of the most widely cited pieces of public opinion research on the region by media and policy makers around the world.
2:26.5	I just sat down to talk with Sunil about this year's survey, which provides fascinating insights on Arab youth in the Middle East.
	...

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