Head of UN mission in Libya discusses youth employment with young women
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Libya, Hanna Tetteh, has joined 35 young women in a discussion on youth empowerment.
This is as they started the UN's mission's annual Ra’idat training programme, that takes 35 young women annually for an intensive year of training focused on building communication, leadership, teamwork and advocacy skills.
A statement on the website of the UN Mission in Libya (NSMIL) said this year, the programme received 899 applicants, with 85 selected for interview. Cohort 3 of the programme runs until August 2026 and is supported by the governments of Italy and Germany.
In a panel discussion alongside UN Women’s Representative Florence Batsy, UNICEF’s Deputy Representative Abdulsalam Al-Souhigi and UNDP Project Manager, Filip Warnats, Ms. Tetteh highlighted how the skills taught in the programme teach young women to become leaders, build a network and ensure that their voices are heard.
“The young women on the Ra’idat programme have been selected because they are talented, and because they want to be leaders in their communities, bringing issues they care about to the attention of leaders at all levels of society – municipal to national,” said Ms. Tetteh. “It is important for Libya, and society, that young women’s voices are heard and their concerns addressed.”
It was stressed that the programme is about building a supportive network of women who can work together on challenges they think are important.
“Women in Libya are very resilient,” said UN Women Representative Batsy. “They are educated, have a lot of skills, and are leaders. We need to focus on them as this is a great opportunity for the country to move forward,” she added.
Ms. Tetteh highlighted the role that youth and women will play in the roadmap implementation, including in the Structured Dialogue. There will be dedicated mechanisms to ensure youth and particularly young women, have the ability to engage in the process and be represented.
-0- PANA MA 26Oct2025
