Organization · Community
Arab Youth Center
The Arab Youth Center (AYC) is a regional organization based in the UAE, focused on empowering young Arabs through leadership and innovation initiatives. Founded in 2017, it aims to enhance youth capabilities and inform supportive policies.
Overview
What Arab Youth Center does
What Arab Youth Center is
The Arab Youth Center (AYC) is a regional organization based in the UAE, focused on empowering young Arabs through leadership and innovation initiatives. Founded in 2017, it aims to enhance youth capabilities and inform supportive policies.
How it participates in the startup ecosystem
The current public profile supports community capabilities. Each capability below is shown separately so organization identity and role-specific information do not get conflated.
Operational profile
Organization status and context
Organization status describes the entity itself. Funding and program availability appear within the relevant capability profile.
- Operational status
- Active
- Organization type
- Community
- Founded
- Founded in 2017
- Approximate age
- About 9 years
- Structured capabilities
- Community
- Last reviewed
- April 28, 2026
Official channels
Find Arab Youth Center elsewhere
Open the official website or a supported primary organization account.
Capability profile
Arab Youth Center as a community
Community overview
The Arab Youth Center (AYC) was established in 2017 during the Arab Youth Forum at the World Government Summit. It is based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The organization focuses on empowering Arab youth through various initiatives, research, and programs aimed at enhancing their skills and capabilities.
Community focus
The Arab Youth Center invests in initiatives that focus on skill development, good citizenship, and the promotion of Arabic language and culture. It aims to enhance national capabilities and conduct data-driven research to understand and address the needs of Arab youth. The center operates across various sectors, including technology, media, and environmental sustainability, and targets youth aged 15 to 35.
Member value
Members benefit from various programs aimed at enhancing their skills, including negotiation skills bootcamps, hackathons, and podcasting training. The center also provides networking opportunities through events and initiatives that connect young entrepreneurs with potential investors.
Membership
- Pricing models
- free
Format and cadence
- Modality
- in-person
- Schedule
- rolling-admissions
- Commitment
- light
Availability
- Membership state
- Accepting
Audience and fit
- Audience
- Students · Founders
- Benefits
- mentorship and network-access
- Program types
- community and bootcamp
- Selection criteria
- open
- Sectors
- Media & Entertainment
- Regions
- North Africa
Community activity
Events and activity
The Arab Youth Center hosts several key events, including the Conference of Youth (COY18), which gathers young people from around the world to discuss climate change, and the Arab Youth Startup Marketplace (AYSM), an annual event that connects young entrepreneurs with potential investors.
Notable members
Notable members include Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Vice President of the Arab Youth Center, and Saeed Al Nadhari, Director General of the Federal Youth Foundation.
Common questions
What to know about Arab Youth Center
Upseed classifies Arab Youth Center under the Community organization type. Its current public profile includes community capabilities.
Source and update disclosure
Know what this page is based on
Source basis
Public organization and program material, official websites, and structured Upseed records.
Last reviewed
April 28, 2026
Known limits
Capability profiles appear only when a structured public profile also contains decision-useful role evidence. Terms and availability can change.
Upseed is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the organization described on this page.