I would like to talk to you about a story about a small town kid. I don't know his name, but I do know his story. He lives in a small village in southern Somalia. His village is near Mogadishu. Drought drives the small village into poverty and to the brink of starvation. With nothing left for him there, he leaves for the big city, in this case, Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. When he arrives, there are no opportunities, no jobs, no way forward. He ends up living in a tent city on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Maybe a year passes, nothing. One day, he's approached by a gentleman who offers to take him to lunch, then to dinner, to breakfast. He meets this dynamic group of people, and they give him a break. He's given a bit of money to buy himself some new clothes, money to send back home to his family. He is introduced to this young woman. He eventually gets married. He starts this new life. He has a purpose in life.
Do doja tju flisja mbi nje histrori per nje femije te vogel nga qyteti. Nuk ja njoh emrin, por i njoh historine. Ai jeton ne nje fshat te vogel ne Somaline jugore. Fshati i tij eshte afer Mogadishut. Thatesia e shtyu fshatin e tij te vogel ne varferi dhe ne buze te gjendjes se urise. Duke mos patur asgje aty, ai largohet per ne qytetin e madh, ne kete rast, ne Mogadishu, kryeqyteti i Somalise. Kur mberrin atje, nuk ka mundesi, nuk ka pune, nuk can dot. Perfundon duke jetuar ne nje tende ne periferi te Mogadishut. Mbase nje vit kalon, asgje. Nje dite, atij i afrohet nje zoteri i cili i ofron ta coje per dreke ate, me pas per darke, dhe per mengjes. Ai takohet me kete grup njerezish dinamik, te cilet i japin atij nje mundesi. I jepen pak para per te blere disa rroba te reja, para per t'ja derguar familjes se tij ne shtepi. Ai prezantohet me nje grua te re. Perfundimisht ai martohet. Nis nje jete te re. Ai ka nje qellim ne jete.
One beautiful day in Mogadishu, under an azure blue sky, a car bomb goes off. That small town kid with the big city dreams was the suicide bomber, and that dynamic group of people were al Shabaab, a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda.
Nje dite te bukur ne Mogadishu, nen nje qiell blu te kalter, nje bombe ne nje makine shperthen. Ai femija i vogel me endrra te medha mbi qytetin ishte vetevrasesi bombe, dhe ai grup njerezish dinamik ishin al Shabaab, nje organizate terroriste e lidhur me al Qaeden.
So how does the story of a small town kid just trying to make it big in the city end up with him blowing himself up? He was waiting. He was waiting for an opportunity, waiting to begin his future, waiting for a way forward, and this was the first thing that came along. This was the first thing that pulled him out of what we call waithood.
Si historia e nje djaloshi te vogel i cili perpiqet t'ja dale ne qytet, perfundon duke shperthyer veten? Ai po priste. Priste per nje mundesi, priste te fillonte te ardhmen e tij, priste per nje rruge perpara, dhe kjo ishte gjeja e pare qe i erdhi. Kjo ishte gjeja e pare qe e terhoqi nga ajo cka ne quajme pritja.
And his story repeats itself in urban centers around the world. It is the story of the disenfranchised, unemployed urban youth who sparks riots in Johannesburg, sparks riots in London, who reaches out for something other than waithood. For young people, the promise of the city, the big city dream is that of opportunity, of jobs, of wealth, but young people are not sharing in the prosperity of their cities. Often it's youth who suffer from the highest unemployment rates. By 2030, three out of five people living in cities will be under the age of 18. If we do not include young people in the growth of our cities, if we do not provide them opportunities, the story of waithood, the gateway to terrorism, to violence, to gangs, will be the story of cities 2.0. And in my city of birth, Mogadishu, 70 percent of young people suffer from unemployment. 70 percent don't work, don't go to school. They pretty much do nothing.
Dhe historia e tij riperseritet ne qendra urbane perreth botes. Eshte historia e rinise urbane te papune, pa te drejta, qe shkendijne trazira ne Johanesburg, qe shkendijne trazira ne Londer, te cilet kerkojne dicka ndryshe nga pritja. Per te rinjte, premtimi i qytetit, endrra e qytetit te madh eshte mundesia, e punes, e pasurise, por te rinjte nuk kane pjese ne mireqenien e qyteteve te tyre. Shpesh eshte rinia ajo qe vuan shifrat e larta te papunesise. Ne 2030, tre nga pese njerez qe do jetojne neper qytete do jene nen moshen 18. Nese nuk perfshijme njerez te rinj ne zhvillimin e qyteteve, nese nuk i japim atyre mundesi, historia e pritjes, rrugedalja ne terrorisem, ne dhune, ne banda, do jete historia e qyteteve 2.0. Dhe ne qytetin tim te lindjes, ne Mogadishu, 70 perqind e te rinjve vuajne nga papunesia. 70 perqind nuk punojne, nuk shkollohen. Ata pak a shume nuk bejne asgje.
I went back to Mogadishu last month, and I went to visit Madina Hospital, the hospital I was born in. I remember standing in front of that bullet-ridden hospital thinking, what if I had never left? What if I had been forced into that same state of waithood? Would I have become a terrorist? I'm not really sure about the answer.
U ktheva ne Mogadishu muajin e kaluar, dhe vajta te vizitoja spitalin Madina, spitalin ne te cilin kam lindur. Me kujtohej tek qendroja para atij spitali shoshe nga plumbat duke menduar, po sikur mos te isha larguar kurre? Po sikur te isha detyruar ne te njejten situate te pritjes? A do isha bere nje terrorist? Nuk jam shume i sigurt per pergjigjen.
My reason for being in Mogadishu that month was actually to host a youth leadership and entrepreneurship summit. I brought together about 90 young Somali leaders. We sat down and brainstormed on solutions to the biggest challenges facing their city.
Arsyeja ime e te qenit ne Mogadishu ate muaj ishte ne te vertete per te mbajtur nje Samit mbi drejtimin dhe sipermarrjen. Une solla aty rreth 90 udheheqes te rinj Somalez. U ulem dhe dhame ide mbi zgjidhjen e sfidave me te medha ne qytetin e tyre.
One of the young men in the room was Aden. He went to university in Mogadishu, graduated. There were no jobs, no opportunities. I remember him telling me, because he was a college graduate, unemployed, frustrated, that he was the perfect target for al Shabaab and other terrorist organizations, to be recruited. They sought people like him out.
Nje nga te rinjte ne ate salle ishte Aden. Ai eshte diplomuar ne universitetin e Mogadishut. Nuk kishte pune, nuk kishte mundesi. Me kujtohet kur me thoshte, duke qene nje i diplomuar universiteti, i papune, i irrituar, se ai ishte objektivi perfekt per al Shabaab dhe per te tjera organizata terroriste, per tu rekrutuar. Ata i kerkonin njerezit si ai.
But his story takes a different route. In Mogadishu, the biggest barrier to getting from point A to point B are the roads. Twenty-three years of civil war have completely destroyed the road system, and a motorbike can be the easiest way to get around. Aden saw an opportunity and seized it. He started a motorbike company. He began renting out motorbikes to local residents who couldn't normally afford them. He bought 10 bikes, with the help of family and friends, and his dream is to eventually expand to several hundred within the next three years.
Por kjo histori merr nje rruge ndryshe. Ne Mogadishu, pengesa me e madhe per te kaluar nga pika A ne piken B jane rruget. Njezet e tre vjet lufte civile e kane demtuar totalisht sistemin rrugor, dhe nje motociklete mund te jete menyra me e lehte per te levizur. Aden pa nje mundesi dhe e pushtoi. Ai nisi nje kompani motocikletash. Nisi te japi me qera motocikleta tek banoret lokal qe normalisht nuk i perballonin ato. Ai bleu 10 motocikleta, me ndihmen e familjes dhe te miqve, dhe endrra e tij eshte qe te zgjerohet ne disa qindra brenda tre vjeteve ne vazhdim.
How is this story different? What makes his story different? I believe it is his ability to identify and seize a new opportunity. It's entrepreneurship, and I believe entrepreneurship can be the most powerful tool against waithood. It empowers young people to be the creators of the very economic opportunities they are so desperately seeking.
Si eshte kjo histori ndryshe? Cfare e ben historine e tij ndryshe? Mendoj se eshte aftesia e tij te identifikoje dhe te perhape mundesi te reja. Eshte sipermarrje, dhe mendoj se sipermarrja mund te behet vegla me e fuqishme kundra pritjes. Ajo fuqizon njerez te rinj te jene krijuesit e mundesive ekonomike qe ata po kerkojne me kaq deshperim.
And you can train young people to be entrepreneurs. I want to talk to you about a young man who attended one of my meetings, Mohamed Mohamoud, a florist. He was helping me train some of the young people at the summit in entrepreneurship and how to be innovative and how to create a culture of entrepreneurship. He's actually the first florist Mogadishu has seen in over 22 years, and until recently, until Mohamed came along, if you wanted flowers at your wedding, you used plastic bouquets shipped from abroad. If you asked someone, "When was the last time you saw fresh flowers?" for many who grew up under civil war, the answer would be, "Never."
Dhe njerezit e rinj mund te trajnohen te jene sipermarres. Deshiroj t'ju flas per nje djale te ri i cili mori pjese ne nje nga mbledhjet e mia, Mohamed Mohamoud, nje luleshites. Ai me ndihmoi te trajnoja disa njerez te rinj ne samitin e sipermarrjes dhe si te sjellesh risi dhe si te krijosh nje kulture mbi sipermarrjen. Ai faktikisht eshte luleshitesi i pare qe Mogadishu ka pare keto 22 vjet, dhe deri kohet e fundit, deri sa doli Mohamedi, nese te duheshin lule per dasmen ti perdorje buqeta plastike te ardhura nga jashte. Nese do pyesje dike, "Kur ka qene hera fundit qe ke pare lule te fresketa?" per shume qe u rriten gjate luftes civile, pergjigja do ishte, "Kurre."
So Mohamed saw an opportunity. He started a landscaping and design floral company. He created a farm right outside of Mogadishu, and started growing tulips and lilies, which he said could survive the harsh Mogadishu climate. And he began delivering flowers to weddings, creating gardens at homes and businesses around the city, and he's now working on creating Mogadishu's first public park in 22 years. There's no public park in Mogadishu. He wants to create a space where families, young people, can come together, and, as he says, smell the proverbial roses. And he doesn't grow roses because they use too much water, by the way.
Pra Mohamed pa nje mundesi. Ai filloi nje kompani qe merrej me rregullim kopshtesh dhe dizenjim floral. Krijoi nje ferme jashte Mogadishut, dhe nisi te rrisi lloje tulipane dhe zambake, te cilat mund te mbijetonin ne klimen e ashper te Mogadishut. Dhe nisi te shperndaje lule neper dasma, te krijoje kopshte neper shtepite dhe bizneset e qytetit, dhe tashme eshte duke punuar ne krijimin e parkut te pare publik ne Mogadishu pas 22 vitesh. Nuk ka park publik ne Mogadishu. Ai deshiron te krijoje nje hapesire ku familjet, njerez te rinj, mund te bashkohen, dhe sic thote ai, te nuhasin trendafilat proverbial. Ai nuk rrit trendafila sepse ato perdorin shume uje.
So the first step is to inspire young people, and in that room, Mohamed's presence had a really profound impact on the youth in that room. They had never really thought about starting up a business. They've thought about working for an NGO, working for the government, but his story, his innovation, really had a strong impact on them. He forced them to look at their city as a place of opportunity. He empowered them to believe that they could be entrepreneurs, that they could be change makers. By the end of the day, they were coming up with innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing their city. They came up with entrepreneurial solutions to local problems.
Pra hapi i pare eshte te inspirosh njerez te rinj, dhe ne ate dhome, prezenca e Mohamedit kishte nje impakt vertet te thelle tek te rinjte prezent. Ata nuk kishin menduar kurre te nisnin nje biznes. Kishin menduar te punonin per nje OJQ, per te punuar per qeverine, por historia e tij, risia e tij, kishte nje impakt te forte mbi ata. Ai i detyroi ta shohin qytetin e tyre si vendi i mundesive. I fuqizoi ata te besojne se mund te behen sipermarres, se mund te behen ndryshim beres. Ne fund te dites, ata erdhen me zgjidhje te reja per disa nga sfidat me te medha qe po kalonte qyteti i tyre. Erdhen me zgjidhje sipermarrese per problemet lokale.
So inspiring young people and creating a culture of entrepreneurship is a really great step, but young people need capital to make their ideas a reality. They need expertise and mentorship to guide them in developing and launching their businesses. Connect young people with the resources they need, provide them the support they need to go from ideation to creation, and you will create catalysts for urban growth.
Pra te frymezosh te rinjte dhe te krijosh kulturen e sipermarrjes eshte nje hap shume i madh, por njerezit e rinj duan nje kapital per te kthyer idete ne realitet. Kan nevoje per expertize dhe tutore per ti udhezuar ne zhvillimin dhe hapjen e bizneseve. Lidhini te rinjte me burimet qe u nevojiten, sigurojini mbeshtetjen qe u nevojitet per te kaluar nga idete tek krijimi, dhe do krijoni katalizatore per zhvillimin urban.
For me, entrepreneurship is more than just starting up a business. It's about creating a social impact. Mohamed is not simply selling flowers. I believe he is selling hope. His Peace Park, and that's what he calls it, when it's created, will actually transform the way people see their city. Aden hired street kids to help rent out and maintain those bikes for him. He gave them the opportunity to escape the paralysis of waithood. These young entrepreneurs are having a tremendous impact in their cities.
Per mua, sipermarrja eshte me shume se thjesht hapja e nje biznesi. Eshte per krijimin e impaktit social. Mohamed nuk eshte thjesht nje shites lulesh. Une mendoj se ai po shet shprese. Parku i Paqes i tij, se keshtu e quan ai, kur te krijohet, realisht do ndryshoje menyren se si njerezit e shohin qytetin e tyre. Aden punesoi femije te rruges per ta ndihmuar te japin me qera dhe te mirembajne motorcikletat per te. I dha mundesine te arratisen nga paraliza e pritjes. Keta sipermarres te rinj kane nje impakt te pamase ne qytetin e tyre.
So my suggestion is, turn youth into entrepreneurs, incubate and nurture their inherent innovation, and you will have more stories of flowers and Peace Parks than of car bombs and waithood.
Pra sugjerimi im eshte, kthejini te rinjte ne sipermarres, jepini ngrohtesi dhe ushqim risise se natyrshme , dhe do keni me shume histori lulesh dhe Parku i Paqes sesa te bombave ne makina dhe pritje.
Thank you.
Faleminderit.
(Applause)
(Duatrokitje)