Please join Madeleine Albright and Stephen Hadley at the Atlantic Council for "Youth, Tech, and Entrepreneurship: Unlocking the Middle East's Economic Potential," the fifth public hearing of the Middle East Strategy Task Force (MEST), and public launch of the Economic Recovery and Revitalization Working Group's report. The event will highlight the widespread positive transformations currently occurring in the Arab world.

Albright and Hadley will lead a discussion with cutting-edge entrepreneurs and investors from the region to explore how policies that empower youth, entrepreneurs, and technology startups can combine at this unique moment in the region's development to help the Middle East more fully realize its vast economic potential across multiple sectors. Sherif Kamel and Christopher Schroeder, Co-Conveners of the Economic Revival and Revitalization Working Group, will discuss these trends and opportunities in the context of their new report. Panelists will also discuss the importance of investing in the region's human capital as a means of economic revitalization, and the creative ways in which entrepreneurs and educators are doing just that.

Madeleine Albright served as US Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001 and is currently Chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group. Following his tenure as US National Security Advisor from 2005 to 2009, Stephen Hadley co-founded RiceHadleyGates LLC where as principal he remains engaged in international affairs. In addition to being one of the region's leading startup investors, Fadi Ghandour is also the Founder and Chairman of Ruwwad Al-Tanmeya, a non-profit community development organization. Rana El Kaliouby is the Co-Founder of Affectiva, and serves as Co-Chair of TechWadi, a non-profit that builds bridges between Silicon valley and the Middle East. Sawari Ventures Chairman Ahmed Alfi is also a founder of Nafham, an online education platform, as well as Flat6Labs, a startup accelerator with offices in Cairo, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, and Beirut. Christopher Schroeder is an American entrepreneur and investor, as well as the author of Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East (2013). Sherif Kamel is the Vice President for Information Management at the American University in Cairo and former Founding Dean of the School of Business where he established the university's Venture Lab. He is also a board member of the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund.

Submit your questions via twitter using #ACMEST. Follow @ACMidEast and @ACEventsLive to participate in the conversation.​

VISITING THE COUNCIL: Metro and parking info