DUBAI, UAE (PRWEB) October 04, 2014
As the “jet set” collectors of high-performance cars and cutting-edge technology converge on Dubai for the region’s premier Big Boys Toys Expo Oct. 3-5, Academy of Business Leadership (ABL) CEO, Anna Ouroumian, prepares to sell the World’s Most Expensive Art Bike to help thousands of youth from Dubai and MENA to bring their innovations and inventions to life and launch their enterprises as a way to combat the world’s highest youth unemployment rates of any region.
Ouroumian believes “helping provide a long-term sustainable solution to the high unemployment experienced by the youth of Middle and East North Africa (MENA) countries would give hope and establish a sense of dignity and constructive significance amongst the youth of the region. In turn, this will lead to economic prosperity, and social and political stability allowing the region to emerge as a knowledge-based economy and a beacon of hope, innovation, and inventiveness for the world.”
Collectors of rare high-value art have a limited opportunity to invest in a one-of-a-kind art piece designed by Andy Warhol protege, Jack Armstrong during at Skydive Dubai (booth number 2621). The “Cosmic-Star Cruiser” ArtBike listed at $3 Million is expected to draw thousands of visitors to view the piece created in the “Cosmic Extensionalism” art style he founded, which includes deep meaning into universal cosmic theory of inter-dimensional art and 3-D effect in paint with extreme use of color, light, texture and the written word in paint. The Art Bike follows Armstrong’s creation of the one million dollar Cosmic Starship Harley Davidson that sold for $3 million USD. Drawn by Anna Ouroumian’s indomitable spirit and ABL’s mission and life changing programs and results, Jack Armstrong has generously committed 50% of the ArtBike proceeds to ABL. Bids for the ArtBike at $3 million USD reserve should be submitted to ArtBikebid(at)goabl(dot)org.
On September 19th, Ouroumian had the opportunity to share her dream of helping the youth of Lebanon and MENA countries with His Excellency Gebran Bassil, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon who addressed the Lebanese American business community in Century City, California. Moreover, on September 26th, at a meeting for the American business community in Beverly Hills, California, with His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the Minister of the Economy of the UAE and a business delegation from the UAE, she was able to speak with His Excellency and ask for his assistance and support of her plan given the UAE’s pre-eminent business, financial, and economic position in the region. She also shared with His Excellency her intention to open a satellite office in Dubai, “the modern cosmopolitan city where dreams do come true and where the impossible seems possible.”
After 16 years of a stellar track record of transformational and life-changing impact on primarily underserved youth in America, Ouroumian returns to the Middle East to give back to the youth of her home country Lebanon, the youth of Dubai and other MENA countries. Ouroumian who grew up in 11 different orphanages and schools in war-torn Lebanon, left to America all alone as young teenager with only $160 in her pocket and two books. She studied Economics at UCLA. She was the only student highlighted at graduation for her inspirational story and for having received the Outstanding Senior Award, the highest honor given to four undergraduates out of 10,500 seniors for outstanding academic achievements as well as service to UCLA and the community. She has also served as the youngest member on the Harvard Kennedy School Women’s Leadership Board since 2003.
Fifty percent of the entire population of MENA countries (population of 381 million) is below the age of 25 and youth unemployment remains the highest in the world reaching 27.2% in the Middle East (22% in the UAE) and more than 29% in North Africa in 2013. Unemployment rates are much higher for young MENA women.
Given Ouroumian’s background with strong familial, linguistic (she is tetra-lingual and fluent in Arabic), and cultural ties to the region, she understands first hand the challenges that the youth of the region are facing. Just as she has been creating solutions to address issues facing urban youth in America, through ABL, her vision is to collaborate with local leaders, governmental agencies, NGOs, businesses, and universities from across the region to create a network of business accelerators to help launch thousands of young entrepreneurs as a way to provide a systemic solution to the staggeringly high unemployment rates facing millions of MENA youth.
Ouroumian created ABL’s philosophy, methodology, vision and mission to help address the youth high school dropout problem in America. Since 1998 she has used a framework and systems for success that she has developed and has applied to her own life to address the root cause of the problem that prevents youth from graduating from high school, attending and graduating from college, achieving their wildest dreams, and fulfilling their destiny.
ABL programs provide entrepreneurial training, financial literacy, transformational leadership development, and capital raising skills taught by the ABL CEO, MBA graduates from Harvard Business School and others, and college professors. Over the past 16 years, ABL has impacted the lives of more than 115,000 youth from the US and around the world. Moreover, many have hailed from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Lebanon to participate in ABL’s award-winning Summer Business and Leadership Institute on Southern California College campuses, such as USC and UCLA. 100% of ABL alumni graduate from high school; 99% attend colleges and universities nationwide; and of those more than 90% graduate from college--twice the American national college graduation average.
Through its innovative and cutting edge programs, ABL would help youth develop the skills, mindset, and belief-set to “champion themselves”, to unleash their creativity, and to fearlessly pursue their entrepreneurial and other seemingly impossible dreams. Expanding employment opportunities for both young people and women would contribute significantly to an increase of GDP per capita, and could also help larger parts of the population to benefit from wealth created in these countries. For more information on ABL, please visit http://www.goabl.org
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