Young People in Egypt: Current Situation and Life Changes over a 13-year period I.	Project Summary  

The Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) is a nationally representative longitudinal survey that examines changes in various aspects of young people’s lives over time. The survey offers policymakers a unique opportunity to make evidence-based decisions that address young people’s needs and aspirations and provides researchers with a powerful data source to examine the causes and consequences of various interventions and outcomes. The first round of SYPE was conducted in 2009 (in the immediate aftermath of the global financial crisis) and the second round was conducted in 2014 (after the Egyptian revolution) – offering policymakers and researchers a unique and valuable trove of data on the lives of young people in Egypt before and after the Revolution. Results of the two rounds have been widely used to formulate policies and programs for young people in Egypt.

Thirteen years after the original survey was conducted, we now have a unique opportunity to
take another look at how the lives of the young people interviewed in 2009 (when they were
aged 10-29 years) and reinterviewed in 2014 (when they aged 14-34 year)1 have continued to
evolve. SYPE 2022 will return to the same cohort of young people who participated in SYPE 2009 and 2014 and who were 10-29 years old in 2009. In 2022 those men and women are currently aged 22-42 years. In addition, SYPE 2022 will interview a fresh sample of young people 10-21. When this sample is added to the panel sample which is currently aged 22-42, we
will have a sample of approximately 14,000 men and women aged 10-42. Additionally, SYPE
2022 will include a sample of young people with physical disabilities (YPWPD) aged 10-29 who have not been interviewed before. Since SYPE examines transitions to adulthood it is important
to start as early as age 10 as many of the events that impact adulthood start in the very early adolescence (e.g., FGM/C, discrimination between boys and girls and others). Drawing on the
Council’s research on early adolescence, including children as young as 10 years is important to
capture life events which may have a significant impact on individuals health and wellbeing in
adult years. II. Activities completed during the reporting period (June – December 2022):

The following activities were completed during the reporting period:

•	Desk review: A draft desk review was developed to identify the opportunities and challenges faced by young people in Egypt in different aspects of life. The five topics included in the desk review are young people with disabilities, climate change, COVID-19, migration, and the socio-political and economic changes in Egypt since 2014. A copy of the desk review is sent through e-mail.
•	Developing study protocol for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval (for quantitative component): The Council submitted a protocol for the quantitative component of the study. IRB approval was obtained in September 2022. Copy of approved protocol is sent through e-mail. 

•	Data collection instruments updated and validated through pilot testing: The Council held two days consultative meetings in July 2022 with experts from different organizations to seek their comments and suggestions on the questionnaires (household and individual. Then, the Council team updated the instruments. The following modules have been updated: (1) Education, (2) Employment, (3) Health, (4) marriage, family formation, gender roles, (5) Migration, (6) Civic participation. A new module on climate change was developed and a section on COVID 19 was added to the health module. In August and September 2022, the updated instruments were pilot tested with young people 10-29 with and without disabilities. The Council did a second round of updates on the instruments based on the results of the pilot testing.  A copy of updated questionnaires is sent through e-mail. 

•	Obtaining government approval: MOPED secured government clearance for conducting the survey.  Additional approvals are currently being sought by CAPMAS and CDC before signing an agreement with Population Council.

•	Meetings with CAPMAS: We have hired two local consultants to advise on the sample design, and together with them we held several meetings with CAPMAS and CDC staff to discuss sampling methodology and to update questionnaires. In addition, CAPMAS has provided additional comments on the quantitative questionnaire which have been addressed by PC.  

•	Developing qualitative study protocol for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval:  In December 2022, the Council prepared and submitted a protocol to the Population Council’s IRB. The protocol covers the qualitative part of the project which includes four studies with the following objectives: (1) Understanding challenges faced by young people with disabilities in key transitions to adulthood and coping strategies adopted; (2) understanding the intersectionality of climate change, gender and youth livelihoods, (3) effects of international migration on gender dynamics within families left behind, and (4) effects of women’s involvement in small and micro economic projects on their fertility desires and behaviors.  The protocol is currently under review by the Council’s IRB. Copy of the protocol is sent through e-mail. 

•	Identifying a local IRB to approve study protocols: A local IRB has been identified and approached to review the two protocols (qualitative and quantitative).  
III. Challenges and lessons learned: 

•	There have been delays in signing the agreement with CAPMAS as it turns out that they need approval from several government entities before signing an agreement with an international organization.  One lesson learned is to factor in at least six months for obtaining approvals when getting into a partnership with a government entity.

IV. Activities to be completed in 2023:

•	Designing a computer program for data entry: The Population Council in cooperation with CAPMAS staff will review and pilot test the questionnaire after designing the questionnaire program on the tablets. 

•	Fieldwork training: The Population Council in cooperation with CAPMAS staff will conduct fieldwork training for the data collection team.  

•	Data collection: This activity includes collecting data for the four qualitative studies as well as the quantitative survey. This activity is expected to be completed by August 2023. 

•	Further cleaning and preparing the dataset: Upon receiving the final clean tape from CAPMAS, the Population Council team with the CDC team will conduct further cleaning and validation of the data.  We will also compute the sampling weights, expansion factors, and standard errors, as well as compiling the panel dataset of all SYPE waves.

•	Analysis of cross-sectional data and summary report writing. Three data sets will be produced with their sampling weights. The first is a cross sectional data set of young people aged 10-29 (disaggregated by age (10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29). The second is a panel data set that includes information from the three rounds of SYPE and will involve matching of 2009, 2014 and 2022 data sets. The third data set will pertain to young people with disabilities aged 10-29, disaggregated by age (10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29) and who were only interviewed in 2022. 

•	Sharing preliminary results with Advisory Group members and soliciting their feedback.

•	A summary report will be produced (in Arabic and English) presenting results of cross sectional analysis of 2022 data for young people 10-29 disaggregated by age (10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29). 

•	A high-level dissemination event will be held with national stakeholders, including government ministers to present results of the cross- sectional data i.e. situation of young people in 2022, including YPWPD.