Cairo: Ambassador Alaa Youssef, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the State Information Service (SIS), affirmed that building youth awareness is a key pillar of developing the Egyptian individual, strengthening social stability, and enhancing society's ability to confront challenges. He stressed that awareness goes beyond simply possessing information; it requires a sound understanding of reality and the challenges at hand.

According to State Information Service Egypt, Youssef's remarks came during his participation in the third edition of the "Strength in Our Youth" initiative, organized by the Supreme Council of Culture from August 10 to 27, 2026, under the patronage of Acting Minister of Culture Dr. Abdel Aziz Konsowa and in the presence of Supreme Council of Culture Secretary-General Dr. Ashraf El-Azzazy. The initiative features a series of intellectual discussions, public lectures, and training workshops for young people.

Ambassador Youssef noted that young people between the ages of 18 and 35 constitute an important segment of Egyptian society, making investment in their awareness, culture, and ability to distinguish between accurate and misleading information a national imperative. He emphasized that young people are an influential force in shaping the present and building the future.

He added that developing youth awareness faces growing challenges amid the widespread use of social media and the overwhelming flow of information, often accompanied by inaccurate and misleading content. He therefore stressed the importance of equipping young people with critical-thinking skills, encouraging them to verify information and its sources, and enabling them to resist rumors and misleading content.

The SIS Chairman also addressed the risks associated with fourth- and fifth-generation warfare, explaining that modern conflicts are no longer confined to conventional military means. He further explained that they increasingly target public awareness and seek to weaken states from within through psychological, media, and digital tools, as well as cyberspace and artificial intelligence, to spread disinformation and influence public opinion.

Ambassador Youssef pointed out that confronting these challenges requires building comprehensive awareness based on several fundamental pillars, foremost among them knowledge, understanding, national consciousness, belonging, and responsibility. This, he explained, requires relying on credible and diverse sources of information, looking beyond superficial narratives, understanding the nature of the challenges facing the state, reinforcing national identity, and recognizing each individual's responsibility to safeguard social cohesion and intellectual resilience.

Concluding his remarks, Ambassador Youssef stressed that building awareness is a shared responsibility among the state, its institutions, society, and young people themselves. He encouraged young people to embrace continuous reading and learning, develop critical-thinking skills, participate actively in cultural and intellectual initiatives, and make positive use of technology and social media.

Following his remarks, Ambassador Youssef engaged in an open dialogue with the participating youth on a number of issues, including building national awareness, the impact of rapid developments in media and social media on young people, ways to counter rumors and misinformation, and the role of youth in confronting attempts at polarization and ideological influence.