Mercy Corps photos

A young woman presents a new business idea at the first Startup Weekend in Gaza, part of the new Mercy Corps Arab Developer Network Initiative.

Mercy Corps , Google and Seattle-based Startup Weekend are gathering in Seattle on Thursday to talk about how investors and philanthropists can contribute to global business development in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank.

The event is designed to create a sense of urgency about creating job growth for youth in the Middle East and North Africa; economic conditions were part of the motivation for the uprisings sparked in January 2011 in Tunisia.

Google engineers and business development experts have traveled to the region with Mercy Corps to offer technical and business training and mentorship opportunities.

A Google executive speaks to a crowded room of Palestinian computer science students, recent graduates and entrepreneurs in Gaza as part of the new Mercy Corps Arab Developer Network Initiative.

The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2 at 415 Westlake Ave. N in the South Lake Union neighborhood.

Mercy Corps is making an effort to support Palestinians who are struggling with slow job growth and ongoing youth unemployment despite a highly educated population, officials said.

Last year, Mercy Corps launched the Arab Developer Network Initiative in Gaza and the West Bank with funding from Google and the New York-based The Source of Hope Foundation.

A young woman tackles a coding challenge presented by a Google engineer at a training day in Gaza, part of the new Mercy Corps Arab Developer Network Initiative.

This was in response to the growing demand for Arabic content in the technology sector, Mercy Corp. officials said.

Thursday’s event is designed to help local companies learn how to leverage the talents of people in that region through investment, partnerships and mentoring.

Panelists include Adam Stelle, the COO of Startup Weekend, a Seattle-based not-for-profit promoting tech entrepreneurship in cities around the world, and Gisel Kordestani, former director of new business development at Google.

Mercy Corps is encouraging anyone to attend who is interested in tech business and youth culture in the Middle East. The Oregon-based nonprofit is also inviting social impact investors and philanthropists to the event.

Find out more details about attending here.