The training seminar on Social and Democratic Participation organized by Anna Lindh Foundation in Cairo, concluded after having brought together 50 civil society activists from seven different Arab countries for five days.

The participants discussed the new challenges facing dialogue in the context of the social transformations witnessed by Mediterranean countries, civil society collaboration to promote citizenship and democracy through dialogue between cultures, and fostering youth leadership and its role in instigating social change, and promoting the use of social media and new technology in the area of information and communication.

During the closing session hosted by the Czech embassy in Cairo, the Czech ambassador, Pavel Kafka, welcomed the attendees saying: "The enthusiasm of these young people today reminded me of events I witnessed in my country about 23 years ago. Their hopes, their demands and their dreams are identical to those of the Czech youths at that time.And today I tell them that the road to democracy may seem difficult at the beginning, but at the end it is worthwhile."

Anna Lindh's Executive Director, Andreu Claret, expressed his optimism at the training results, which will herald a new phase, rich in ideas and modern tools, of the foundation's activities :"Such meetings help Anna Lindh to better understand civil society needs, and to adapt accordingly.We are witnessing today a new Arab citizen, who wants to have a say, a citizen empowered and energized by what is happening in the region. The emergence of this citizen is a new challenge for the Anna Lindh Foundation, and our role is to find out what can be done to provide tools that can help and foster this new citizen."

On the sideline of the conference a meeting was held between the Anna Lindh Arab networks heads from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, and Egypt to discuss the methods of work and the promotion of cooperation for the realization of common goals concerning motivating the youths and increasing their involvement in the network activities benefiting democracy and human solidarity.

At the closing of the event, the head of the Lebanese network, Mrs.Salwa Seniora Baasiri, speaking on behalf of the Arab networks, said:"Anna Lindh's initiative was timely as it allowed the Arab networks, which are meeting for the first time, to agree on a common shared vision to confront the challenges we face today.We have suggested eleven projects giving priority to youths, democracy, inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, and social media, to be considered for Anna Lindh's action plan for the coming phase."

The seminar which was held in Cairo is part of a series of regional events organized by Anna Lindh Foundation in the framework of the "Believe inDialogue, Act for Citizenship" initiative, which was launched after the historical changes and social mobilization experienced by a number of countries on the Southern shore of the Mediterranean. The next round entitled "Anna Lindh Exchange" will be held in Tunisia from the 23rd to the 26th of June, and will bring together 170 to 200 participants from Euro-Mediterranean countries, to exchange experiences, best practices and project ideas, and to discuss the relationship between democracy, citizenship and participation in the context of the democratic transformation which is affecting the countries in the region.

More information concerning the initiative can be found on:

www.believeindialogue.org