13 October 2011, Alexandria (Egypt) – Cultural groups, educational bodies and NGOs from Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia gathered today at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina for the launch of ‘Young Arab Voices’, a regional initiative in response to the historic political and social changes in the Arab world.

 

‘Young Arab Voices’ focuses on training young people in debating skills and facilitating youth participation in debates tackling the most pressing social issues of the day in order to assume an active role as citizens in the new processes of democratic transition and reform. The regional initiative, which will initially run over two years (2011 to 2013) in Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and three additional countries of the region, also sets out to ensure debating opportunities can reach beyond traditional educational venues to street cafés, cultural spaces and rural youth communities.

 

Samar Samir Mezghanni, young Tunisian activist and coordinator of Young Arab Voices inTunisia, said: “It is time to acknowledge youth voices, listen to their opinions and enhance the leadership skills they develop. Just as we listened to their dreams in the streets, we should listen to their ideas on the panel to achieve those dreams.”

 

Mohamed El Dahshan, young Egyptian writer and the project’s social media advisor and young blogger, who was awarded this month the Anna Lindh Journalist Prize 2011 for his exception writings on social change in Egypt, said: “Online youth debate is often ahead of the offline communication and there is therefore a lot to learn from the Arab youth social media experience. At the same time, we need to work with young bloggers to ensure the message of ‘Young Arab Voices’ gets beyond the debate clubs and associations to the people at large”.

 

It is the very first time the Anna Lindh Foundation and British Council have combined their expertise and networks in this way, demonstrating their joint commitment in support of the new demands of democratic transition in the MENA region.‘Young Arab Voices’ is co-financed by the UK government’s Arab Partnership Initiative and carried out in coordination with national authorities in Egypt Jordan and Tunisia.

 

Commenting on the launch of the Young Arab Voices, Irfan Siddiq, Head of the Arab Partnership Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, said: “Young peoplein the Arab world have played an important role in bringing about this democratic change, and it is crucial that they continue to have the opportunity to participate and to make their voices heard. I am very pleased that the Arab Partnership is able to support this timely and valuable initiative.”

 

Andreu Claret, Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation said: “Informed debate involving youth from diverse social, political and geographical backgrounds will contribute directly to increased participation and respect for diversity which are key ingredients in building democratic and pluralistic societies”.

 

Azza Hammoudi, the British Council’s Director of Society for the Middle East and North Africa, said at the opening: it is great to see educational institutions working together with social and cultural initiations to support young people gain the necessary skills to democratic societies, societies where reasoning and evidence as well as creative and critical thinking are used to negotiate disagreements between citizens in an ethical and open way. 

 

The ‘Young Arab Voices’ programme will involve young people in regional training activities focused on debating skills and opportunities for setting up debate clubs and associations at the local and national level. Commencing in October 2011 in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia, ‘Young Arab Voices’ will be rolled-out to three additional Arab countries in April 2012.

 

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For information, please contact Paul Walton (Anna Lindh Foundation) paul.walton@bibalex.org and Mohamed Abdel Tawab (British Council) at mohamed.abdeltawab@britishcouncil.org.eg

 

 

British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. We work in over 100 countries in the arts, education and English and in 2010/11 we engaged face to face with 30 million people and reached 578 million. For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org

 

Anna Lindh Foundation

The Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) is a unique institution shared by the forty-three countries of the Union for the Mediterranean, with a mandate to promote intercultural dialogue and cross-cultural understanding between people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. Since its launch in 2005, the Foundation has led and supported activities across fields impacting on mutual perceptions among people of different cultures and beliefs, including large-scale educational, cultural and media initiatives, and has financed projects involving tens of thousands of citizens from the region in common projects. The Foundation has also developed the largest and most diverse Network of civil society involved in the promotion of intercultural dialogue across the Mediterranean, bringing together more than 4000 social actors who share the values of the Foundation. For further information, log on to: www.euromedalex.org