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Civic Participation

The Challenge

Despite wide-spread misconceptions, the majority of youth in the Middle East, if given the chance, are more interested in contributing to their society and future than being involved in extreme behavior.  Young men and women in the region are expecting to exert greater influence in shaping their societies. Yet there are too few formal avenues and institutions for youth to expand their voice so that their activism may positively impact their societies. The challenge remains with Middle East countries to provide an enabling environment for young people to give voice and actively participate in economic, political and social affairs.

The Opportunity

Young people are at the heart of a process of political change and debate that now defines the region. They are emerging as agents of change in some countries which are moving towards more participatory forms of government. Through the expansion of civil society and the rise of local social and environmental movements, young men and women can be mobilized to exert greater influence in shaping their societies positively.

A Fact

A survey with a nationally representative sample of 2,400 Egyptian youth showed that 67 percent were never involved in any school activities. Only 13 percent of the respondents did some kind of volunteer work.


             

 

  Personal Journey

Source: Waleed Nassar, Madeena360‘Ola a 28 year old vibrant and passionate personality grew up in Cairo and, majored in Business Administration at Ain Shams University. “I chose to major in business and management because I had a firm belief that what this country lacked was a strong sense of execution and implementation.”   Read more 

 

 

 



Experts Convene to Discuss Social Entrepreneurship and Social Investment in the Middle East

25 Feb 2010
On February 23, the Middle East Youth Initiative and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government convened a group of over 40 policy makers, international donors, private sector and civil society leaders to discuss the state of social entrepreneurship and corporate social engagement in the Middle East.


MEYI Youth Ambassador Attends Secretary Clinton's Town Hall in Jeddah

18 Feb 2010
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton chaired a town hall meeting with students at Dar Al Hekma College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on February 16, where she discussed the importance of education, community service, and the participation of women and girls in society.


Ehaab Abdou Speaks at Harvard on His Experience as a Social Entrepreneur

2 Dec 2009
On November 30, MEYI advisor Ehaab Abdou spoke to an audience at Harvard University's Dubai Initiative, a joint venture between the Dubai School of Government and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, about his experience as a leading social innovator in the Middle East as well as his new research with the Middle East Youth Initiative.


Djavad Salehi-Isfahani presents at Harvard University's Arab Weekend

18 Nov 2009
On November 15, MEYI scholar Djavad Salehi-Isfahani delivered a presentation on human capital development in the Middle East at the 3rd annual Harvard Arab Weekend. The conference covered a wide range of themes of relevance to the Arab world today, including: social media, international trade and development, energy and sustainability, and entrepreneurship.


Social Entrepreneurship Roundtables in the Middle East

18 Nov 2009
Through consultations rch on the ground, MEYI is working to better understand the state of social entrepreneurship and social investment in the Middle East. Under the leadership of Ehaab Abdou, MEYI has led a series of diverse focus groups in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan to survey the existing landscape for social entrepreneurs and investors and identify the key opportunities and challenges they face.


MEYI Advisor Ehaab Abdou Speaks at USAID-Georgetown Social Entrepreneurship Event

25 Sep 2009
Middle East Youth Initiative advisor Ehaab Abdou joined a group of social entrepreneurs from the Arab region and other experts on a panel titled "Social Entrepreneurship: Putting Powerful Ideas to Work" at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business on September 24.


2009 International Youth Day Focuses on Challenge of Sustainability

12 Aug 2009
The theme for International Youth Day this year is "Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future." International Youth Day is held on August 12 every year. It was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 to promote awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), a policy framework and practical guidelines for national action and international support to improve the situation of young people around the world.


Taqeem: Evaluating Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Initiatives for Impact

23 Jul 2009
The Middle East Youth Initiative recently announced Taqeem, an initiative to promote impact evaluation of youth programs, in partnership with Silatech and the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut.


U.S.-Saudi Women’s Forum on Social Entrepreneurship Concludes

29 Jul 2009

The Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson and The Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College partnered with two renowned global organizations - Dar Al Hekma College in Saudi Arabia and ICF International - to deliver The U.S.-Saudi Women’s Forum on Social Entrepreneurship July 13 through July 24, 2009 at Babson College in Wellesley, MA, USA.

Youth Exclusion in the West Bank and Gaza Strip: The Impact of Social, Economic and Political Forces
25 Jan 2010, Edward Sayre and Samia Al-Botmeh
Edward Sayre and Samia Al-Botmeh examine three dimensions of the transition to adulthood by Palestinian youth: acquiring skills through schooling and training, finding employment, and forming a family.
Topic: Education, Employment, Marriage, Housing and Credit, Civic Participation
Location: West Bank and Gaza
Type: Working Paper
Generation in Waiting: The Unfulfilled Promise of Young People in the Middle East
8 Oct 2009, Edited by Navtej Dhillon and Tarik Yousef
Generation in Waiting: The Unfulfilled Promise of Young People in the Middle East (Brookings Press, 2009), edited by Navtej Dhillon and Tarik Yousef, represents three years of research on youth exclusion in the Middle East.
Topic: Civic Participation, Education, Employment, Housing and Credit, Marriage
Location: Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Morocco, Syria, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen
Type: Book
Stalled Youth Transitions in the Middle East: A Framework for Policy Reform
8 Oct 2008, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani and Navtej Dhillon

Djavad Salehi-Isfahani and Navtej Dhillon present a framework for policymakers to improve youth outcomes by addressing institutional distortions across sectors: from the education system to the employment, housing, and credit markets.

Topic: Education, Employment, Housing and Credit, Marriage
Location: Middle East
Type: Working Paper
Social Exclusion: Comparative Analysis of Europe and Middle East Youth
12 Dec 2007, Hilary Silver
It is the intersection of youth with other dimensions of disadvantage that makes social exclusion a useful framework for analysis.
Topic: Social Exclusion
Location: Europe, Middle East
Type: Working Paper
Youth Exclusion in Egypt: In Search of "Second Chances"
12 Dec 2007, Ragui Assaad and Ghada Barsoum
The challenge of youth exclusion in Egypt is multidimensional; despite progress on some fronts, serious challenges remain for young people.
Topic: Civic Participation, Education, Employment, Housing and Credit, Marriage
Location: Egypt
Type: Working Paper
API's 9th International Conference on "Women and Youth in Arab Development"
March 22 - 24, 2010
Cairo, Egypt
API's 9th International Conference will provide a forum to debate the process of empowering Arab women to play their role in the region's development and ways of arresting the observed exclusion of Arab youth.
One Year After Gaza: Securing the Future for Young Palestinians
15 January 2010
Washington, DC, USA
One year after the conflict in Gaza, reconstruction of homes and buildings has barely begun, economic development has stagnated, and the humanitarian situation facing the Gazan population remains dire.
Fulfilling the Promise of Young People in the Middle East
9 November 2009
Dubai, UAE
The Dubai School of Government and the Wolfensohn Center for Development hosted a panel discussion on the occasion of the release of their new edited book, Generation in Waiting: The Unfulfilled Promise of Young People in the Middle East, illuminating the complex issues facing Middle Eastern youth. Speakers included: Johannes Linn, Wolfensohn Center for Development, The Brookings Institution; Mary Kawar, International Labor Organization; Ahmed Younis, Silatech/ Gallup; Nader Kabbani, Syria Trust for Development; Rami Khouri, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy & International Affairs, American University of Beirut; and Tarik Yousef, Dubai School of Government.
Forum for the Future 2009
November 2 - 3, 2009
Marrakech, Morocco
Morocco and Italy, current president of the G8, will co-chair the sixth Forum for the Future. The Forum is a joint partnership between the countries of the broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) and the G8 countries, and will bring together Ministers of Foreign Affairs, civil society representatives and the private sector.
6th UNESCO Youth Forum
October 1 - 3, 2009
Paris, France
The main theme of this year's United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Youth Forum will be: “Investing out of the crisis: towards a partnership between UNESCO and youth organizations."
XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference
September 27 - October 2, 2009
Marrakech, Morocco
The XXVI International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) conference will be held at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, Morocco. The IUSSP and the Moroccan National Organising Committee (NOC) expect over 1500 participants from the broader population studies community.
Application Deadline for the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship
12 August 2009
Global, Global
The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship support social entrepreneurs whose work has the potential for large-scale influence on critical challenges of our time: tolerance and human rights, health, economic and social equity, peace and security, institutional responsibility, and environmental sustainability.
SkillsInvest Forum - Growth through Education in the Arab World
11 June 2009
Dubai, UAE
This innovative forum identified the educational reforms required to meet the future economic needs of the Arab world.
Young Arab Leaders Annual Forum
May 1 - 3, 2009
Beirut, Lebanon

Hosted under the patronage of General Michel Sleiman, President of Lebanon, the Young Arab Leaders (YAL) Annual Forum took place in Beirut from May 1 to 3. The Forum addressed key areas in youth development such as education, employment opportunities for Arab youth, leadership skills development, and entrepreneurship.

Call for Applications for YouthActionNet Global Fellowships
13 March 2009
Global, Global

YouthActionNet, a program of the International Youth Foundation, is now accepting applications from exceptional young social entrepreneurs for its Global Fellowship program. Fellows will attend a seven-day leadership retreat in November 2009 and will have access to skills building, networking, and advocacy opportunities throughout the year.

World Economic Forum on the Middle East
May 15 - 17, 2009
Dead Sea, Jordan
Under the theme "Implications of the Global Economic Crisis for the Middle East," business, science, and public sector leaders from across the region came together to discuss the rapidly changing economic landscape and how the Middle East can restore growth in an era of fiscal austerity.
Bringing Gaza Back From the Brink
22 Jan 2010
Iran Sanctions: Who Really Wins?
30 Sep 2009
The Middle East and the New Global Economy: Revisiting Egypt in the Wake of the Downturn
22 Sep 2009
Youth Ambassador Think Tank: Sustainability - What Does It Mean for the Middle East?
17 Sep 2009
Political and Economic Woes Thwart Return to Normalcy in Iran
30 Jul 2009
After the Iranian Uprising
29 Jun 2009
The “Societal” Sector: A Wave of Opportunity for Saudi Arabia's Youth
29 Jun 2009
Iran's Election: Economic Fears and Discontents
23 Jun 2009