MENARY Monitor – Edition 100
February 26, 2023
Politics and Political Engagement
Foreign Policy published an article by Tharwa Bolifi indicating that Tunisian youth had lost faith in President Kais Saied, as socioeconomic conditions deteriorated since his July 2021 decrees. Bolifi explains that Saied had been widely criticized for his mismanagement of the migration crisis, which had increased over the past few years. For example, over 15,395 Tunisians – including 2,000 minors – had arrived in Italy illegally in 2022, according to figures from the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. The report also referred to Tunisia’s economic crisis, which caused the loss of many essential items under the reign of Saied, as well as the shortage of medicine in the country.
As part of a series of panel discussions on the political process and dialogue with pro-democracy groups in Sudan, Taiba Press Center held a panel discussion that brought together the leaders of freedom, change, and youth groups. The Political Secretary of the Sudan Liberation Movement – the Transitional Council, Mohamed Kass, said that had it not be for youth and women, there would not have been a “Glorious December Revolution”. Young people and women have pioneering roles in developed societies, contrary to the situation in developing countries where there is a failure to utilize the potential of young people and women’s role in political life. Kass concluded that in order to fully activate the role of women and youth, a fully civilian authority is a necessity.
The Jordanian Senate President, Faisal Al-Fayez, said that King Abdullah II gives great importance to Jordanian youth, believing in their ability to bring about positive change to overcome the challenges facing the country. Al-Fayez added that the Jordanian state looks to activate the role of youth and empower them, through the state’s “comprehensive modernization” efforts. He clarified that such a vision requires empowering youth, supporting them, and providing them with the tools to fulfil their role, build their abilities, and refine their talents to enable them to bring about the required change in their economic and livelihood reality and to expand their participation in public life.
The Jordanian Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, Wajih Azayza, emphasized the need to promote youth and women’s participation in political and party life with a strong and fortified ground. This came during his meeting with a number of young men and women representing the “Parliamentary Fellowship” program, implemented by the King Abdullah II Fund for Development. Azayza added that the success of political modernization requires societal interaction with the tenets of the vision, noting that sound political construction leads to the development of the right legislation that would remove society’s fears of engaging in political and party action.
The Jordanian National Women’s Committees Caucus organized a session entitled “the role of youth and women in political and economic development“, which emphasized the need to empower women and youth and provide them with a real opportunity to participate in political life and party work and to expand their participation in decision-making. The session came in line with Jordan’s political and economic reform efforts, which place a great deal of importance on the empowerment of youth and women.
Economics and Entrepreneurship
The Jobseeking Club was launched in Jordan in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with the participation of 20 young men and women. The club will run for 13 days, during which young participants will receive training aimed at raising their abilities for future jobs, including self-marketing, job search, job interviews, green jobs, and CV writing.
INJAZ concluded the implementation of the semifinal competition of the Business Challenge Program, as part of “Resilient Youth, Socially and Economically (RYSE)” project in Jordan. The program gives students the opportunity to exercise practical experiences, to learn about the most important terms and concepts related to entrepreneurship and business ethics. The Business Challenge Program focuses on entrepreneurship and interactive business administration among 9th and 10th grade public school students. The program includes specialized training in project management and team building. It is worth noting that the semifinal competition saw the participation of more than 6,700 students from 97 schools, representing 1,252 teams, as only 12 teams qualified for the final competition.
The Youth Empowerment Department of North Sinai Youth and Sports Directorate, in Egypt, concluded the implementation of the craft training courses under the slogan “Teach Me a Craft”, which was held at the Alsalam Persons with Disabilities Youth Center. The training initiative has aimed to develop youth’s capacities, particularly those with disabilities, in handicrafts to equip them for the labor market as well as entrepreneurship.
Conflict
In the north of Gaza, Palestinian youth lit large numbers of tires in the face of an Israeli security barrier in an expression of outrage over the Nablus massacre that took place last week, which killed 11 Palestinians and 102 were wounded, 7 of whom are in critical conditions. Youth in Gaza stated that they do not belong to any faction, instead, they feel the unity toward their Palestinian brothers and sisters all around Palestinian cities, towns, and the occupied territories – whether in the West Bank, Gaza, or elsewhere.
Thousands of young Sudanese still seem to insist on illegal emigration to European countries through the Sahara and the Mediterranean, ignoring the tales of death and terror surrounding the journey. Hundreds lost their lives in the waves of the Mediterranean, with a recent incident involved the drowning of 95 illegal migrants, most of whom were young Sudanese. Many of those who intend to make this journey are young people, knowing its difficulties and dangers, yet they insist on risking their lives for a glimmer of hope for a better future.
Development
The training workshops for the “Natasharak” program continue in the Bir al-Abd Youth Centre in North Sinai – Egypt, as part of the third phase of the program for community initiatives, organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 12 governorates. The program includes the implementation of 18 training workshops, four days each, over the course of one month. The workshops aim to train youth on skills necessary to equip them to become able to contribute to the implementation of community initiatives whose main focus is on the empowerment of girls, community consensus, citizenship, peaceful coexistence and non-violence, post-COP 27, renewable energy, green projects, environment, and health.
Education
The 8th International Research Youth Conference concluded its activities at the Sohaj University in Egypt, with the participation of 318 young researchers from 36 Egyptian, Arab, and African universities. The conference featured 176 posters and 15 speakers from Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Yemen, Sudan, UK, and Nigeria. The conference concluded its events with several recommendations related to scientific research, which included guiding scientific research and its outputs to solve the problems of the surrounding community in various fields; guiding researchers to address nanoscience research and associated techniques to consolidate and promote the culture of innovation; and encouraging researchers to publish scientific publications.