MENARY Monitor – Edition 101
March 5, 2023
Politics and Political Engagement
The Egyptian Youth Social Democratic Union organized the first panel discussion on youth in the context of the national dialogue. The session covered several themes, including support for student federations and activities, political empowerment of young people, support for young entrepreneurs, support for young persons with disabilities, supporting youth centers and clubs, and raising awareness.
Economics and Entrepreneurship
The Al-Ghasak Society for Culture and Heritage, in Jordan, organized awareness raising workshops on the Jordanian labor law, titled “Labor Rights in the Private Sector“. President of Al-Ghasak Society, Manal Shalbayeh, said that these workshops are implemented within its programs on raising awareness among youth of the labor law, with emphasis on the right to safe and healthy work and the right to knowledge and information, so that both the workers and the employers become fully aware of their rights under the law.
As part of its ongoing development operations in Yemen, Silatech signed a new agreement with the European Union worth 10 million euros to expand its project “Supporting Youth Leadership and Financial Inclusion.” This project aims to promote the economic empowerment of Yemeni youth. The European Union Mission to Yemen (EULEX) indicated that the new 4-year project aims to provide income generating employment along with financial integration for more than 40 thousand young Yemenis. Silatech’s project will also work to finance youth projects and provide capacity-building services to young entrepreneurs. It is also worth noting that the second phase of the partnership will focus on the principles of a sustainable economy, financial inclusion, the provision of innovative services through digital solutions and women’s empowerment by supporting youth-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
Conflict
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that a young man was killed after being shot by the Israeli army, who arrested him injured near Jericho, during a raid of Aqabat Jabr camp. In a statement, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced that 3 Palestinians, one of them in serious condition (later died), had been wounded by live bullets in confrontations outside of a house sieged by Israeli forces in the camp. Eyewitnesses said that the occupation forces stormed the camp and surrounded an apartment building, using a citizen and his child as a human shield during the operation. They added that the army had arrested one of the injured individuals during an attempt to resuscitate him by the Red Crescent crews, which was documented by video clips. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club reported that the occupation forces had arrested 6 citizens in the camp, four brothers, one son, and a wounded young man, all of whom are former detainees.
A Palestinian boy was killed and another injured during confrontations with Israeli occupation forces in the town of Azoun, east of the West Bank city of Kalkiliya, while the occupation continues to blockade the town of Hawara. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the 15-year-old boy, Mohammed Salim, had been killed by a live bullet, while another was critically injured. Witnesses said that violent confrontations broke out with the Israeli occupying forces as they stormed the town’s eastern entrance, with occupation soldiers firing live shots at the young passersby. The killing of the Palestinian boy is in conjunction with the escalation in the town of Hawara following the Israeli Minister of Finance’s statement who called for the town to be burned and erased from existence.
Dr. Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE), published an article discussing how Daesh-affiliated women are sexually exploiting adolescent and teenage boys to impregnate them and spawn the next breed of fighters. Dr. Speckhard states that such exploitative practices are occurring in the various camps, which house over 10,000 foreign Daesh-affiliated women and children.
Development
The Emirati Ministry of Culture and Youth, in cooperation with the League of Arab States, invited Emirati youth to participate in the international competition “Arab Youth Excellence Award 2023” on artificial intelligence. The award looks to highlight the outstanding efforts of Arab youth, enhance their competitiveness of young people, and promote the culture of joint action on youth in relation to sustainable development in the region.
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The Sharqiyah Youth Directorate in Egypt continues its training efforts for 100 young men and women representing the various youth centers in the governorate, with emphasis on persons with disabilities. The training is carried out by specialized trainers to enhance the level of youth inclusion within society in addition to qualifying their talents.
Education
The Central Directorate of Parliament and Civil Education of the Ministry of Youth and Sports carried out an event under its political education plan for the month of March. The event was attended by youth from various youth centers along with students and members of Parliament. The session discussed national education as well as youth political development. Several key aspects were highlighted with the aim of raising awareness about political education.
Environment
The Technical Institute of Science and Technology in Alexandria held an educational awareness raising seminar on environmental preservation and climate change, attended by a number of students. In his speech, Engineer Mahmoud Mehran, Dean of the Technical Institute for Science and Technology, discussed the use of scientific methods to bury tailings, dispose of human residues, and use them as fuel containing hydrogen carbon. He also spoke about the need to take precautions to conserve water and prevent its contamination, and not to dump oils and lubricants into the water and sewage networks.