MENARY Monitor – Edition 122
July 30, 2023
Politics and Political Engagement
Salah El-Din Tayyar, founder of the Algerian Youth Ambassadors, said that relations between his country and Russia have entered new heights, after the signing of the Deepened Partnership Declaration, in mid-June, after it was limited to cooperation in the military-security field. The founder of the Foundation, which is active in organizing educational and cultural programs dedicated to young people and young leaders, revealed, in an interview conducted with him by “Sputnik”, on the sidelines of the “Second Russian-African Summit and the Economic and Humanitarian Forum” held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, that he had asked Moscow to open a cultural center in Algeria to build bridges of communication between young people from the two countries.
Over the last decade, the Arab Barometer’s surveys have captured youth public opinion in countries across the Middle East and North Africa. MENA youth have consistently raised concerns about their countries’ economic performance, job opportunities, quality of education, and political and civil rights. While a desire for change is present, and reform movements have developed in the wake of the 2011 Arab uprisings, MENA youth seem to be unable to exact meaningful political change, according to a new report by Carnegie.
The Iranian regime is still struggling to contain the protests and confront the women’s revolution. The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Guidance is working to make changes in its structure, by launching a campaign to hire dozens of its loyalists, who are known to the regime as “Hezbollah youth”, and expel others, according to what Iranian Minister of Culture and Guidance, Muhammad Mahdi Ismaili, announced.
The Moroccan Forum for Young Journalists announced that it will organize, in partnership with the Heinrich Böll Foundation – Rabat Office, on July 29 and 30 in Marrakech, a training course on “basic concepts related to human rights for quality Moroccan journalism”, for a group of professional journalists. The aforementioned forum stated, in a statement, that “the organization of this training comes as part of a partnership agreement concluded between the Moroccan Forum for Young Journalists and the Heinrich Böll Foundation – Rabat, Morocco, in order to educate male and female journalists and enhance their capabilities with regard to basic concepts related to human rights, and to promote Moroccan journalism.” Quality that respects professional ethics and its controls.
The Youth Directorate of Irbid Governorate implemented, within Al-Hussein Camps for Labor and Construction 2023, a camp to enhance youth participation in political life, through which it targeted youth in youth clubs and organizations and the local community in Irbid Governorate, with the participation of 23 young men and women within the age group of 18-30 years, and in the presence of the heads of clubs in the district and the Independent Electoral Commission. The camp aims to enhance youth participation in party life and introduce participants to the electoral law, political parties and participation.
A dialogue session was held in the municipality of Ubari on the Youth Charter, through which many axes concerned with youth were discussed, with the participation of a number of young people in the municipality.
Economics and Entrepreneurship
The Ministry of Youth and Sports, through the Central Department for Youth Empowerment, in cooperation with UNICEF, launched the training program for the “Mishwary” project for skills development and entrepreneurship, from 25-31 of July, in the new city of Nubaria. The training targets, as a first stage, 500 young men and women from the “Haya Karima” youth centers and sports clubs, which include 50 youth centers and sports clubs from Al-Thaheir Al-Sahrawi area. The training targets youth aged 16-24, in the hall of the new city of Nubaria.
The summer activity at the Arab Sports Club organized a training course, in cooperation with the Qatar Wireless Sports Center, on drones, and the best way to deal with this type of technology. The program included a theoretical definition of the drone, then a training program on drones, and their areas of use, including the war and media fields, taking into account the need for ratification by the responsible authorities in the country, and out of concern for the privacy of individuals and societies, and out of the club’s keenness to train and qualify young people, refine their skills and discover their talents in various fields, and with the participation of a large number of summer activity affiliates in the club.
Conflict
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said early Thursday that a 14-year-old Palestinian was killed in clashes with the Israel Defense Forces operating in Qalqilya, in the West Bank.
Israeli occupation forces closed the Wadi et-Tuffah and Bir Seba Street in the center of Hebron, along with dozens of businesses, to prevent Palestinians from accessing an area considered sacred by illegal settlers. “For the first time, the army allowed settlers to raid a Palestinian area in Bab El-Zawiye at this time of the year, which is something new,” President of the Youth Anti-Settlement Union, Isa Amro, told Anadolu Agency in a statement. He said fanatic settlers were due to head to “Hebron tomb” on Bir Seba Street.
From one arena to another, the challenges and problems facing Palestinian youth abroad vary, and the biggest challenge remains to keep the state of belonging to the homeland alive and effective, working for it, and interacting with its issues. In Lebanon, one of the countries that surrounds and is in contact with the homeland, Palestinian youth find themselves besieged by many crises that they are trying to overcome without distracting them from their first issue and their eternal dream of achieving return.
In mid-July, the EU finalized a much-anticipated agreement with Tunisia to cooperate on curbing a surge in migration flows to Europe’s Mediterranean shores, but international law experts and humanitarian groups warn that the €1 billion deal could lead to severe rights violations instead of helping solve complex issues. The deal aims to prevent migrants from reaching Europe irregularly; increase returns of Tunisian citizens who have no permission to stay in Europe; and facilitate repatriation from Tunisia to third countries of migrants of other nationalities.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has called to adopt a comprehensive development vision in countries experiencing an exodus of migrants as the only solution to the phenomenon of irregular migration which he said is affecting North African countries as much as Europe. In a speech read by Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane in Rome, Tebboune said while the security treatment of the migration file responds to the urgent need to maintain public order and combat smuggling and human trafficking networks, it does not contribute to addressing this phenomenon in a sustainable manner. Comprehensive solutions that guarantee stability, advance development dynamics and create job opportunities for youth in source countries are the only solutions, he said. In this context, he pointed out that Algeria’s approach to combating illegal immigration “is based on supporting peace and security in these countries, while calling to mobilize more funding for the implementation of development projects to benefit African countries,” and that “the situation has worsened as a result of security measures and provisions to protect the European Union’s external borders and tighten visa-granting procedures,” said Tebboune, explaining that his country, “driven by its permanent solidarity with neighboring countries, has for many years adopted a relatively tolerant policy towards these flows, which has led to an unprecedented rise in the number of illegal migrants who have settled on its territory.”
Development
Bahnini Hall in Rabat witnessed the inauguration of the second session of the “Morocco with Purpose” program, organized in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, and directed to young Moroccans living abroad to strengthen their ties with their home country. In a speech on the occasion, the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed El Mehdi Bensaïd, praised this initiative “because it came from Moroccans of the world in service to the Moroccans of the world,” considering that “living outside the homeland makes immigrants have a stronger bond with their country of origin, and more awareness of the needs of Moroccans in the diaspora.” For her part, Heba El-Eidi, the supervisor of the Morocco with Purpose program, expressed her happiness that the project has reached its second round, adding that it is about “a week of cultural integration, from which forty Moroccan immigrants aged 18 to 25 will get to know their homeland in an innovative way.”
The activities of the community security and police camp, implemented by the Karak Youth Directorate, Jordan, were concluded. The camp aims to raise the level of awareness among young people in the security field. The Director of the Karak Youth Directorate, Dr. Thamer Al-Majali, said that the camp aims to raise the level of security awareness among young people aged 15-17, and motivate them to contribute to achieving community security, cooperate with security men, and interact with the activities carried out by the Public Security Directorate (PSD), leading to a safe and stable society.
The Diriyah Gate Development Authority launched the “Aafaq Al-Diriyah Summer Program for Youth”, which runs for 4 weeks, from Sunday to Thursday of each week. It features activities and workshops focusing on enhancing knowledge, leadership, values, and skills for youth aged 9-17, with the aim of developing their personalities, culture, and their admiration for social responsibility. The program is a promising opportunity for the participants, especially as it includes a number of tracks, activities and various events, including exploring the historic Al-Turaif neighborhood, with the aim of inspiring young people with the value and heritage of this historical site, to become ambassadors of Diriyah, adhering to the values it represents, which develops in them a sense of pride and appreciation in the cultural heritage of Diriyah.
Environment
The Ma’an Youth Association for the Preservation of the Environment (in Jordan) has started implementing the first stages of the “Smart Village for Sustainable Development” project, which aims to promote sustainable development to confront climate change. The project is implemented with funding from the French Development Agency, within the framework of the MINCA initiative, and with the support of the Innovation and Agricultural Entrepreneurship Incubator at the National Center for Agricultural Research, the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, the Greater Ma’an Municipality, rural electrification projects, and smart desert.
Under the slogan “cleanliness is everyone’s responsibility,” the Youth Union of Parties and Political Components for Advocating Social Causes and Supporting Local Authorities, in Aden, implemented a cleaning campaign. The campaign targeted Abyan’s coastline and focused on cleaning the beach area, removing waste and garbage scattered in the sand, rocks, and public spaces. Continuing their proactive approach to address the issue of waste accumulation, the youth of the union aimed to clean and address various locations affected by garbage, particularly coastal areas. The youth emphasized the importance of cleanliness and raised awareness about environmental and health risks. The union called upon all citizens to work collectively to preserve the cleanliness of Aden to safeguard a clean and safe environment.
The Faculty of Politics and Economics at Suez University organized the closing ceremony of the COP27 climate change simulation models, attended by representatives from the European Union and the Egyptian Stock Exchange. The Dean of the Faculty supervised the simulation models presented by the students.