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Young Arab Voices held its second debate about Do women need a parallel parliament or not?
The debate was attended by British Council Chair Sir Vernon Ellis, as it coincide his visit to Egypt. The moderator started the debate stating the sad fact about the last parliamentary elections that the number of women winners of parliamentary seats were only representing 1.5%, which lead to the SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) to appoint five more women raising the percentage of women's representation to 2% or slightly more.
Sir Vernon stressed on the importance of providing a safe platform for youth to debate and stated that the British Council in partnership with Anna Lindh Foundation has launched the project regionally to include Egypt in the first phase.
Prof. Hussein Khairy the Dean of the faculty of medicine welcomed the cooperation with the British Council and praised the effort that the undergraduates made in researching the topic and mentioned that the project has effectively enhanced their capabilities.
The debate was set between two teams; undergraduates of Cairo University and South Valley University; it was attended by a mixed audience of 50 professors, undergraduates and women rights’ activities.
As part of the British Council’s continual efforts to engage youth and build their capacities, the Council, in collaboration with the Anna Lindh Foundation, launched a regional initiative entitled:Young Arab Voices. The Project aims to increase opportunities and skills for youth debate in order to contribute to the building of democratic and pluralistic societies in the Arab region. The core of the project will centre on a programme of local, national, and regional debates and exchanges taking place with young people in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. The programme will be characterised by the quality of skills training for informed debate, the capacity for outreach and mobilisation to rural and urban areas, and the regional exchange dimension among participants, debate facilitators and civil society partners via online media and encounters.
The British Council is extending an open call to both public and private universities to participate in this project by introducing a platform for their students to voice their opinions and the means to gain skills for engaging in debates.
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’’.
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