We live in interesting times, shaped by evolutions and revolutions. What we can see and understand, from the perspective of an outsider, is that there is an extraordinary current of energy flowing through North Africa and the Middle East, and that it is beginning to flow, too, across the world. In the eyes of the world, Arabs – and particularly young Arabs – have suddenly become heroic, an almost unprecedented phenomenon. The Arab World is suddenly an exporter of ideas and of ethics. This means that our work in cultural relations is no longer (inasmuch as it ever was) one-way. The Arab world has something important to offer us, and we need to work out how to become useful conduits of the energy and the idealism that is being thrown up. There is the opportunity for us and our partners to take mutuality beyond rhetoric and into reality; to encapsulate fascination, curiosity and respect in programmes and projects that exchange cultural and ethical goods rather than just exporting them.
In this context we need to spot the best of these new models, and even some heroes, and offer them a unique opportunity for significant positive contribution to society through effective policy research; those who are avid for learning, curious, open-minded, and willing to share their own experiences as well as actively seeking new perspectives. Our ambition is to address major national and regional issues from a youth perspective using cutting edge approaches acknowledging the newfound possibilities of Social Media to relate what is happening on the ground through the power of effective policy analysis.
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