Who are the countries involved?

Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Libya, Palestinian Territories and the United Kingdom.

Who are our partners?

For this project, we are partnering with two youth organisations: Regionally with Young Arab Leaders (YAL) and locally with Nahar Ashabab

What is our aim?

We aim to support a new mindset and participatory ethic among a critical mass of mainstream youth to become motivated agents of change with a stake in the region’s future and focus their energies toward positive solutions to their problems and those of their communities.

What are our objectives?

1. To promote awareness and targeted action (social activism) amongst youth for addressing issues that are important for the future of the region.
2. To extend the energy, knowledge and leadership experience of the Young Arab Leaders network to a key group of potential change agents from the successor generation.
3. To give mainstream youth a voice in shaping the regional agendas.
4. To form networks of activist youth across regions (especially UK & Europe) to learn from each others experiences, extend the range of their work and create opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for 7 social activists to be part of Stage 1 of the project to participate in a workshop in Dubai where 100 mainstream young people from across the Middle East and Near East/North Africa region will discuss, analyse and give their feedback on the 3 scenarios of the Sharm El Sheikh World Economic Forum and discuss the implications on their own plans and objectives if these scenarios become real.

What are the eligibility criteria?

If you are inetrested, you MUST:

1. Be a member of Nahar Ashabab network.
2. Be between 18 and 25 years old
3. Be able to communicate effectively in Arabic and English.
4. Have wide exposure to youth issues in Lebanon, regionally and globally.
5. Have an outward look and show understanding and appreciation of global issues i.e. climate change, education, poverty, etc.
6. Be articulate, assertive- and activists!
7. Be able to communicate effectively in Arabic and English.
8. Be already not just committed to change but active- taking responsibility personally and not waiting for others to do something for them. The subject matter can be diverse: in climate change, starting your own business, starting and leading a political or lobbying group, in anti-discrimination, running your own media (online or traditional), an arts group for a minority section of the population.   We would prefer candidates who are the leaders and initiators of their own rather than active members of more established groupings. You probably have already attracted attention in the media. You may have won “young activist, young entrepreneur type awards”. You may be controversial.
9. Be able to commit time to this project and some follow up activities in the near future, including commitment to cascading to your fellow youth in the organisation and in-country.

How can you apply?

You need to submit this application form and return it to general.enquiries@lb.britishcouncil.org by Friday 7 March, 2008

You can download more information about the project.