On November 3rd the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa hosted a webinar entitled, “Youth Participation in the MENA region”. Four prominent activists, civil society representatives and commentators discussed pathways for conducive environments to unleash young people’s full potential, agency and participation in the MENA region: Asma Khalifa (Libyan activist and researcher, co-founder of the Tamazight Women Movement), Rania Sabaayon (Executive Director at Masar association and Secretary of the Youth Forum for Youth Policy in Lebanon), Sarah Anne Rennick (Deputy Director at the Arab Reform Initiative) and Seif El Khawanky (Program Officer at the Center for International Private Enterprise in Egypt). The session was moderated by Noura Berrouba, program officer at the Dialogue Institute.
Panellists discussed key challenges facing youth in the region, as well as the opportunities and reforms needed for meaningful youth participation. Here is a summary of the discussions:
Key challenges and the need for reforms
The shrinking civic space, both online and in physical spaces, was mentioned as a key challenge. In countries with conflicts, violence, and extreme security threats, the situation creates compound risks. Furthermore, corruption, clientelism, financial thresholds to participation and “gatekeeping” by the older generation were mentioned as challenges for young people’s participation in politics. For the economic sphere, the panellists highlighted that young people face high unemployment, and they emphasised links between economic empowerment and participation.
The panellists addressed key reforms needed for meaningful participation of youth, stressing young people’s role in the citizenry. The upholding of freedom of thought, expression and assembly remain key aspects for young people’s societal engagement. They also highlighted the importance of fair electoral laws, that invite young people into formal decision making. It was noted that as one of the world’s youngest regions, the MENA region needs a lowering of the voting age and age to candidate, as key reform elements. In terms of economic and political reforms, panellists called for constitutional reforms, conflict-sensitive approaches, and the economic empowerment of youth. They also mentioned the importance of making institutions more inclusive. One panellist noted stronger engagement by youth at the municipal level, where participation has a more direct impact, and said this could be valuable to build on.
Panellists advised that donors should partner with youth civil society and in parallel work on dialogue with policy and decision makers in the region, encouraging them to apply a youth-lens in their work. They stressed the need of a change in narrative, from seeing youth as a target group, to seeing youth for what they are - actors with agency, who can play an important part in developing and implementing solutions. Youth-led programming, consultations, and engaging youth as partners from early stage of programme development were identified as best practices.
Civic space
Civic engagement was noted as a powerful vector for impact and radical change. One panellist described how she worked with un-registered youth initiatives at the local level to empower local youth, build capacity for advocacy, and partner with the municipal council. The goal was to build a structured dialogue with older generations, foster political action, and give space to practice citizenship rights. Another panellist stressed the need for coordination between youth civil society. The Youth Forum for Youth Policy in Lebanon had through a bottom-up process been able to consult young people across Lebanon, drafted a document that represented the voices of young people from the whole country and, after many years of advocacy, been able to get the youth policy endorsed by the government.
Yet another panellist pointed to the resurgence of protest movements in recent years. “There will always be protest movements as long as the status quo and grievances remain,” she stressed. It’s considered a format to challenge old ways and a legitimate form of expressing frustrations and dissatisfaction. She noted a generational divide in who engaged in these protest movements and pointed to a need for more intergenerational conversations to increase dialogue, learn from previous iterations of dissent, and avoid mistakes. The protesters’ right to protest needed to be upheld, yet their impact would be more efficient by transforming slogans into political action points and proposals. Solidarity between generations, across youth in the region and more pressure on governments could increase the effectiveness of mobilization. It was also important to ensure protest movements sustainability and transformation into organisations.
The panellists also mentioned multiple challenges facing NGOs, as organisations need to deal with increasingly restrictive laws, while they also have to meet tough reporting requirements of donors. This consumes a lot of energy and may lead to their original agendas and purposes being diverted due to heavy administrative burdens. Formal, informal and grassroots organisations often have unique ways of shaping their work, and their unique identity and formats should be upheld.
Young people’s relationship to politics
One panellist noted that today’s young generation is a “new” political generation, coloured by the 2011 and 2012 cataclysmic points of inflection, with mass movement arising in the MENA region. For many in today’s young generation, politics is not perceived as a recipe for the radical change (e.g. social justice and equal citizenship) they see necessary. The political system is seen as maintaining the status quo, and many therefore seek change outside of it. While many civil society organisations and networks are seen as apolitical, they are in reality inherently political, and challenging the order and distribution of welfare in society.
The failure of politics to deliver meaningful reforms has led to a lack of engagement in traditional politics. Young people in many countries in the region don’t want to identify with traditional parties, whom they see as resistant to change. Reforming electoral laws was identified as a key aspect to ensure young people’s participation in formal decision-making. After decades of high barriers to entry to decision-making, many young people feel apathy towards the political system and governance. Societal perceptions and narratives about youth have formed also in the minds of young people, many of whom are, perhaps paradoxically, now opposed to more inclusive electoral laws. It is therefore important to couple these advocacy efforts with awareness-raising and empowerment initiatives for youth, through which they can re-gain their confidence and recognize their own agency and role in society. Discussions across religious and sectarian lines could help build young people’s collective agency.
Quotas were discussed by several panellists, who noted that they sometimes risk reinforcing existing problems. A political career is by many seen as unattractive, since young people’s agendas are overlooked as they face dependence and need to demonstrate loyalty to established interests in order to succeed. New avenues for participation were seen as more attractive options. One panellist noted that “we expect young people to sacrifice their youth for the bigger cause”, often losing many years of career development and seeing limited progress in their efforts. Many instead step back or seek other avenues, including joining the private sector or setting up their own initiatives. Another serious problem mentioned was the risks of intimidation and reprisals that scare many young people away from voicing their opinions or engaging.
Economic empowerment
Several panellists highlighted the links between economic empowerment and participation. Various steps to enhance economic empowerment were listed, including ensuring a right to invest and access decent jobs, ensuring that support to start-ups reach people who need them most, supporting entrepreneurship programmes, and guaranteeing adequate housing, aid and grants. Economic empowerment in a region with the highest youth unemployment in the world would create a more conducive environment for youth and foster a more inclusive society. Legal reforms for access to markets and finance are also needed, as regressive bureaucratic laws have made the labour market and entrepreneurship ecosystem inaccessible.
Conclusion
At the end of the session panellists were asked to provide some advice on how best to contribute to meaningful youth participation in the MENA-region. The following suggestions were made:
