Building Bridges

MS ActionAid Denmark works in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), as in Denmark and other parts of the world, to strengthen youth participation in democratic reforms and to promote understanding and dialogue between young people from the region and from Denmark.

“Bursting with energy, curiosity and spirits that are not easily extinguished, young people have the potential to change negative societal patterns of behavior and break cycles of violence and discrimination that pass from one generation to the next.” UNICEF

The younger generations have no voice in society
No chance of getting heard, no chance of being taken seriously, no chance of changing anything. These are the realities facing approximately 100 million young people under the age of 25 living in the Middle East and North Africa today. They are by far the largest age group in the region, but they have practically no voice in society and are by and large excluded from participating in any political decision-making affecting themselves and their society.

The lack of youth participation in community issues is partly due to the archaic hierarchy of both society and family in the MENA region. In the family sphere young people are ruled by the adults until they get married, while the conservative and political structures in society refrain young people, especially young women, from being active in youth centers, clubs and political parties. Therefore, young people are difficult to mobilize to participate in any social activism, community building or political decision-making processes.       
 
Young people are the key to change
Not being able to influence their future, many young people in the region have a feeling of frustration and isolation. As a consequence, the majority of young people in the MENA region do not engage themselves in any social or political causes. There is, therefore, a great risk that the young generations of the region will fail to become agents of change as assumed by development agencies and the surrounding community.

In short: Nothing will change in the Middle East and North Africa, if the youth is not mobilized. It is, therefore, vital to give them the possibility and the means to engage in civil society and shape their own present and future. 

For more information about youth in the Middle East and North Africa, please read the United Nations' Arab Human development report:
http://www.arab-hdr.org/