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The Middle East and North Africa

MS ActionAid Denmark works to increase young people's participation in the civil society in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as well as in Denmark. Part of this is promoting cross cultural understanding and respect between youth in the countries.

Strengthening youth participation

“This was the best experience that I’ve ever been through, there were many things that I’ve learned, many things in my life were affected in a way or in another, and I have totally changed my thoughts and opinions about the West in general and especially Denmark”

Ibrahim I. Ayeshn, Jordanian participant in youth exchange with Denmark

From the regional office in Jordan, MS ActionAid Denmark coordinates and facilitates projects aimed at strengthening youth groups and youth organizations. The aim is to create possibilities for young people to work on positive change and to put their own dreams into action. This takes many forms, from international seminars on youth leadership, to theater and dance workshops, debate clubs and the provision of space for the youth to meet and organize. The overall mission is to strengthen the role of the young generation though participation and raising awareness.

Along with the above-mentioned focus on empowerment and mobilization, the office also puts a lot of work into promoting dialogue among the youth from the region and young Danes. By joining and cooperating on projects in Denmark and the Middle East, an intercultural exchange takes place, which is important in order to break down stereotypes and barriers.

News

More news

10 March 2010

Current volunteers in the MENA region

25 February 2010

Hope of change mediated through alternative media

24 January 2010

Sport as a Developement Tool

09 December 2009

When Every Drop of Water Matters

20 November 2009

Stardust and Storytelling in Zarqa

17 November 2009

Lebanese-Danish Leader Training Camp – a rollercoaster of fun and learning

29 September 2009

Young Jordanians discuss citizenship

27 August 2009

Danish youth meet famous imam in Jordan

Our work in the MENA region

MS ActionAid Denmark focuses on three priority areas in building bridges for youth issues in the Middle East, North Africa and Denmark:

- Engaging young people in civil society issues and strengthening their ability to organize advocate and act by themselves.

- Promoting cross-cultural understanding and dialogue by giving youth from both Denmark and the MENA region a chance to meet and interact.

- Supporting partnerships between youth groups in the MENA region and Denmark, thereby learning from each other's knowledge and experience.

In dept with the priority areas

A separate, but very important, cross cutting issue in the program is gender equality. MS ActionAid Denmark has developed a gender strategy that promotes individual empowerment of young women and equal participation of young women and men in all youth mobilization activities of the organization.

Our gender strategy in MENA (pdf)

Learn more about the situation in the Middle East and our focus on youth
Documents

Current volunteers in the MENA region

10 March 2010 Since the start of February six young Danes have been placed in the MENA region in three different organizations which all aims at empowering youth.

Hope of change mediated through alternative media

25 February 2010 The 4th of February 30 young people ended the third round of shows with a great performance in the largest center of culture in Zarqa. The 30 participants have participated in setting up the show, writing the lyrics and the texts.

Sport as a Developement Tool

24 January 2010 In the beginning of the new year 25 Jordanian school teachers from the town of Zarqa chose to use a week of their vacation on learning how to use sport as a tool in developing social skills. The target group is the youth of Zarqa who will through their teachers learn about conflict resolution, team building and self-confidence.

When Every Drop of Water Matters

09 December 2009 North of Amman is the city of Zarqa located. Zarqa is the 2. biggest city in Jordan and was originally a Palestinian refugee camp. This area is dusty, warm and dry most days of the year. Here the lack of water is a daily challenge and not just a blog post.

Stardust and Storytelling in Zarqa

20 November 2009 The movie ‘Fighter’ has travelled all over the Western world and has finally arrived in the Middle East. The movie was part of the European Film Festival in Amman and besides the screening, two side events addressing youth self-expression or the lack thereof took place.

Lebanese-Danish Leader Training Camp – a rollercoaster of fun and learning

17 November 2009 The halls of Mount Smash north of Beirut are now empty once again. But for five days they were occupied by 55 young Danes and Lebanese doing leader-training workshops, campaigns, energizers and having lots of fun together.

Young Jordanians discuss citizenship

29 September 2009 What is citizenship, and is it at all possible in a country like Jordan? These question were raised when the MS ActionAid Denmark office in Amman invited youth to discuss citizenship.

Danish youth meet famous imam in Jordan

27 August 2009 Dialogue is the only way to change things, said one of Jordan's famous imams, when 19 Danes from the MS Next Stop project met him for a two hour discussion about Islam.