YOUTH > EGYPT

I have learned to be a fully-edged citizen

n Iman Gamal in a Cairos street

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Youth attending the Youth Development Centre (YDC), barely aged 30 or a bit less, aspire to become citizens at home. They take refuge in the development field and the informal education methods which have been acquired through the European programme EUROMED Youth among others.
Text by: Dalia Chams Photos by: Amel Pain

CAIRO Here, people meet in every sense of the word. Dreams take flight in the modest premises of the YDC (the acronym originally referred to the Youth Development Centre), located in the Cairo suburb of Madinet Nasr. People feel at ease, working or studying all day, and come in the evening to chill out and forget about the paper-thin walls youth are forced to live behind. The blowing wind flutters all over the place. Ahmad Gamal, one of the six founders who established the centre about eight years ago, gladly helps anyone he can to think dierently about their future and rediscover their true self. In the early morning, he is the proud software developer, hopping from one multinational company to another, always choosing whichever pays him most. In the evening, at irregular intervals, he oers advice to those attending the centre, such as 28 year-old Mustapha Makhlouf, to whom he This publication does not represent the suggests to explore his artistic talents and give up his job as a receptionist in an oil company. It is ocial view of the EC his hobby to show others how to assess their own skills and competencies.
or the EU institutions. The EC accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to its content.

A world unfolding before your eyes

Both young men have known each other for a while now, at the time when Mustapha wanted to participate, through the YDC, in the exchange programme proposed by the European programme Euromed Youth back in 2004: "`The first thing that drew me to this centre was the idea to be able to meet people I had never met before, and travel

ENPI Info Centre Feature no. 55

This is a series of features on projects funded by the EUs Regional Programme, prepared by journalists and photographers on the ground or the ENPI Info Centre. ENPI Info Centre/EU 2011

I learned to be a fully-fledged citizen ENPI Info Centre - Feature no. 55

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n Moustapha Makhlouf strolling in

a street in Cairo

Euromed Youth programmes are a good way to start. We implement a project during seven to ten days with the help of our Mediterranean partners .

It is especially the class B, rather than the A Premium one, which participates in these types of activities. Information circulates by word of mouth, and we recruit among our network.

since I had already begun exchanging letters with foreigners when I was still a teenager". Thereafter, it is a whole new world which has opened up to Mustapha. In Estonia, he learned to communicate with others, even if they did not speak the same language; "mimicking and making signs were rather fun", says Mustapha, referring to the informal education programme he attended in Estonia which showcases the harmony between the North and the South". Through Peace bag, another programme in Barcelona, he played the role of the peacekeeper to make peace with those around him. His travels took him many times to Turkey, a country which appealed to him with its mosques, muezzin chanting, and totally western feel. It is exactly this inextricable mix which attracted him the most, but also made him feel quite jealous. Indeed, the country ranks fourteenth on the list of countries attracting the highest number of tourists. Egypt is not there yet; and he feels sorry about that. An idea comes to his mind at this point: to create a guide that would help promote tourism in Egypt through other means, by far more artistic and original. In the meantime, he keeps the details for himself, and continues volunteering for the centre, which is not only limited to Euromed exchange activities. According to Ahmad and his friends, these activities are a stepping stone to further their involvement in civil society and human development initiatives. During our fourth year at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Al-Azhar University, six of us benefited from a European fund of 35,000 Euros to manage a culture-based storytelling programme within the framework of our student activities, underlines Gamal. This was back in 2002. The following year, six veterans or old hands, as he refers to them, decided to create their own NGO, Development without Borders, and the YDC is currently one of its members. We had gained confidence once we succeeded in managing a 35 million Euro fund! Euromed Youth programmes are a good way to start. We implement a project during seven to ten days with the help of our Mediterranean partners. Six years ago, I launched an e-group: Euromed

Six years ago, I launched an e-group: Euromed for youth. Today, the group has over 2300 associations which have become members without making the slightest eort.

n Moustapha Makhlouf (left)

and Ahmad Gamal

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for youth. Today, the group has over 2300 associations which have become members without making the slightest eort, says Gamal, who is very involved in this initiative, as well as his sister Iman who, in addition to pursuing a Masters in Radiology, is also giving free courses on political awareness raising by using the same informal learning methods, which have already been acquired through previous exchange programmes.

n Master student Iman Gamal,

A world similar to the bloggers world

Here, people feel as if they are living in a development bubble; youth have withdrawn into their shells to open up to the rest of the world and coach each other, without thinking of leaving. A world similar to the bloggers world where youth have existed on their own behind closed doors since 2005, where their elders would not even dare set foot. It was a convenient getaway for a young population which has been disregarded by the former regime, despite its huge electoral weight (about 35,5% of inhabitants, with an unemployment rate of 14,5% for those aged between 15 and 29). It is especially the class B, rather than the A Premium one, which participates in these types of activities. Information circulates by word of mouth, and we recruit among our network, says twenty-eight year old Mohamad Attia. A marketing executive working for various important companies, he has not had the time to participate in any of the exchange programmes for the past two years, but he continues to oer free training to those wishing to enter the job market, without having the necessary skills. Unlike their references, each one of them expresses the same idea in his own way: people are no longer confined to a secluded world, or as Iman Gamal rightly puts it, standing next to her brother who is saying his prayer, I have learned to be a fully-fledged citizen. Indeed, they all showed up in Tahrir square.
who joined the Euromed Youth programme

EuroMed Youth IV
http://www.euromedyouth.net/
Supports and strengthens the participation and contribution of youth organisations and youth from the Euro-Mediterranean region to the development of society and democracy, and promotes dialogue and understanding
Participating countries Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Tunisia Timeframe 2010 2013 Budget 5 Million Aims The programme aims at stimulating and encouraging a mutual comprehension among youth in the EuroMediterranean region, fighting stereotypes and prejudices and enhancing the sense of solidarity among youth by promoting active citizenship. It also seeks to contribute to the development of youth policies in the Mediterranean Partner Countries. It follows on from the Euromed Youth III programme carried out from 2005-2009. Find out more ENPI Info Centre project fiche > http://www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=307&id_type=10&lang_id=450 Thematic portal: Youth > http://www.enpi-info.eu/thememed.php?subject=13&lang_id=450

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