I have bubbling feelings of excitement and optimism as I reflect on my experiences and exchanges with participants who took part in the 5th Arab Youth Forum in Egypt and are part of our Youth for Change Program! In partnership with the Library of Alexandria, TakingITGlobal is working to develop a dynamic and growing regional network of young leaders who are driving local community initiatives across 15 Arab countries. The first phase of the program was launched in 2008 and this year, we have moved into phase two with a strategy that builds upon our earlier successes and lessons learned.



As context for the program, the population of youth in the Arab world is increasing significantly. The region faces both incredible opportunity contrasted with great risks, and the capacity for a bright future to emerge is dependent on the resiliency and sense of hope that is driven by up-and-coming leadership. The risk to societies with high populations of marginalized and disengaged youth includes growing unemployment rates, the rise of violence and crime, increased spread of disease and an overall unhealthy development of communities.



While in a stage of transition from dependence to independence, young people are forming their sense of identity and outlook that is shaped by a range of influences including family, media, educators, advertising, politicians and their peers. Youth for Change is designed to provide Arab youth with an opportunity to dream and to bring their ideas to life by responding to local challenges through developing community initiatives, with support from a network of peers and mentors who share a common sense of hope and commitment. Beyond the local and regional impact, the program also aims to showcase the talent and voices of Arab youth globally. Our assumption is that young people have an incredible capability for contribution, and that they face barriers and frustrations when those with decision-making power and authority do not invite their participation in shaping the future. This program is an invitation for youth to demonstrate their ability to create change.



As facilitators of our growing network, we have identified focal points in 14 Arab Countries who are responsible for promoting the project in their communities in collaboration with local partners. Over the past few months, we have reached out to youth networks including our own membership of over 6,000 in the region, to invite project applications for Youth for Change mini-grants of $500 - $1000 USD. After receiving over 160 applications from across the region, we selected the top 28 to attend the 5th Arab Youth Forum as scholarship recipients. During the conference, we held a private program for both Focal Points and Scholarship Winners together.



As part of a plenary session, our Youth for Change Program Manager Tala Nabulsi and I presented our vision and scope of activities to the group of 600 Arab Youth Forum participants. In my remarks, I invited everyone to look at their hands and to reflect on all that we are capable of. I explained that my motivation for this program is rooted in earlier experiences as a teenager in becoming aware of my potential. Imagine a world where children and youth everywhere were in touch with their creative potential and aware of the power of their own voice and contribution.



A private program was organized for Youth for Change scholarship winners which included time for each of them to present their projects within a five minute time allocation. I listened intently with support from Youmna Khattam who assisted me as my translator/interpreter since most presentations were in Arabic and after each presentation; I was the first to ask a question followed by two other questions. My aim was to spark further reflection both for the presenter and the participants through the nature of the question that I asked. In some cases, I was offering suggestions on approaches to take or partners to link to, in other cases it was personal questions about motivations or structural questions about how the project responds to the identified need. What was most encouraging about the process was how engaged all of the participants were in each of the 30 presentations, providing a supportive atmosphere. The focal points were each provided with a scoring card to judge the projects based on three criteria; innovative approach, potential for impact and leadership style.



We were delighted to have Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, join our group to listen to a few of the presentations and offer his own reflections and remarks to the participants. The room was lit up after he shared his reflections on why he believes in youth. In a follow-up meeting, Dr. Serageldin expressed how impressed he was with the level of commitment among our participants and that he wanted all scholarship winners who took part in our program at the Arab Youth Forum to receive a mini-grant of an amount determined through the judging process. We shared this news the next day, just before the closing ceremonies where winners were called up to the stage!



On the final day of the Arab Youth Forum, we hosted a three hour interactive session with participants. To kick it off, I asked each person to draw the outline of their hand and on each of the fingers, to write down what they learned. It was wonderful to hear about how our program has had an impact thus far. Participants talked about how inspired they were to hear about the efforts of other Arab youth, how much they appreciated the insight from the questions asked about their projects and how much they learned through the challenge of delivering a 5minute presentation.



In my personal experience, what I found to be most transformative and uplifting was when I had time to sit in a circle with all of the project winners and share responses to questions about my outlook as a young social entrepreneur. During this time, focal points were having a separate private meeting, so our group setting was relaxed and more intimate. I was asked questions about my motivations, my greatest challenges, how I manage my time, how feel about where I am today compared to when TIG first started and what differences and similarities I see between Arab youth and youth from other regions. I shared my responses in English and summaries were translated into Arabic. Looking into the eyes of youth around the circle was energizing for me as I knew they were drawing strength from one another, and also from me. This is the type of exchange that creates lasting bonds!



During the closing ceremonies, Tala and I went up on stage in order to congratulate our mini-grant winners and call them up to be congratulated by Dr. Ismail Serageldin! The room was buzzing with excitement and I felt proud to be among a dynamic group of young leaders who are about to launch community projects that tackle a range of challenges from health and environment to employment and human rights. Congratulations once again to all of our mini-grant winners! It was exciting to not only recognize our winners on stage, but also to see many media outlets immediately request interviews with our winners for television and newspapers. We will be working with our winners to send out press releases within each country in order to raise further awareness about the winners and Youth for Change – as a program and as a concept.



What came as a complete surprise to me, was when I was called up to the stage to receive an award after we had awarded all of the Youth for Change winners. It was prepared by Essam Asaad, our Focal Point in Iraq and it is my honour to receive this recognition of appreciation.



Special thanks goes out to all of our Youth for Change Focal Points! In the upcoming weeks, mini-grant winners will each take part in our Sprout Project Management e-course and be paired up with mentors who will help provide advice and feedback as they implement their projects. In order to have an extended impact, Focal Points will work together with mini-grant winners to organize events that will be knowledge sharing sessions for youth to become aware of Youth for Change and be exposed to local leaders!



In addition to my responsibilities in supporting the Youth for Change program, I also took on a few other roles at the 5th Arab Youth Forum including the promotion of the Democracy Video Challenge at one of the sessions. TakingITGlobal is a partner of a global challenge launched by the U.S. State Department inviting people around the world to respond to the statement ‘Democracy Is…’ through video entries and a recent twitter contest. As part of the Arab Youth Forum session on innovative technology projects, TakingITGlobal Advisor Rahaf Harfoush represented the project and showcased one of the winning videos prepared by Rodin Hamidi from the United Arab Emirates. Rahaf and I also spoke together on a plenary session at the Arab Reform Forum that immediately followed the Arab Youth Forum.



Last but not least, I also took part in several important planning meetings related to the upcoming 5th Global YES Summit in Leksand, Sweden on 2-5 June 2010. This event brings together 2000 entrepreneurs, opinion leaders, local and global leaders in politics, civil society and business on the theme of Rework the World!



As a Campaign Committee member of YES (Youth Entrepreneurship and Sustainability), I spent some time with YES Country Network Coordinators as well as conference organizers in Sweden and the wonderful YES President, Poonam Ahluwalia who continues to mobilize networks around the world with her tireless and fearless efforts!



Overall, I am continually amazed by all that I learn through my efforts in movement building and in collaborating across geographies and cultures to create change and cultivate leadership. During this particular experience with the Arab Youth Forum, I am reminded of how important it is to identify your priorities and strategies in advance and to make the right requests in order to achieve your goals. When we arrived in Alexandria there were several important agenda items that we hadn’t resolved yet once we were clear on what we needed and the value of our request, we were able to receive the support we needed. Another insight is the power of a question. My experience in asking the mini-grant winners questions about their projects in a way that would generate insight was quite profound and is a skill that I am working on developing; essentially, how do you ask a question in a way that generates new thinking. Finally, what was most uplifting about my entire experience, was my collaboration with Tala and how well we worked together to create opportunities, solve problems and connect with participants. Working together with someone who is deeply committed is deeply moving and provides the essence of what generates momentum. Thank you for your leadership Tala!



On a more personal note, I am continually faced with the challenge of finding my own balance when it comes to how much energy I exert to achieve my vision and goals. I am learning to build time for myself to recover after intensive 20 hour back-to-back days of working very hard at organizing, planning, motivating, guiding, advising and expressing. I am trying to find the balance I need to create quiet space for reflection and also for my body to recover from reaching points of exhaustion. As much as I can gain energy and momentum from the inspiring people I encounter, there is still no replacement for taking time to breathe deeply, rest, eat a healthy meal, exercise, listen to the sound of the waves and observe the flickering flame of a candle.