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Democratic Developments in the Middle East and North Africa

 
Event Summary
Democratic Developments in the Middle East and North Africa
August 04, 2008

Event Featuring:

Representatives of the Young Global Leaders Forum

Overview

Youth in the Middle East and the United States are emerging as a powerful new force. Approximately 65% of the Middle East’s population is under the age of 30, and American youth participation in politics has increased substantially recently. The upcoming U.S. presidential election provides an opportunity for new approaches in Middle East foreign policy to emerge and be influenced by today’s youth. On July 29, six representatives of the Young Global Leaders Forum, originally a group of 138 young Middle Eastern and American leaders, gave a presentation at the Middle East Institute at an event co-sponsored by the Middle East Institute, the Project on Middle East Democracy, and Americans for Informed Democracy. They put forward the policy recommendations developed at their conferences in Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan.

Event Summary

The American representative to the Rabat conference, Erika Spaet, began the discussion by stressing the value of the voices of Morocco's youth and their involvement in politics. At the heart of the Moroccan conference were two questions: "How [do you] get the youth to participate when there is a disconnect between the youth and their government?" and “How can the U.S. best support democratic and economic reform in Morocco through its youth?” Spaet proceeded to offer an outline of the Rabat conference's recommendations, which addressed the issues raised by these questions. Spaet’s first suggestion stated that the youth should have the opportunity to become more involved with Morocco's political parties. This would entail creating permanent youth posts in all of Morocco's political parties and developing open youth groups to discuss politics and government. Spaet’s second proposal emphasized the importance of teaching students "what it means to be a part of society and what it means to be an activist" at a young age. She advocated civic education at all levels and proposed recruiting NGOs to participate in civic education in Moroccan schools. She ended her remarks with a final word on Morocco's education system stating that, "There must be curriculum changes in Morocco's education."

The Moroccan representative to the Rabat conference, Sara Ait Imoudden started her comments by describing the important role the media plays in engaging the political involvement of Morocco's youth. Ait Imoudden's presentation addressed the question: “How can the U.S. best support independent media sources and freedom of expression?” Ait Imoudden’s recommendations focused on two strategies: a media and participatory approach, and a people-to-people approach. The media and participatory approach holds that the Internet is the most appealing media source for Morocco's youth population. Although there have been an increased number in Moroccan bloggers, there is still hesitation among the youth to blog. As bloggers explained to Ait Imoudden, this hesitation comes from fear "that tomorrow someone will knock on their door” — implying that the government will censor their opinions with the use of force. Consequently, Ait Imoudden called for protection of bloggers, stressing that the right to freedom of expression is "very important." Finally, Ait Imoudden and members of the Rabat conference hoped that the U.S. would fund more Moroccan students’ education in the field of journalism. With regards to the people-to-people approach, an increase in U.S.-Moroccan cultural exchanges through video-conferencing was suggested to help eradicate negative stereotypes about both cultures. In her last remark, Ait Imoudden concluded that the purpose of the Rabat conference was to help youth find their voice, emphasizing that Moroccan civil society must be empowered for Moroccans to express their opinions.

Dina Elshinnawi, the American representative to the Cairo conference, began her remarks by challenging the United States’ policy in the Middle East. Elshinnawi stated, "The U.S. shouldn't appear anti-Islamic. Instead, the U.S. should use its leverage to open up space to allow debate between the countries.” Elshinnawi suggested increasing the number of U.S.- Egypt cultural exchange programs, expanding the U.S. education system to include Arabic classes for youth, and shifting the focus of U.S. aid to Egypt by reducing military aid and increasing economic aid for development and infrastructure programs. Elshinnawi also recommended the Egyptians reform their education system by shifting its style of learning from a model based on memorization to one focused on critical thinking skills. Likewise, Elshinnawi advocated increased free media practices, beginning with permitting the U.S. to train the Egyptian media on freedom practices.

Mohamed Sabbah, the Egyptian representative to the Cairo conference, began his comments by tackling the issue of Egypt's role in the Arab world. Sabbah explained that the people of Egypt believe that the Egyptian role in the Arab world is diminishing. Thus, he stated, "The people and public are not satisfied with the Egyptian role in the Arab world." He referenced presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama's recent trip to the Middle East, pointing to Obama’s failure to visit Egypt as an example of Egypt's diminishing role in Arab affairs. In response to this perception of Egypt's role in the Middle East, Sabbah called for more engagement between Egypt and the U.S. in solving important issues in the Middle East such as the war in Iraq and the occupation of Palestine. Additionally, Sabah asked the U.S. to engage in dialogue with Hamas and Iran.

Tharwat Alazab, the Jordanian representative to the Amman conference, began her remarks by stressing the importance of the issue of Iraqi refugees in Jordan. She noted the diversity of the conference, stating that “There were 22 Americans, 16 Jordanians and two Iraqis present at the Amman conference.” Alazab proceeded to outline her recommendations on two topics: exchange programs and Iraqi refugees. First, Alazab recognized that that an active cultural exchange program exists between Americans and Jordanians. Alazab pointed out, however, that the Iraqis in Jordan should also have the right to participate in these cultural exchange programs. Alazab also recommended promoting video-conferences for cross-age groups to create a smaller world — “one in which Jordanian and American students could become acquainted with the world." With regards to Iraqi refugees, Alazab offered recommendations to Jordan and the U.S. separately. To Jordan, Alazab called for human rights for Iraqi refugees, compassion from Jordanian citizens to Iraqi refugees, and a more lenient visa processing system for Iraqi refugees. To the U.S., Alazab recommended the U.S. abandon less popular foreign policies including unwavering support for Israel and the war in Iraq.

The American representative to the Amman conference, Emily Crawford, began her comments by stating the need for citizen journalism in Jordan. Crawford called for net advocacy through engaging the Jordanian blogging community, increasing the number of video-conferencing opportunities, and strengthening, expanding, and diversifying people-to-people exchange with help from USAID. Crawford also recommended building connections with U.S.-established programs such as Fulbright in order to increase cultural dialogue and understanding. Specific to the U.S., Crawford called for an expansion of Arabic language courses and more accurate Human Rights Reports from the State Department. Crawford commented, "State Department Human Rights Reports weren't very accurate. The reality is much more negative on the ground." In her concluding remarks, Crawford explained that the Jordanian blogging community has expressed discontent with the State Department's Human Rights Report on freedom of speech in Jordan.

About this Event

Remarks were given on July 29, 2008 in the Boardman Room of the Middle East Institute. This event was co-sponsored with the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and Americans for Informed Democracy.

Speaker Details

Erika Spaet will be a senior at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York this upcoming fall when she will graduate in June 2009 with degrees in both journalism and politics. While at school, Erika has used much of her time to be involved in campus media and has reported and anchored for a county-wide live news broadcast and written for campus magazines. However, she has found her true niche in the volunteer work she does both on campus and in the community, directing a local political talk-show and organizing service trips for her fellow classmates. Erika has grown up with a love of travel and has spent several years in Switzerland and continental Europe, a semester in Rabat, Morocco, and several summer weeks doing volunteer work in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. After graduation, Erika hopes to pursue a career in international policy work.

Sara Ait lmoudden is a Masters candidate at Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, majoring in International Studies and Diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa region. Currently, she is working on finishing her thesis entitled “Promoting the Participatory Approach Technique to Social Development in Rural Morocco: The Case of Dayet Ifrah.” Sara’s undergraduate studies culminated in a Bachelor of Arts degree on International Cooperation and Development, with a focus on Womens Studies and Development in the Arab world. During these studies, she took part in a student exchange program at Haverford College, where she was often asked to talk about religion, women's status, and politics in Morocco. She also served as the Moroccan delegate to the “Education without Borders” international student conference in Abu-Dhabi and participated in the 44th International Achievement Summit held in New York.

Mohamed Sabbah is a recent graduate of the College of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Economics. During his studies, Mohamed interned at the al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, a think tank investigating foreign policy and security issues. In 2006, under a program sponsored by The American Council of Young Political Leaders, Mohamed traveled to Washington, visiting different organizations including the International Republican Institute, the Middle East Institute, the Center for the Study of the Presidency, and the Arab-American Institute. Mohamed furthered this experience with an internship at the office of former Congressman Mr. Joel Hefley (R-CO). Mohamed has participated in such simulations as the Cairo International Model Arab League, the Cairo International Model United Nations, the International Model of the European Union, the Model of Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Model American Congress at both the American University in Cairo and Cairo University. Mohamed also participated in POMED/AID’s 2007 Bringing the World Home conferences. Mohamed is currently anticipating a position with the Egyptian Foreign Service.

Dina Elshinnawi is a Master's student at the London School of Economics and Political Science, studying Media and Communications, and expects to complete her program in September 2008. She has a Bachelor of Arts from George Mason University in Government and International Politics. Dina's most recent employment was at “Air Force Magazine” in Arlington, Virginia, where she held the position of editorial associate. Prior to her employment at “Air Force Magazine,” Dina worked at a law firm in Maryland as a legal assistant. Dina has traveled extensively in her life on five continents; some of her favorite spots are Gold Coast, Australia, Dubai, UAE, Marbella, Spain, and Vienna, Austria. She hopes to graduate this year and continue in the field of journalism with an emphasis on cultural topics, ranging from food and travel to religion and history. Dina was born in Washington, DC, and has lived in Northern Virginia all her life. Her parents are of Egyptian descent.

Tharwat Alazab has worked with USAID’s education reform-focused ERfKE Support Project (ESP)-Shorouq since September 2007 as an administrator and financial assistant. Tharwat received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2006 in English Literature. Before joining USAID, Tharwat worked as an Environmental Education Officer for the Jordan Society for Sustainable Development and as an assistant at Aqaba Development Corporation. For the past three years, Tharwat has been a volunteer with the Quest Scope, an organization dedicated to helping at-risk children. Tharwat has visited the United States in a student exchange program in 2005, visiting DC, Texas, Seattle, and New York. As one of the students in an exchange program titled, “Survival in Extreme Conditions,” Tharwat most recently visited Slovenia.

Emily Crawford graduated from the Whitehead School at Seton Hall University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Diplomacy and International Relations and a minor in German language. Having completed a semester abroad titled "Jordan: Modernization and Social Change" through the School for International Training in the Fall of 2006, she returned to Jordan after graduation. Emily is currently employed by the British Council and the Greek Orthodox School system in the semi-rural Madaba area as an English teacher for students of all ages. Past work experiences in Jordan include working in an outsourcing call center, teaching conversational English to Jordanian government employees at the National Training Center, assisting the American NGO Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV) in collecting stories from Iraqi refugee families living in Amman, and she has contributed several feature articles to local English-language magazines on a freelance basis. She is especially interested in civil society and organizational studies and interfaith dialog initiatives and hopes to continue her residency abroad for the 2008-2009 academic year before pursuing graduate studies in International Relations and Sociology.

Attributions

This event summary was written by Wendy Diaz-Huarcaya, a Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center intern at the Middle East Institute and a fourth-year student of Philosophy and Politics at Ithaca College. This summary was edited by Christina Culver, a Research Assistant intern at the Middle East Institute and a fourth-year student of World Politics at Hamilton College.

Disclaimer: Assertions and opinions in this Summary are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not reflect necessarily the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
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