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    IECD Reading

YOUTH AND CITIZENSHIP: WHAT ROLE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE?

Jeunes accompagnés par le réseau MedNC

For Noa, a young French student at a 2nd Chance school, taking part in environmental awareness-raising activities has enabled him to discover a sector that is now opening up new employment opportunities. Reem is delighted to have been able to put into practice the technical and life skills acquired during his training to restore traditional buildings and enhance Lebanon’s heritage. Sameh, a 17-year-old from Cairo, realises that young men and women should have just as many opportunities to express themselves and take part in shaping Egyptian society.
These are the voices of young people who want to be heard and contribute, in their own way, to social, societal, and economic change in their countries. Voices that carry the messages of young people taking charge of their lives and seeking to improve their living
conditions.
Empowering young people is one of the cornerstones of the IECD’s activities. Throughout their support, they acquire the skills they need to assert themselves as citizens and speak out on social issues.

Encouraging civic and cultural initiatives

In Madagascar,the young people in the SESAME programme benefit from a programme to raise awareness of social issues and take part in activities to experiment with citizenship. As a result, they are able to carry out high impact projects (journalistic, cultural, artistic, etc.) independently and become more aware of their role in society.

In Syria, the young people supported by the Jaramana training centre take part in collective civic initiatives. From distributing food baskets to the most vulnerable sections of the population to restoring public gardens and cultural outings to the national museum in
Damascus, there is no shortage of activities to encourage them to get involved in their communities.

The challenge is to question the meaning, nature, and representations that young people give to their commitments in order to strengthen their power to act. And education is
an essential lever. Our belief is that young people in vulnerable situations do not fit the clichés that cling to them. Let us change the way we look at them and give them the power to act, so that they become responsible players not only of their own lives but also in their lives.