NORTH-SOUTH CENTRE OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

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1 Page 1 NORTH-SOUTH CENTRE OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE Report 2 nd Mediterranean University on Youth and Global Citizenship Hammamet, Tunisia 2-9 June 2014

2 Page 2 English edition North-South Centre: Youth Co-operation Programme 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic (CD-Rom, Internet, etc.) or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from North-South Centre pf the Council of Europe (Rua de São Caetano, Lisboa - Portugal Pictures: - North-South Centre of the Council of Europe - media team (namely Rayen El Bedoui)

3 Page 3 CONTENTS 1. The Mediterranean University on Youth and Global Citizenship 2. Joint Theme 2014: Youth Opportunities 3. Joint Programme Opening ceremony Joint Session on Youth Participation and Democratic Consolidation: 4. Partners activities and outcomes Capacity-building activity on Structured Participation in Democratic Processes Focus group meeting on Global Education (Tunisia and Morocco) Democracy Needs Youth Practicing Democratic Youth Participation in Algeria and Tunisia Closing seminar of the Intercultural Dialogue Indicators for Non Formal Education Activities Meeting of stakeholders and partners - Euro-Arab and Euro-Mediterranean Youth Co-operation 5. Epilogue 6. Acronyms List 7. Footnotes 8. ANNEX

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5 Page 5 1. The Mediterranean University on Youth and Global Citizenship The Mediterranean University on Youth and Global Citizenship (MedUni) is organised by the North- South Centre of the Council of Europe (NSC-CoE) in co-operation with the National Youth Observatory of Tunisia (ONJ) and in partnership with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, the EU-CoE youth partnership, the League of Arab States (LAS), the European Youth Forum and other youth organisations. It is the youngest University of the Network of Universities on Youth and Global Citizenship that is facilitated by the Centre and it is inspired by the model of the University on Youth and Development (UYD 1 ) that takes place annually in Mollina, Spain, since MedUni was established to be a space to create synergies and promote the development of competences and empowerment of young people from both Europe and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. z The first edition (1-8 July 2013) was held at the International Cultural Centre in Hammamet, Tunisia, on the theme of Democratic Citizenship 2. Opening Session of the 2 nd MedUni z The second edition (2-9 June 2014) focused on Youth Opportunities, a theme chosen by the Network of Universities, and in particular addressed the participation of young people in democratic processes (policy and decision making). The partners promoted youth work and youth participation in the Mediterranean region in order to foster political mainstreaming of the youthrelated issues and youth policy development in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. z The event tried to reinforce the capacitybuilding of different quadrilogue actors in the field of youth at both regional and national levels to promote Euro-Arab and Mediterranean youth co-operation and Global Youth Work, and to development networks that can serve as transmediterranean communities of practice. z The different activities, as well as the Joint Programme, mainstreamed human rights, intercultural dialogue and democratic citizenship as essential dimensions of global education, identified good practice and shared experience to give a fruit for thought for follow-up activities and sustainable outcomes from MedUni.

6 Page 6 2. Joint Theme 2014: Youth Opportunities The Mediterranean University on Youth and Global Citizenship is the youngest sister of the Network of Universities on Youth and Global Citizenship. z In the framework of the 14 th edition of the University on Youth and Development, the Network held its annual meeting on 26 th September 2013 and agreed on the joint theme for Youth Opportunities was the priority identified and a drafting group took the lead to present a first proposal of a concept note. z There are more than 1.2 billion young people in the world today, the largest number ever in History 3. Among the more severely affected by the global financial crises, Youth is facing overwhelming economic, social and environmental challenges. Issues as the lack of job opportunities, migration, political participation, gender, environmental degradation and climate change can only be effectively addressed by engaging with and investing in young people. The empowerment of young people is therefore in the interest of the broader society. (both in Europe and in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean). z Apart from tackling these issues in the activities organised in the framework of the University, the joint moments were an opportunity to continue the reflection, in an enlarged setting (with various groups of participants involved) and to further discuss the topic with inter and intraregional approaches. The evening programme tackled Youth Opportunities mainly through creative workshops and arts. z The conclusions of the main sessions will be shared with the partners of the Network, in particular those from the University on Youth and Development, and will be included in the drafting exercise of the final declaration in Mollina (UYD). Capacity-building activity on Structured Participation in Democratic Processes NSC z The concept note of the joint theme highlights Opportunities should be created at the economic, financial, social and political level, in particular to quality in education and employment, in order to promote the full autonomy and participation of young people. z Youth autonomy and empowerment are closely linked with youth participation, in what refers to access to opportunities, to fair representation and contribution to decision, implementation and evaluation processes. z Taking into consideration the work and priorities of partners involved in this edition, the profile of participants and the capacitybuilding activities, the focus of the joint theme (and consequently the joint programme activities) was on the link mentioned above and especially on the opportunities and role of youth participation in democratic processes

7 Page 7 3. Joint Programme The MedUni 2014 offered for the first time a Joint Programme. This gave participants the opportunity to interact socialise informally, network, share and reflect upon different perspectives and approaches. z The programme was facilitated by a team of experienced trainers coming from the core partners of the MedUni and from the region. All of them had an educational background and multifaceted creative competences, which guaranteed a pedagogical approach based on global education for a fruitful intercultural learning experience. The role of the Joint Programme team was to build bridges between participants and go further on in the discussion about the joint theme in a relaxed, creative way in the evenings and during some other joint moments throughout the week. Opening ceremony z The opening ceremony was held at the beginning of the week in the presence of core partners, guests and participants. After welcoming words from Andreia Henriques (Programme Manager, NSC-CoE) and a presentation of the MedUni team, representatives from partners shared their expectations and their commitment to the process. The partners were represented by: Mr. Mohamed Jouilli (National Youth Observatory of Tunisia) Mr. Niall Sheerin (Deputy to the Executive Director of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe) Mr. Raouf Jebnoun (Mayor of Hammamet) Mr. William Massolin (National Coordinator for Tunisia of the Council of Europe) Mrs. Julia Betrian (Board member of the Catalan National Youth Council) z The Tunisian hosting organisation as well as the mayor of Hammamet expressed their pleasure of hosting the MedUni for the second time. Bringing together people with different experiences and horizons, involving more young people in interregional co-operation, building bridges and empowering more young people to actively participate in democratic processes was unanimously shared among all partners. Niall Sheerin stressed the importance of sustainable work in the co-operation with the region as a response to the real needs of young people as well as revitalizing democracy through youth. For Mr. Massolin not only seeking but creating, monitoring and advocating for more opportunities for young people is a crucial point. Julia Betrian reconfirmed the importance for creating more opportunities with a quote of her grandmother: They can steal a lot from you but they can t take away your experience. MedUni participants

8 Page 8 Joint Session on Youth Participation and Democratic Consolidation z The response and will of partners, experts and organisations to participate in a direct dialogue with the participants of the University shows the importance of events like the MedUni for the development of youth work in the region. On the afternoon of June 6 th, the joint session took place, focusing on sharing good practices and reflecting about the role of young people and youth organisations in democratic consolidation (in decision, policy making and electoral processes). z Guests both from Europe and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, as well as from authorities and civil society organisations, engaged in an interactive discussion with participants from all the activities. The session was the main space where all the participants of the University and institutional guests had the opportunity to reflect on Youth Participation and Democratic Consolidation. It served as the main platform for exchange and building understanding of different approaches to the topic. z An inspiring key note from Mr. Ayman Ayoub, the regional director for West Asia and North Africa from International IDEA Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance was followed by two panels on Youth and Structured Participation and Youth and Electoral Processes 4. After the panels, in order to create a more interactive moment between guests and participants, the Joint Programme Team facilitated discussions in smaller groups. Each group got a set of two questions to exchange views upon and identify conclusions. z On the first question - how to empower young to actively participate in decision and policy-making processes - almost all of the smaller groups came to the conclusion that education for democracy and participation in civil society (formal and non-formal) is crucial. A second identified demand was the need for more space (physical as well as space in decisions making bodies and visibility within political structures) for young people to organise and participate. Furthermore, they highlighted the need of a change in political culture towards more transparency in order to foster and reconfirm the trust of young people in politics and democratic structures. Joint Session on Youth Participation and Democratic Consolidation Panel: Youth and Electoral Processes

9 Page 9 z The second question dealt with the issue of rights and duties of young people in electoral processes. Besides the right to actively participate in all parts of an election (especially the monitoring and candidacy of young people) the need for information and the corresponding duty to inform oneself was the most important outcome of the working group discussions. z In the final moment of the joint session, all the outcomes were shared back in the plenary as further more are going to be shared as well with the partners of the Network, in particular those from the University on Youth and Development, in order to include them in the drafting exercise of the final declaration in Mollina (UYD). The outcomes can also be of particular relevance for the next World Forum for Democracy (organised by the Council of Europe November, Strasbourg) on the theme of: From participation to influence: can youth revitalise democracy 5?.

10 Page Partners activities and outcomes During the week each partner held their own activities in parallel. The combined space of MedUni and the joint moments offers the possibilities for partners, trainers and participants to network, exchange ideas and best practice and enables a more fruitful learning experience. These years activities were: Capacity-building activity on Structured Participation in Democratic Processes z North-South Centre of the Council of Europe 2-8 June z A one week training programme organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and focused on developing competences of youth workers/activists involved in civil society organisations in Europe and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. z The course was addressed to young people from Europe (CoE member States) and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Jordan), under the age of 30, who are actively involved in a youth, project or initiative organisation (whether local, national, regional or international) that aims at promoting the participation of young people in democratic governance, decision and policy making processes. z The overall objective of the activity was to support empowerment of civil society and more particularly of the youth organisations with the purpose of making them fully fledged actors of governance. z Main outcomes: participants further engaged on SPDP in their contexts; created a bottom-up understanding of SPDP; concrete opportunities of potential Euro- Mediterranean and Arab co-operation between the participants, their organisations and beyond; development of organisational capacities to strategically engage SPDP; Focus group meeting on Global Education (Tunisia and Morocco) z North-South Centre of the Council of Europe 3 June z This activity was a working meeting between the North-South Centre and educators from Morocco and Tunisia. Global Education concept and methodology was discussed as well as the work developed by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe in this field. z This meeting assessed the possibilities of enlarging the Global Education Week Network s activities in both countries. z Main outcomes: A fruitful discussion with potential Moroccan and Tunisian national coordinators for the North-South Centre (NSC) GE network, in the context of NSC extension of its GE activities to both countries; Both EducA (Tunisia) and the Centre marocain pour l éducation civique (Morocco) presented their activities and in particular GE related projects; Participants explored the possibilities of liaising NSC activities in their respective countries both through policy development activities (national or regional GE seminars) or pedagogical support for educators (GE Guidelines, GE e-learning courses; GE TfT, Global Education Week); The Arab version of the Global Education Guidelines was launched and the possibility of adding a glossary about the different concepts and interpretation of GE was discussed with translators.

11 Page 11 Democracy Needs Youth z National Youth Observatory of Tunisia 2-6 June z The National Youth Observatory organised a 4-day activity for young people active in political parties in Tunisia. The activity aimed at training participants in the newly approved electoral code and to develop their competences for an active role in the 2015 electoral process. Participants developed competences related with the promotion of political dialogue and campaigning. There was the opportunity to follow a presentation from the World Bank of the report on inclusion and exclusion of Tunisian youth and to discuss the main findings. The group interacted and networked with participants from other activities and discussed different practices and experiences of democratic consolidation processes in Europe and the Arab world. z Main outcomes: training of young people in the newly adopted electoral code of Tunisia; prepare the young generation to actively participate in upcoming elections; possibility to get to know experiences and best practices of participation of young people in elections from other countries by interacting with participants of MedUni. Practicing Democratic Youth Participation in Algeria and Tunisia z Youth Department of the Council of Europe 6-8 June z This activity was organised by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe in the framework of the South Programme funded by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe - to strengthen democratic reforms in the Southern Neighbourhood. z The seminar aimed at exchanging knowledge and practices on democratic youth participation on the basis of the projects of the participants in the training programme and other actors in Tunisia and Morocco. The meeting explored the practices of youth participation for a mutual learning experience to support sustainable opportunities for youth participation in Tunisia and Algeria. z A further focus was a multiplying effect at national and local levels and through the strengthening of informal networks to support youth participation through the following objectives: to exchange information and knowledge about youth participation in Tunisia and Algeria, based on the experiences of projects set up by participants; to develop a better understanding of programmes and initiatives for democratic youth participation set up by governmental institutions in Algeria and Tunisia, as well as by the Council of Europe and other partners, in view of valuing them and taking them into account in the evaluation and follow-up of the South Programme; to strengthen the competence of the participants on participatory projects management and evaluation; and to support national and regional initiatives and projects for democratic youth participation at national and regional level. z The seminar allowed participants to share updates on the progress and state of preparations of their projects, to draw a state of play of democratic participation of youth on national levels, to identify problems faced and suggest solutions, and to come out more motivated and more alert, with clear action plans for the upcoming months, until the final evaluation seminar scheduled in November z Main outcomes : According to participants, the seminar allowed them to : Set up a lobbying of associations active in the field of democratic participation; Meet several times, helping to get to know eachother better and to cooperate; Strengthen exchanging and networking

12 Page 12 with participants; Network and develop opportunities to share youth opportunities; Commit and gain responsibility; Benefit from networking and potential financing possibilities; Reinforce abilities, competences and knowledge in terms of youth democratic participation Closing seminar of the Intercultural Dialogue Indicators for Non Formal Education Activities z EU-CoE youth partnership 5-6 June z This was the final meeting of the EU-CoE youth partnership s Experts group at the end of the 5-year project Intercultural Dialogue indicators/ Guidelines for intercultural dialogue in non-formal learning/education activities. Closing seminar of the Intercultural Dialogue Indicators for Non Formal Education Activities z Based on the testing phase, the guidelines and the list of criteria and indicators were revised in December 2013 and were now finalised into a manual on how to approach and use these guidelines. Consequently, in the context of MedUni, further work on linking the guidelines to the other existing intercultural learning and intercultural competences initiatives was carried out so that the manual (which will be produced in paper and online formats) will provide concrete examples of how the criteria and indicators can be applied in practice. z Main outcomes : Final adjustments and last assessments of the draft of the Guidelines to ease the reading and the use of the manual; Development of a concept (format and content) of the online tool/manual which will aim at supporting the use of the Guidelines for ICD activities or for activities with a clear ICD dimension. Meeting of stakeholders and partners - Euro-Arab and Euro-Mediterranean Youth Co-operation z EU-CoE youth partnership - 7 June z In co-operation with other partners involved in Euro-Mediterranean youth co-operation, the EU- CoE Youth Partnership convened a one-day partners meeting. z The objectives related to earlier co-operation activities (mainly Malta and Tunis meetings 6 ) and the resulting recommendations concerning priorities for empowering young people in the Southern Mediterranean, such as the development of a Regional Youth Research Network, a (Euro-) Arab Youth Platform, a (Euro-)Arab Youth Centre for Capacity Building, Training and Development and a Mediterranean University on Youth and Development. The meeting aimed at sharing

13 Page 13 information on strategies and related activities as well as exploring ways for potential co-operation with regard to the above-mentioned priorities. z Representatives of the following stakeholders and partners attended the meeting: the North- South Centre of the Council of Europe, the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, the European Youth Forum, the United Nations Population Fund, the League of Arab States, the Italian National Youth Forum, the World Bank, and the British Council. z Main outcomes: Following the sharing of strategies and planned activities, issues in potential cooperation have been identified: - Supporting the development of National Youth Councils in the region; - EU-CoE proposed to organise a joint (thematic) event during the 3rd Mediterranean University on Youth and Global Citizenship (potential focus: Social Inclusion); - Closer collaboration with regard to the foundation of a regional researcher s network. Further initiatives and related measures will be discussed during a follow-up meeting in the framework of the Conference on the role of youth work in supporting young people from vulnerable groups which will be organized by the EU-CoE Youth Partnership in late November 2014.

14 Page Epilogue Getting the chance of being the rapporteur of such a great event, offers you the unique chance to sneak in and listen. The spying on all the different activities offers you the possibility to get to know new concepts, good practice and sometimes overwhelming life stories. z During the week it was mainly the following question which seemed to be the most interesting and important one for the people working in the region: Why are young people getting active and participate in society and democratic processes. How can we empower them to join. z A first step of analysing how you can motivate more people is to take a look back what made you join in the first place, which opportunities were offered to you or did you seize? z A lot of interesting answers, personal stories and motivations were shared with me. Thank you for that. Almost all of the people I have interviewed started their participation to fight inequality. They were either studying law with the background of changing the system from within and granting more rights to more people or they were struggling and getting discriminated against on a daily life basis. The range of motivation was mostly according to the society environment they were living in: Being a woman without possibilities and rights in your own culture, being persecuted and exiled from your home because of a different opinion, being bullied for your sexual orientation or simply not having the chance to speak up for yourself. A lot of different stories but either of them very strong, moving. zi don t want to go much into details than more share some general remarks and thoughts that grew inside me throughout the experience of this week: People and especially young people take their life seriously. They want to have a say in their own future perspectives and development of their plan to live their lives. Most of the people I have interviewed were denied these opportunities and consequently they started their own personal struggle and fight. But all of them shared a unanimous opinion: Young people should be taken seriously by society and politics, and people in power should actively offer more opportunities and empower young people to participate rather than having still the need of a few fighting for a small tiny place in the democratic life of a society. z Thank you again for sharing all your stories, fights and for the most, your passion with me. Group Photo of the 2nd MedUni (opening session)

15 Page Acronyms List CoE Council of Europe EU European Union GE Global Education ICD Intercultural Dialogue IDEA Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance LAS League of Arab States MedUni Mediterranean University on Youth and Global Citizenship NFE Non Formal Education NGOs Non-Governmental organisation NSC-CoE North-South Centre of the Council of Europe NYC National Youth Council ONJ National Youth Observatory of Tunisia SPDP Structured participation in democratic processes UYD University on Youth and Development

16 Page Footnotes 1. For more information about UYD: uyd.me/ 2. For more information about 1st edition: ESCWA, Population and Development Report; The Millennium Development Goals in the Arab Region 2007: A Youth Lens, available at: un.org/information/publications/edit/upload/ead e.pdf 4. Detailed programme enclosed at the end of the report. 5. For more information on the World Forum for Democracy: 6. For more information on previous co-operation activities: - content/up - loads/2010/08/draft_executive_summary_report_ Tunis_conf.pdf h t t p : / / p j p - e u. c o e. i n t / d o c u - ments/ / /executive_summary_final.pdf/d856baf5-a360-4ad1-b0bc-fd c

17 Page Annex Programme of the Joint Session on Youth Participation and Democratic Consolidation Programme June 6th 14h30 Youth Participation in Democratic Processes introduction by Andreia Henriques, Youth Cooperation Programme Manager of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. 14h40 Key Note Speech The session will start with a key note speech by Mr. Ayman Ayoub (Regional Director for West Asia and North Africa) from International IDEA Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Ideally, this input should focus on Youth and Structured Participation (in decision and policy making processes), maybe with a general reflection on their role in democratic consolidation and a comparative analysis of the practices in Europe and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. 14h55 - Panel I: Youth and Structured Participation Introduction and moderation by Jean-Marie Heydt Chair of the Executive Committee of the North- South Centre of the Council of Europe. 15h00 Sharing Good Practices on Structured Participation The session would then turn to focus on sharing good practices from different actors of governance in decision and policy making: - Mr. Michael O Brien Vice President and Leader of the Irish Delegation - Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe to share some reflections about the participation of young people at local/regional levels and good practices - Mrs. Leila Chraibi Association Tunisienne Pour L Intégrité et la Démocratie des Elections (ATIDE) - an input from a CSO organisation from Tunisia involved in the process of drafting the Constitution - Mr. Rui Gomes Education and Training, Youth Department of the Council of Europe sharing good practices in education for democratic citizenship - Mrs. Aziza Bekkali and Mr. Hassan El Arafi Commission for dialogue with Civil Society Ministry of Relations between Parliament and Civil Society of the Kingdom of Morocco - Mrs. Chouaa Dassouki League of Arab States a reflection from an international organisation 16h00 Open Debate Participants will have the opportunity to make some comments and address questions to speakers. The moderator will sum-up and close first part of the afternoon. 16h30 Coffee-break 17h00 Panel II: Youth and the Electoral Processes Introduction and moderation by Madiha Taouss, member of the pedagogical team of the capacitybuilding activity on Structured Participation in Democratic Processes 17h05 Sharing good practices and reflecting on the role of Youth in Electoral Processes Building on the previous elements, the session would culminate in a focus on youth involvement in electoral processes bridging recent experiences in the Southern Mediterranean with European elections with a view to identifying issues to be raised at both the Lisbon Forum and the World Forum for Democracy. -Ms. Shana Kaiser Programme Manager West Asia and North Africa programme - International IDEA Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance - with input focused on the role of young people/ youth organisations in electoral processes -Mr. Kris Snick - European Youth Forum to present League of Young Voters initiative (it is organised in partnership with IDEA) eu/eu -Mr. Amin Barkallah - Citizenship Bus (a project to promote awareness and mobilise for voting in Tunisia)

18 Page 18 17h45 Open debate 18h00 Youth Participation Café A moment that will allow more interaction with guests and discussion in small groups. The groups will be facilitated by the educators of the MedUni and questions for reflection will be identified in advance. 18h45 Final Plenary Session The outcomes will be briefly shared in plenary by representatives of the different groups. 19h00 Closing remarks by moderator

19 Page 19 TECHNICAL INFORMATION Authors Carmen Fischer General Rapporteur 2 nd Mediterranean University on Youth and Global Citizenship Revision Andreia Henriques Paging Emília Soares Edition January 2015 European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity - North-South Centre of the Council of Europe Rua de São Caetano, Lisboa Portugal Tel: Fax: nscinfo@coe.int

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21 Page 21 This publication presents the work carried out in 2014 by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the North-South Centre The Council of Europe is the continent s leading human rights organisation. It includes 47 member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union. All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states.