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Global Changemakers for the Middle EastAwareness Raising NetworkDraft Framework
This document provides a guiding framework for the elaboration of the Mass AwarenessNetwork, one of the components of the Global Change Makers Project in the Middle East. Thedocument is in draft status, and serves to inform potential partners and to guide the planningprocesses. Once the country-level partners and teams are in place and have had time toreview the document and adapt it to the local context, the document will be amended andelaborated as the Mass Awareness Network' Strategic Plan.
Purpose of Awareness Raising Network
To empower a key group of youth with knowledge, skills and tools so they can enhance thequality and quality of information available to youth of the region in order to help informdecisions and choices they make now and in the future as adults.
Vision of Awareness Raising Network
To be recognised locally and internationally for:
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the high quality of information / messages that we disseminate;
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our cutting edge use of new media that empowers youth-to-youth dialogue
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our ability to reach out inclusively across potential social, economic, political andgeographical boundaries;
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this information to be used to help bring positive change in the region and beyond.
Strategic Objectives
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to strengthen the ability of youth to use a wide range of media tools to disseminatemessages of concern to youth in the region;
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to help create the necessary critical mass for young people to act collectively with acommon set of interests and to be a genuine force for positive social change;
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to increase access for young people to relevant information that will empower them tomake more effective decisions concerning their lives;
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to build networks and alliances between youth-led organisations in the region and beyond;
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to inform the broader community (non-youth) of the situation for youth in the region: their lives, livelihoods, their aspirations, their problems, their solutions and their uniquecontribution processes of development.
Rationale for the Awareness Raising Network
In the Arab region, the situation for young people is very challenging. Demographically theyare the dominant segment (100 million youth between 15 and 29 & 30% of the population).They are diverse in their identities, their capacities and their potential. They all shareaspirations for an enhanced social, economic, and political status. They face a commonchallenge: there are limited resources available, and they are unevenly distributed. Manyyouth who wish to seize the opportunity for self-improvement face barriers related to their status ( gender, class, religion, ethnicity, disability, citizenship etc).A barrier to improving this situation is that the mass of people are not aware of theseriousness of the problem, nor of the actions they could take that would allocate resourcesmore equitably leading to greater benefits for all. At the same time, there is often distortedinformation concerning youth , portraying them as a problem, or as a dependent group thatfails to contribute responsibly to the region's social, political and economic development. Inparticular, there is limited dissemination through the media of articles and programmes thatconvey simple but effective messages about youth, that provide up to date data about their lives and aspirations, and that persuade their audiences to act in their interest.Increasingly, youth themselves want to have a far greater role in the production anddissemination of such media messages. They have the skills to use a wide range of mediachannels: drama, creative arts, writing and speaking. They have the further advantage that
 
they are able to access and use new technologies in order to make their message morepowerful and to reach diverse audiences. They simply face a temporary barrier – that theydon’t have enough access to technology support, and to public forums through the media.Access to information is often unfairly distributed – those with more connections (wasta) getmore access about jobs, opportunity, resources etc. The more marginalised youth tend toreceive less diverse information and this in turn often leads them to reject alternative worldviews simply because they feel excluded.The GCM awareness raising team will reach out across the whole region, bringing messagesand information to some 5 million people in the 16 countries through mass media channelsand 100,000 face to face. Each country will recruit a core team of around 10-20 youth out-reachers to lead the campaigns.
Background to the Project
The idea of an awareness programme was raised at the Learning from the Future forum heldin Dubai in April 2008. It was then proposed as one component of the Global ChangemakersProject for the Middle East & North Africa regions. The concept of the mass awarenessnetwork was further developed in a meeting held in Doha (February 2009) which broughttogether some of the young participants from the Dubai forum as well as a variety of experienced civil society professionals and activists. As a result of these deliberations, thisframework was developed.
Proposed Awareness Themes
The awareness raising will be guided by the agreed themes and focuses. The regional teamwill identify a wide range of possible mass awareness activities
 
that will draw on the skills andresources of youth locally, and will reach out to the widest possible audience either face toface or indirectly through mass media. The focuses for awareness raising as identified inDoha are:
Identity (young people- divided by stereotypes, united by difference)
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Breaking barriers, challenging stereotypes
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United in our differences, committed to change
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Be proud of who you are
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Celebrations of cultural diversity
Human Rights
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Citizenship
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Education rights
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Raising awareness about specific examples of human rights violations
Education
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Rights to education
Awareness Tools and Interventions
The most important aspect of this component is the use of mass media tools in order toengage directly, and most importantly indirectly with large numbers of young people. Theyouth themselves are confident that they can achieve the ambitious targets by using a widerange of media tools as follows:
Talk based
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Dialogue sessions
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Debating society
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Toastmasters
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Workshops and training
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Conferences, seminars / Lectures
Information / content / opinion websites
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Blogs
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Mapping / GIS /
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Hydeparks / live on TV
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Forums and discussion groups
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Virtual café – hangout
 
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After-school activities
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Opinion polls / surveys / petitions
Social networking websites
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Facebook / linkedin / other 
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Facebook groups with a shared themeand focus
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Chats
Visual media / graphics / sound
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YouTube for video clips
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Flickr for photo galleries
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Podcasting / radio
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Comic strips / cartoons / caricatures
Commercial mass media outlets
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TV spots (public service announcements:PSA)
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Radio jingles
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Adverts in cinemas before the show
Exposure trips
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Going to different places
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Learning about other lives
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Events in youth attractive places(clubs. Coffee shops)
Print media (read us, print us, see us, hear us)
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Writing competition
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Letters to the editor / News articles
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Press releases
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Flyers / posers / supplements tonewspapers
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E-magazine with clips
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Bi-lingual magazine
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Journalism 'school' output
Mobile based
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Messaging key slogans
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Ringtones
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Using message to organise meetings /rally support
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Taking mobile images of events (urgent,youth, grassroots)
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posting mobile pictures on sites
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Twitter 
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Actions
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Walkathons
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Community meetings with youth focusgroups
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Candle vigils
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Competitions
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Award ceremonies
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Flash mobs / carrot mobs / freeze andfocus
Events and entertainment
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Concerts/ shows / music
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Theatre / drama / poetry
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Art / artists / graffiti
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Comedy shows (comic relief, axis of evil…)
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Sports events / marathons / cylcing
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The beach as a venue for events
Donation drives
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Money / fund raising for a case
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Gifts / donations
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Blood banks
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Stalls at events
Branding
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Scarves / T shirts / badges / buttons /bracelets
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Slogans / graffiti / messages
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Logos
Consumer related
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Boycotting goods
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Reward cards for pro-youth / youthfriendly shopping
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Corporate social responsibility
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Bazaars to sell goods and stalls
Celebrity driven campaigns
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Patrons / Goodwill ambassadors
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Star-based events (local heroes)
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sponsorship
Awareness Network Structure & RolesNational Awareness Teams
In each country, working through local partners, a team of 10-20 young people interested inworking with the Awareness Network will be selected according to agreed criteria. They willhave access to the appropriate training programmes to prepare them to start workingtogether. Local experts and mentors will be identified from partner organizations or externallyto support the country teams. A number of training attachments will be made available for members of the network both in the UK and in the region.
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