Khalid Al-Mulla

Director
Youth Department
Youth General Authority
Doha – Qatar

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Forum 21
The State of Youth Policies in the
Arab Region
Introduction
In every country of the world, the youth of today
significantly fall into different categories. There
are youth who are exceptionally talented; there
are those who are handicapped, some youth are
befallen with delinquent traits while there are
those with outstanding leadership qualities.
Whatever categories of youth exist in any Society,
it becomes mandatory on the part of society to
provide their children and young people with the
opportunity to develop maximally their potential
and abilities within the society. After all,
today’s youth are subsequently the leaders of
tomorrow.
The system of providing children and youth the
opportunity to develop their potentials and
abilities requires definite strategic actions peculiar
to each society.
In general, however, strategies are meant to
provide the task of building bridges to bring young
people into the society in which they belong. For
this as well as for many other related reasons,
the International Council on National Youth Policy
(ICNYP) was established and legally registered in
Austria in 2002 as an international non-profit
organization of intergovernmental, non-
governmental and expert nature dedicated to
national youth policy.
UN Resolution 56/117 of 2001
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly
Resolution 56/117 of December 19, 2001,
called upon all States and relevant actors
concerned to make every possible effort
towards the implementations of the World
Programme of Action for Youth to the year
2000 and beyond by promoting cross-sectoral
youth policies, to provide advisory services to
strengthen capacities for such policies, and to
allocate increased resources in country
programmes to support national youth
policies.
Since then, however, there have been only limited
follow-up initiatives. Most of the United Nations
and bilateral agency development programmes,
provide much greater support to sectoral
interventions (e.g. education employment and
health etc.) than to cross-sectoral national youth
policies. In the 21 Countries of the Middle East
and North Africa region, for example, only
Bahrain, Yemen, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Jordan,
Lebanon, Palestine and Qatar have recently
initiated the preparation of national youth policies
and strategies.
There remains a strong need for greater attention
to issues such as youth participation in democratic
reform and governance and encouraging cross-
sectoral work on priority development needs. The
needs and aspirations of youth must be dealt
with on a cross-sectoral basis by, for and with
youth as active participants.
Likewise, there is a responsibility to ensure that
the younger generation not only learn how to
contribute to this process, but are given the
specific and sustained opportunities to participate
actively in all aspects of democratic reform and
governance.
National Youth Policies – Middle
East and North Africa
The preparation of national youth policies and
strategies of the 21 Countries of the Middle
East and North Africa could best be perceived
through the findings of a research study
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 conducted from November 2004 – May 2005
by the Secretariat of the International Council
on National Youth Policy (ICNYP) on a summary
of the Comparative Analysis of National Youth
Policy funded by the German Development
Cooperation (GTZ).
The analysis of the study revealed the various
effort and actions being considered or taken on
the global as well as regional bases. At the
regional level, much action was found taken
since international youth year (1985) to promote
cross-sectoral and integrated national youth
policies and programmes, but progress has been
uneven. Considerable progress was found to
have bveen made in Commonwealth and Western
European countries in particular.
Despite much progress made in those
Commonwealth and Western countries, there
has been little progress in the Arab region in
particular due to several problems.
In the first place, the Arab Council of Ministers of
Youth and Sports has given more sustained
attention to youth and sports than to youth policy
issues.
Secondly, the problem of developing an active
civil society in the Arab world has presented
major problems for the Arab world to develop
national youth policies with a major focus on
national youth participation. Without an active
civil society, many countries have problems
developing and implementing an effective cross-
sectoral national youth policy with youth
participation in all phases. Definitely, there are
political constraints in the Arab region.
Arab League Meeting 2005
However, at the meeting of the Arab League
held in Khartoum in May 2005, a decision
was made by the 22 Countries of the Arab
League to establish a children’s parliament
through the Arab League.
The objectives of the children’s parliament are
among others:
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B To guarantee the rights of children in the
society where they live;
B To ensure participation of children in
democratic policies;
B To promote open talk through seminars,
conferences, workshops, meetings, trainings,
etc. and to learn how to accept others’ news;
B To organize activities which assist in
development of skills;
B To teach the children what their rights are
and how to fight for such rights;
B To teach the children’s participation in cultural
activities as well as activities portraying
children’s rights;
B To develop children’s mind, talents and
knowledge;
B To collect children’s thoughts and opinions
and use the media to express such thoughts
and opinions;
B To maintain international relations and
exchange opinions with children of the Arab
League.
For the implementation of the parliamentary
decisions on children’s rights, 20 Articles were
formulated to guide the executive. Participants in
the parliament should be between 12 and 18
years old with four boys and girls as members of
the parliament from each of the Arab League
Countries.
At the end of the Khartoum meeting, the
decisions to be implemented were sent to all
the 22 Arab League Countries to guide the
pursuance of proper youth policy in each of
the Arab League Countries. It could be said,
therefore, that the 2005 Khartoum meeting
on the children’s parliament has been the
proper birth of the establishment of youth
policies in the Arab World.
ˆ Bahrain
Bahrain Youth Parliament: Definition of youth,
14-18 years.
Objective of Parliament
The objective is to develop educational as well as
social life of the youth and teach them tenets of
democracy and how to use the parliament in
achieving this.
In Bahrain, there are 40 elected members and
40 other non-elected members plus 5 reserves
outside the 80 members. Election takes place in
December of each year. Each member of
parliament is Bahraini and must be conversant
with ideas, etc. of Bahrain. He should possess
good qualities of a would-be leader.
The responsibility of the youth and active
participation by the youth are a very important
part of the parliament’s responsibility. All youths
can participate in the decision making process
regardless of sex, age, religion or handicapping
situation.
Recently, Bahrain took into action the views and
visions of young women and young men for
inclusion in the formulation and design of the
national youth policy of the country and made it
a priority to encourage active participation of
youth in the decision making processes and in
the life of the society as part of the national youth
policy.
However, Bahrain has evaluated her national
youth policy action plan on an irregular basis and
performance indicators have seldom been used.
‰ United Arab Emirates (Sharja)
Sharja Youth Council for Boys & Girls:
Definition of youth, 12-19 years.
Objective
The main objective of the Sharja Youth Council is
to build the character of the youth, discuss their
needs and how they effectively participate in the
democratic system of the nation. Boys and girls
are also to be trained in open discussions within
the council meetings to discuss their needs,
projects and participation at all levels.
The Sharja Youth Council focuses special
attention on the adolescents who have a lot of
adjustment to make in order to conform to the
needs and aspirations of the society.
The pace is already set in the Emirates. However,
it is hoped that the youth policy and strategy will
receive adequate attentions with a view to
realizing the objective formulated for the policy.
Š Yemen
Yemen (Youth Shura Council): Definition of
youth, 20-25 years. (Youth form more than 50
per cent of Yemen population.)
The Government of Yemen is in process of
preparing a National Strategy for children and
youth with technical assistance from the World
Bank and NICEF. The preparation of the National
Strategy (including the action plan) is a continuation
of the process that was launched during the
preparation of the Child Protection Strategy by
UNICEF and disadvantaged children study by the
world bank. Both documents focused mainly on
the situation of and interventions for children with
special needs (child labour, disabled, street
children, orphans, juvenile delinquents and girls).
While the study findings provided useful insights
into the situation of these children, it also indicated
the need for a more integrated approach to
children and youth protection and development,
and for developing a strategic line of action to
guide the policies and programmes for the most
vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
Yemen will be the first pilot country to prepare a
National Strategy drawing on the strategic (life
cycle) framework and a multi-sectoral approach
to analyze and address the issues of children and
youth.
Objective
The overall objectives are:
B To provide “common” understanding of the
risks facing children and youth;
B Identify the “GAPS” and “LINKAGES” across
sectors beyond the existing sector work
affecting outcomes for children and youth;
B Propose recommendations that meet the
following objectives:
(a) Integration of “gap” policy programme in
the respective sector with “linkages” to
interventions in other sectors.
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 (b) Provide basic parameters to develop the
action plan that will forge cross-sectoral
collaboration with clarity of roles and
responsibilities, benchmarking of funding
of each sector.
The mode of implementation is on a provincial
basis. Each province has 40 girls and 50 boys
from the capital; all other provinces have 21 boys
and girls. The total number of youth is 111; they
come from NGOs, Political Parties, Youth Organ-
isations, Handicapped Associations, Professional
Associations, etc. meeting three times a month.
The Government and the NGOs provide money
for the youth activities.
In Yemen, a strategy paper is under preparation;
upon the completion of the strategy paper, a
National Conference will be held to agree on the
timetable for preparing action plans.
‹ Jordan
Legal definition of youth: 12-30 years. Youth form
about 40 per cent of the country’s population.
The main theme of the National Youth Strategy of
Jordan is ‘participation’ which also defines various
objectives that deal with participation:
B Institutionalize democracy through strength-
ening youth political participation.
B Strengthen youth participation in economic
life, especially within the labour force.
B Strengthen youth participation in community
and cultural life.
The national youth strategy is aimed at young
Jordanian women and men between 12 and 30
years.
In 2002, the UNICEF Jordan country office issued
a 230 pages national youth study survey of 8,80
households and called Jordanian youth: ‘their
lives and views’. This study was used as major
database for the national youth strategy.
One of the key priority issues is education and
training young people.
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Objective
The strategic objective is aimed at promoting the
active involvement of young people in
implementing programmes and programmes of
civil society organizations at the national levels.
While, the action plan is to be reviewed every two
years, the national youth strategy will be reviewed
in five years from the year of formulation.
ΠQatar
Definition of youth: 15–25 years.
In realization of the fact that greater attention
should be given to active youth participation in all
aspects of the processes, a youth parliament has
been inaugurated in Qatar with the following
objectives:
B Development of skills of all youth;
B Respect for democracy and democratic
principles;
B Respect for other personalities and opinions;
B Exchange of ideas and experiences with youth
organizations of Arab and international
countries;
B Active participation in social and environmental
activities.
All members of the youth parliament must be
Qataris who must respect the rules and
regulations of the council.
The parliament has one head, two assistant
heads and one secretary general. There are also
heads for health and governmental committees
supporting democracy and information. The
parliament meets once a month and receives its
funds from the state government.
The mode of operation of youth activities is
through the youth clubs and centres distributed
across the state.
The state of Qatar is now actively involved in
preparing a viable national youth policy and is not
too far from achieving it, the policy should be
finalised with the expectation of a smooth and
unhindered implementation. All hands already
are on deck to see this achieved.
Arab Youth Summer Camp/
Asian Games in Doha
The Doha 2006 Youth Camp was a programme
of the Asian Games designed to educate youth
through sport, promote cultural exchange and
foster international cooperation all under the
Asian Games banner. The Camp involved 180
participants from the 45 participating countries.
The Doha 2006 youth camp provided a unique
Qatari experience in a safe nurturing environment
that models the Olympic ideals of initiative,
teamwork, sportsmanship and fair play. The
programme challenged, educated, motivated
and inspired participants in a fun, exciting and
globally aware environment. The aim of the
programme was to equip participants with a new-
found awareness of the global community, an
understanding of the role of the Asian Games in
modern society, an international circle of friends,
and a sense of empowerment that could make a
difference in the world.
The camp facilities were situated at ASPIRE
Sports Academy which is a state of the art facility
built to train young Qatari athletes into elite level
sports stars of the future.
The youth camp was operational for 12 days
from November 28th, 2006 through December
9th, 2006.
The youth camp was staffed by a full time
professional management team made up of both
Qatari and expatriate staff who are all experienced
in running youth programmes and events. They
were supported by a well-trained volunteer staff
during the youth camp programme. The staff all
have a wide range of experience in sports, cultural
understanding, event planning and manage-
ment.
The programme for the youth camp, 2006 started
with the participants attending the Games’
opening ceremony at the magnificent Khalifa
stadium, to view the pageantry and splendour
that only a games opening ceremony can deliver.
Participants also had the opportunity to attend a
number of sports events where they could witness
some of the world’s best athletes competing. In
addition, there was a visit to the athlete’s village.
There, youth camp participants had the
opportunity of visiting their respective team’s
headquarters and meeting some of their nation’s
greatest athletes.
The youth camp participants were also given the
opportunity of meeting different Qatari people
and visiting places of historical, geographical,
religious and social significance. The participants
also tasted the unique culture and hospitality of
Qatar and her people.
The youth camp of 2006 impressively fulfilled the
call for youth participation in democratic reform
and governance and encouraging cross-sectoral
work on priority and development needs. The
organization of the youth camp was indeed a
unique step in the right direction. It has been the
first of its kind in the Arab world.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a National Youth Policy can provide
both a new vision to improve the situation of
youth in a country as well as an action programme
to implement that vision by government in
partnership with youth organizations.
From the prevailing activities related to the
state of Youth Policies in the Arab region, it
could be concluded that sufficient and greater
attention should be given to active participation
in all aspects and a sustained and sufficient
budget commitment and an action plan to
implement the national youth policy in effective
and efficient ways. The National Youth Policy
should therefore promote active youth
participation of young people in the priority
issues confronted by government and society.
This is a sure way of preparing the youth of
today for tomorrow’s leadership.
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Situation de la politique de jeunesse dans la région arabe
Khalid Al-Mulla
Directeur
Department de la jeunesse
Autorité générale de la jeunesse
Doha – Qatar
L’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, par sa
Résolution 56/117 du 19 décembre 2001,
exhortait les Etats membres et les acteurs
concernés à faire tous les efforts possibles pour
mettre en œuvre le Programme mondial d’action
pour la jeunesse à l’horizon 2000 et au-delà, en
promouvant des politiques de jeunesse
intersectorielles dans l’objectif de fournir des
services de conseil, renforcer les capacités de
mise en œuvre de telles politiques et allouer des
ressources accrues au soutien des politiques
nationales en faveur de la jeunesse.
Or, depuis, les initiatives de mise en œuvre ont
été rares. La plupart des programmes de
développement des Nations Unies et des
agences bilatérales soutiennent plus activement
les interventions sectorielles (concernant, par
exemple, l’éducation et la santé) que les
politiques nationales de jeunesse
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FR
intersectorielles. Dans les 21 pays du Moyen-
Orient et d’Afrique du Nord, par exemple, seuls
Bahrein, le Yémen, Djibouti, l’Egypte, l’Iran, la
Jordanie, le Liban, la Palestine et le Qatar ont
récemment entrepris de développer des
stratégies et des politiques nationales de
jeunesse.
La préparation de stratégies et de politiques
nationales de jeunesse par les 21 pays du
Moyen-Orient et d’Afrique du Nord a pu être
mesurée grâce aux conclusions d’une étude
conduite de novembre 2004 à mai 2005 par le
Secrétariat du Conseil international sur les
politiques nationales de la Jeunesse (ICNYP) au
sujet d’une synthèse d’une analyse comparative
de la politique nationale de jeunesse financée
par l’Agence allemande de Coopération
technique (GTZ).

Nationale Jugendpolitiken in der arabischen Region
Khalid Al-Mulla
Direktor
Abteilung Jugend
Oberste Jugendbehörde
Doha – Qatar
Die Resolution 56/117 der Generalversammlung
der Vereinten Nationen (UN) vom 19. Dezember
2001 forderte alle betroffenen Staaten und
relevanten Akteure auf, alles ihnen Mögliche für
die Umsetzung des Weltaktionsprogramms für
die Jugend bis zum Jahre 2000 und darüber
hinaus zu tun, indem interdisziplinäre
Jugendpolitik gefördert, Beratungsdienste zum
Ausbau der Kapazitäten für eine solche Politik
angeboten und in nationalen Programmen
zusätzliche Ressourcen zur Unterstützung der
nationalen Jugendpolitik bereitgestellt werden.
Seit dieser Zeit hat es jedoch nur begrenzte
Folge-Initiativen gegeben. Die meisten
Entwicklungsprogramme der Vereinten Nationen
und bilateraler Agenturen bieten wesentlich
mehr Unterstützung für Programme in speziellen
Segmenten (z.B. Bildung, Arbeit und Gesundheit
etc.) als für interdisziplinäre nationale
DE
Jugendpolitik. In den 21 Ländern der Region
Mittlerer Osten und Nordafrika haben in der
jüngsten Vergangenheit beispielsweise nur
Bahrain, der Jemen, Dschibuti, Ägypten, Iran,
Jordanien, Libanon, Palästina und Qatar die
Ausarbeitung von nationalen Jugendpolitiken
und -strategien eingeleitet.
Die Ausarbeitung von nationalen Jugendpolitiken
und Strategien in den 21 Ländern des Mittleren
Ostens und Nordafrikas konnte man am besten
über die Ergebnisse einer zwischen November
2004 und Mai 2005 vom Sekretariat des
Internationalen Rates für Nationale Jugendpolitik
(ICNYP) durchgeführten Forschungsarbeit zur
Zusammenfassung und vergleichenden Analyse
der nationalen Jugendpolitik deutlich machen,
die von der Deutschen Gesellschaft für
Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) finanziert
wurde.
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