Arab Youth

The present study examines the dynamics of youth artivism -artistic activism- in selected countries of the Arab World as manifested in protest songs, produced by young singers and bands during the popular uprisings between 2010 and 2013. The study analyzes the stylistic, linguistic, and aesthetic features of protest songs, and their function as instruments employed to articulate collective defiance, grievances, and aspirations. The study, also, investigates the political engagement of young Arab protest singers in the homeland and diaspora, by analyzing their role as activist-artists in generating songs that represent an alternative national consciousness reflective of the popular masses. This national-popular consciousness is represented and documented in the protest songs accompanying the eruption of popular political contention. Central to this research is the assertion that the cultural phenomenon of Arab artivism is best understood within its social, political, and historical contexts. Presenting a critical discussion of neo-Marxist and post-Marxist approaches, the study is informed by Antonio Gramsci’s concepts of ‘hegemony’ and ‘national-popular’ in an attempt to highlight the cultural paradigm of subversive artistic activism.

The chapter reviews migration patterns to and from the 22 Arab countries, and the profile of young Arab migrants in the GCC and in Western OECD countries. It then examines young Arabs’ reasons to migrate and possible exclusion factors, and envisages the role of migration policies in receiving or sending states, before emphasizing the role of inclusion in the migration process. Lastly, the chapter highlights impediments to the mobility of labor. The chapter emphasizes the range and diversity of capabilities allowing young Arabs to migrate in sizeable number to other countries inside the region, as well as outside the Arab region. However, it also questions the origin countries’ continuous reliance on youth’ exit in order to curb unemployment and increase national households’ income through remittances.

The protest cries of karama (dignity) in 2011 saw the emergence of a new subjectivity in the Arab world that birthed a new citizenship paradigm and elevated the citizenry as a compelling sovereign collective. Karama developed not only as a form of bottom-up universal humanism but also independently outside the confines of academia, religious-secular debates, and even human rights organizations. For many decades, karama had been reserved for the loftiness of the nation and liberation struggles, whereas karama for the individual meant a moral virtue that constituted an apolitical being. In 2011, however, the understanding of karama made a phenomenal leap from the moral into the political realm and thus became a political force in its own right. Karama developed into a self-contained movement, a philosophy that people yearned to develop, encapsulating a story that expands the moral imagination and asks its protagonists to imbibe the rhythm of life with a higher temporal calling. It is the citizen’s inherent worthiness and inalienable right to make the social contract.

Amro Ali, “Kinetic Karama: Bargaining for Dignity in the Pursuit of a New Arab Social Contract” in The Modern Arab State: A Decade of Uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, Ed. Youssef Cherif, (Berlin: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2021) pp. 41-67.

New media have encroached into the lives of Middle Eastern youth in ways unimaginable just ten years ago.  Upon visiting any Middle Eastern city, observers are struck by the number of satellite dishes covering the diverse landscape, spanning the impoverished as much as the affluent neighborhoods.  Internet penetration rates across the region continue to grow exponentially, while governments in panic acknowledge this growth with hasty policies and regulations.  On almost every winding street of a Cairo, Beirut, or Damascene old town, a plethora of Internet cafes serve and entertain a vibrant youthful population.  Cell phone ringtones have become as familiar as calls to prayer.  Signs of youth increasingly succumbing to a global information saturated culture attract heated debates across the political, commercial, cultural and religious spheres, with predictions about its impact ranging from an acceleration in democratization and development, to a facilitation of Western cultural colonization and a breakdown in social traditions and norms.  Despite this intense interest in how, why and what media do Middle Eastern youth consume and produce and with what potential effects, there remains a dearth of scientific data critically needed to inform this topic.

In this paper, we explore what Canadian Arab youth do to navigate border and travel transit sites. Arab youth are the focus for this study because they are a neglected demographic of research in ethnic studies, compared to the more copious studies on Canadian Arabs. Our research empirically investigates the struggles that this youth demographic faces, and the efforts they undertake to manage their marginaliza-tion. Some of these efforts involve practices of cultural dissociation, fear management, and self-disciplining through behavioral self-surveillance. Drawing upon an existing body of research that recognizes the highly fraught and securitized nature of air travel and border transfer, particularly for Arab/Muslim populations, we use the findings from focus groups conducted in Kitchener-Waterloo to theoretically situate some of the real struggles of Canadian Arab youth. As prominent racialized and securitized identities in the War on Terror (WoT), Arab youth are often forced, or feel that they are forced to perform their Canadian-ness to substantiate their innocence, and in some cases, this requires minimalization, or even erasure of part of who they are. …there seems little doubt that mobility is one of the major resources of the 21st – century life and that it is the differential distribution of this resource that produces some of the starkest differences today (Cresswell 2010).

In recent years, the Middle East’s information and communication landscape has changed dramatically. Increasingly, states, businesses, and citizens are capitalising on the opportunities offered by new technologies, the fast pace of digitisation, and enhanced connectivity. These changes are far from turning Middle Eastern nations into network societies, but their impact is significant. The growing adoption of a wide variety of technologies in everyday life has given rise to complex dynamics that beg for a better understanding. Digital Middle East sheds a critical light on the continuing changes closely intertwined with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the region. Drawing on case studies from throughout the Middle East, the contributors explore how these digital transformations are playing out in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres, exposing the various disjunctions and discordances that have marked the advent of the digital Middle East.

Juan Cole takes us “inside the youth movements in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, showing us how activists used technology and social media to amplify their message and connect with like-minded citizens” (The New York Times) in this “rousing study of the Arab Spring” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

and Yemen. This research focuses on the use of .acebook by a selected group called Open Media Library (OML) which have interests in social media use. The aim of this research is to understand how and why users utilise .acebook and what their attitudes and perceptions are towards the purposes of .acebook. It examines how OML users utilise information and knowledge posted on .acebook, their preferred topics and motivations and the gratifications they obtained. As stated in the literature, this research confirms that .acebook can be used/defined as communication, collaboration and resourcesharing, as well as for intercultural communication and intercultural relationships. Curiosity and escapism, communication and experience, friendship and entertainment and identification of news and events are the main motivations for using .acebook. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the future of social media and its impacts on intercultural communication, media use and intercultural relationships.

This study investigates how three young Arab influencers negotiate their identities in cyberspace. Abdallah Al Maghlouth, Abdulrahman Mohammed, and Laila Hzaineh were selected for this study because they were listed among the top MENA influencers by the Arab Social Media Summit (2015) or by Stepfeed. 1 The article draws on the cultural hybridity perspective to demonstrate how these influencers articulate cultural identity across three themes: human engagement, women"s empowerment, and cultural revivalism. Cultural hybridity gained prominence within a range of cultural and social theories beginning in the 1980s. Recently, it has come to be interchangeably used with Robertson"s notion of "glocalization" (Robertson 2012). Hybridity is a dynamic process necessary for cultural coexistence , continuity and for reconciling global sets of values with local (dominantly Arab-Islamic) social norms. Identity is informed by aspects of belonging or not to social groups; cyberspace is a new frontier for shaping and renewing social identities in the Middle East, with the majority of the population under 25 years and great levels of internet penetration, it is important to examine emerging sense of self and groups amongst Arab youth in cyberspace.

The outcomes of the current political, social and economic transformations rippling across the Arab world due to the collective awakening and synchronised activities of millions of young men and women since December 2010, will be well remembered by historians in the years ahead since it marks an unprecedented turning point for modern history in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), if not across the world. Disconnection remains the dominant feeling among the Arab youth now challenging their governments, as enormous energy and talent are being unleashed, striving to restore, if not recreate, some of the basic constitutional and social institutions in the felds of governance, economy, freedom, social welfare, culture and media and diplomacy. This paper highlights, accordingly, some current refections on the main features characterising the state of the socio‑economic and political disconnections Arab youth are still forced to put up with, in such a delicate transitory period in the life of the region, and suggests some operational measures for policy makers to alleviate the burden of unemployment and social exclusion.

This guidebook is part of a UN-ESCWA (United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Western Asia) toolkit on National Youth Policy within the framework of the World Programme of Action for Youth. It was developed upon the request of ESCWA member countries and with the participation of their representatives.

The toolkit includes a number of tools that aim at enabling policy makers to develop national policies and programmes of action for youth in Arab countries. This guidebook presents 45 case studies, and highlight examples from several countries’ national youth policies dealing with select youth-related issues.

The guidebook is originally authored in english but has only been published in Arab for ESCWA member states and policy makers. Its english version is under review. Further information is available at http://www.escwa.un.org/divisions/otherdetails.asp?id=1637

In recent years, the Middle East’s information and communication landscape has changed dramatically. Increasingly, states, businesses, and citizens are capitalising on the opportunities offered by new technologies, the fast pace of digitisation, and enhanced connectivity. These changes are far from turning Middle Eastern nations into network societies, but their impact is significant. The growing adoption of a wide variety of technologies in everyday life has given rise to complex dynamics that beg for a better understanding. Digital Middle East sheds a critical light on the continuing changes closely intertwined with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the region. Drawing on case studies from throughout the Middle East, the contributors explore how these digital transformations are playing out in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres, exposing the various disjunctions and discordances that have marked the advent of the digital Middle East.

Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews conducted in pre-civil war Syria and present day Jordan, I discuss the imageries of the West which young adults in these countries deploy in articulating their views and positions on gender relations. I suggest that Occidentalist images of Western gender relations are evoked both to justify local norms that limit gender interaction and regulate dating, as well as to negotiate them. On one hand, the segment of the youth who emphasize their Muslim identity are re-inventing 'authentic' Islamic traditions by evoking contrasting images of the West as promiscuous and excessively individualistic. On the other hand, those who position themselves as 'open-minded' contest local gender segregation practices by deploying imageries of an idealized Western freedom and modernity. The article contributes to the current discussions on modern Middle Eastern subjectivities by pointing out the Occidentalist imageries that play a role in the local definitions of modernity and tradition which are deployed in subjectivity formation.

The role of new media in the Arab uprisings and the news of widespread surveillance of digital and mobile media have triggered a renewed interest in Arab audiences research, particularly as it pertains to these audiences' critical abilities and digital media literacy competencies. Taken for granted have been Arab youth's widespread use of social media for activism and political expression and their suspicion of government monitoring and privacy threats. This study questions these assumptions and attempts to provide a more accurate picture Arab youth's media uses, with the goal of informing the development of digital and media literacy curricula for the region. The study surveyed 2,554 youth and compared their media uses across countries, genders, incomes, ages, and education levels. The findings suggest low media literacy levels and media uses apathetic to political activism and focused more on entertainment with little fear of government surveillance and privacy risks

Conference Report. “Youth Contributions for Dialogue and Change”  1st Preparatory Meeting for the Anna Lindh Forum 2013  28 June - 01 July 2012 Istanbul (Turkey).  Anna Lindh Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures.
MAIN IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION AND IDEAS FOR ACTION
EMERGING FROM THE WORKSHOPS on DEVELOPMENT:
YOUTH AS A KEY ACTOR OF CHANGE  IN A NEW SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT

In recent years, the Middle East’s information and communication landscape has changed dramatically. Increasingly, states, businesses, and citizens are capitalising on the opportunities offered by new technologies, the fast pace of digitisation, and enhanced connectivity. These changes are far from turning Middle Eastern nations into network societies, but their impact is significant. The growing adoption of a wide variety of technologies in everyday life has given rise to complex dynamics that beg for a better understanding. Digital Middle East sheds a critical light on the continuing changes closely intertwined with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the region. Drawing on case studies from throughout the Middle East, the contributors explore how these digital transformations are playing out in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres, exposing the various disjunctions and discordances that have marked the advent of the digital Middle East.

Beirut (AUB) harnesses policy-related research by AUB's internationally respected faculty to enhance debate and decision-making in the Arab World and abroad. Funded by the Issam Fares family, AUB, and Arab and international donors, IFI uses these funds to: Manage its programs on major issues facing the region. Carry out research projects, workshops, conferences, seminars and lectures. Disseminate its findings via regular publications, public policy memos, newsletters and cutting-edge web technologies. For each of the following programs, develop a public online, fully-searchable database of published and ongoing research projects, researchers, institutions, government and non-governmental agencies, and other relevant actors. Youth in the Arab World With a foundation of 30 faculty members at AUB, the Research and Policy Forum on Youth in the Arab World acts as a meeting point, catalyst and central repository for Arab-international research and policy on Arab youth.

The role of new media in the Arab uprisings and the news of widespread surveillance of digital and mobile media have triggered a renewed interest in Arab audiences research, particularly as it pertains to these audiences' critical abilities and digital media literacy competencies. Taken for granted have been Arab youth's widespread use of social media for activism and political expression and their suspicion of government monitoring and privacy threats. This study questions these assumptions and attempts to provide a more accurate picture Arab youth's media uses, with the goal of informing the development of digital and media literacy curricula for the region. The study surveyed 2,554 youth and compared their media uses across countries, genders, incomes, ages, and education levels. The findings suggest low media literacy levels and media uses apathetic to political activism and focused more on entertainment with little fear of government surveillance and privacy risks

Migration from South and East Mediterranean (SEM) countries has been considered a growing security threat in the EU and Gulf states following the 9/11 attacks and the Arab uprisings. Since 2011, the economic slowdown, regime changes and socio-political instability have spurred growing migration pressure from SEM countries. However, the securitisation of migration of young citizens from these countries in the EU and the Gulf states is manifested in the drastic limitation of migrants’ inflows, and in the selection of prospective migrants on demographic, socio-economic and political grounds. Today’s ‘governmentality’ of youth migration from SEM countries poses ethical and development-related issues.

If one reviews current scholarly literature on Arab societies, and, in particular, that written about young Arabs, it is possible to see precisely the contrary inclination. Identifying with their subject of study, many researchers tend to underline how similar they are to young Westerners: they are modern and use the internet intensively (some statistics on internet use among young Arabs put it higher than the level of youth literacy!), they engage in political activism through social media, are sexually active in all possible ways and they excel in rap, engaged theatre and all other standard expressions of youth alternative culture. All this is of course true; the issue is how representative it is of the mainstream Arab youth population.

The SAHWA Project (Researching Arab Mediterranean Youth: Towards a New Social Contract) endeavours to explore youth perspectives and prospects. As a starting point, it is useful to bear in mind some basic figures about our object of study: we are dealing with 50 million young people aged 15 to 30 in the five SAHWA countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon), which is 30% of their total population, the largest generation in the history of those countries. That number—the “youth bulge” as those analysing the demographic transition call it—will not decrease in the next generation or so: by 2020 there will be close to 60 million, and, for most of these countries, they will continue growing until at least 2030.