creating the future of the mediterranean

91s e p t e m b e r

square meeting centre i brussels

European UnionUnited NationsEducational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

buildtomorrow.Today we meet young Mediterranean superheroes who change their reality every single day. Today we engage in dialogue about the power of youth to shape the future. Today we talk about ways we can all work on common solutions for a better Mediterranean region, north and south.

At Creating the Future of the Mediterranean, young leaders and decision-makers discuss our shared vision for the Mediterranean region.

We share our experiences and lessons learned. We talk about solutions to provide youth with opportunities to get stronger and affect change in the fields of public participation, sustainable development, cultural heritage, tolerance, media, freedom of expression and much more!

#netmedyouth#BuildTomorrow

agenda

1:30 pm

2:40 pm

Registration

NET-MED Youth: A story of resilienceby Khadija Ali, NET-MED Youth - Libya

Event opening

A dialogue of many mindsYouth perspectives on emerging challenges in the region with NET-MED Youth members Majd Beltaji & Elyes Guermazi

Welcome and introductionwith NET-MED Youth members Laetitia El Haddad & Sadem Jebali

How young leaders inspire action in the south of the MediterraneanA youth-led conversation with Nada Al-Nashif, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social & Human SciencesMark Johnston, Director, Resources, DG NEAR, European CommissionJens Nymand-Christensen, Deputy Director-General, DG EAC, European Commission

Film premiere: Meet today’s Mediterranean superheroes

Session 1: Democratic governance & operationalization of youth strategiesReema Khalil Salem, NET-MED Youth - Palestine I Ibtihal Benharoual, NET-MED Youth - Morocco I Nour Kaabi, NET-MED Youth - Tunisia I Tina Hocevar, Board Member, European Youth Forum

2:00 pm

2:45 pm

Session 2: Youth representation in the mediaFatma Louati, MENA Media Monitoring I Imane Bounjara, NET-MED Youth - Morocco I Mohammad AlAmoush, NET-MED Youth - Jordan I Phantina Sholi, NET-MED Youth - Palestine I Meriem Chikirou, NET-MED Youth - Algeria

Session 3: Youth disillusionment & new opportunitiesSami Hourani, NET-MED Youth - Jordan I Shani Landau, NET-MED Youth - Israel I Nada Elfeituri, NET-MED Youth - Libya I Alaa Jarash, NET-MED Youth - Syria I Aya Nasser, NET-MED Youth - Lebanon

4:40 pm Have a coffee!

Let’s transform our countries & our regionWhat does it take to build the ground for a sustainable tomorrow?

Faten Kallel, Former Secretary of State for Youth in TunisiaMarc Giacomini, Deputy Managing Director for Human Rights, Global and Multilateral Issues, EEASElissar Naddaf, Advisor to the Minister of Information in Lebanon Schams El-Ghoneimi, Foreign Policy Advisor for Alyn Smith, Member of the European Parliament

5:00 pm

5:45 pm Closing: Looking towards the futureWhere are we heading and how do we get there? with Laetitia El Haddad & Sadem Jebali

Let’s have a chat over a drink!Networking cocktail.

6:00 pm

Salma Negra, NET-MED Youth - TunisiaMarjeta Jager, Deputy Director-General, DG DEVCO, European CommissionNada Al-Nashif, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social & Human Sciences

speakers

Mark Johnston, Director, Resources, DG NEAR, European Commission, took up his duties as Director for Resources at DG NEAR in 2016. He joined the European Commission in 1991. He first became Head of Unit in 2002, in DG RELEX (the predecessor of the European External Action Service). He has been heading the Budget, Public Procurement and Control Unit in the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries department (DG MARE) since 2007 and has been an Acting Resources Director there since 2011.

Jens Nymand-Christensen, Deputy Director-General, DG EAC, sits as Deputy Director-General for Education and Culture in charge of the Innovation, International Cooperation and Sport Unit and the Culture and Creativity Unit. Previously he served as Director for Policy Coordination at the Secretariat-General; Director for Better Regulation and Institutional Issues at the Secretariat-General; Advisor at the Danish Permanent Representation; among other functions.

Faten Kallel, Former Secretary of State for Youth, Tunisia, has been a consultant for several international agencies based in Tunisia. In 2015, she was in charge of the follow-up for the Smart Tunisia program. In 2016-2017 she was State Secretary for Youth. She is one of the 2017 Young Global Leaders.

Nada Al-Nashif, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social & Human Sciences, took up her duties as Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO in 2015. Previously she served as Assistant Director-General/Regional Director of the International Labour Organization’s Regional Office for Arab States, based in Beirut. She started her UN career at UNDP in 1991, serving in Libya, Lebanon, Iraq and at Headquarters in New York.As a development economist and practitioner, she serves in an advisory capacity on several boards, notably the Boards of Trustees of Birzeit University and the Human Development NGO, Taawon.

Marjeta Jager, Deputy Director-General, DG DEVCO, sits as Deputy Director-General, responsible for the coordination of the People and Peace, Planet and Prosperity, and Resources Directorates. She also coordinates the Task Force “Knowledge, Performance and Results in DG “International Cooperation and Development” (DEVCO). Ms Jager also has 10 experience working for her national government, Slovenia, in the ministry of foreign affairs.

Elissar Naddaf, Advisor to the Minister of Information in Lebanon, is Advisor to the Minister of Information in Lebanon since February 2017, and previously served as an editor in the Ministry of Information. Naddaf has a PHD in French literature and studied journalism.

Marc Giacomini, Director, Deputy Managing Director for Human Rights, Global and Multilateral Issues, EEAS, is a senior French diplomat who has also served as the French bilateral Ambassador to Chile and as Deputy Director of the United Nations, International Organisations, Human Rights and Francophonie in the French Foreign Ministry.

Schams El-Ghoneimi, Foreign Policy Advisor for Alyn Smith, Member of European Parliament, is a foreign policy advisor at the European Parliament in Brussels. He has worked extensively on EU foreign policy, Middle East politics, Brexit and CETA. He previously worked as Crisis Action’s Middle East political analyst in Cairo, Egypt during the Arab spring. He is an expert on the Syrian conflict and has co-founded Refugees Are Not Alone and Syrians Got Talent to help refugees and locals live together in Europe. He has written a number of political pieces and has lectured in several universities.

Laetitia El Haddad is a journalist. She has a bachelor in Journalism and Communication, and is now pursuing her graduate studies in International Relations & Mediterranean Studies. She has experience in press and broadcast journalism, and has recently developed and hosted a radio show about the SDGs, in collaboration with UNESCO and under NET-MED Youth in Lebanon.

Tina Hočevar was VP of the National Youth Council of Slovenia for International Cooperation in 2014-16. She actively participated in different Mediterranean and Euro-African activities organized by the CoE, UNAOC, OECD and others. She now advocates for youth rights as a Board Member of the European Youth Forum. Her portfolio focuses on building strong youth organizations and youth participation.

Sadem Jebali is pursuing his master’s studies in Public Policy Master’s program of the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, Germany. He also works as journalist and development consultant on the MENA region with focus on civil society and government cooperation in countering violent extremism. Sadem has worked in the international development sector in the Arab world for 6 years.

Fatma Louati is a journalist and expert on media monitoring. She is a PhD student in Media and Communication. She joined MENA Media Monitoring in 2011, where she supervises media monitoring projects on elections, women’s image, hate speech, etc. She has supervised the monitoring of youth representation in the media as part of NET-MED Youth.

Khadija Ali is the NET-MED Youth Project Officer based in Libya. She is a founding member of Young Arab Voices and Young Mediterranean Voices. She is passionate about the empowerment of youth, education reform and the role of civil society in societal change. She has a Bachelor’s in Politics and International Relations and is now pursuing her MA in Education and International Development.

Imane Bounjara is in charge of the regional project “Community Media” at E-Joussour, a program of “Forum des Alternatives Maroc” aimed at consolidating the democratization of the media landscape in the Maghreb-Mashreq and the appropriation of the media by citizens, especially youth and women. She is also engaged in research on associative radios in the Arab world following the democratic spring.

Majd Beltaji is Programme Specialist on Gender Equality at the UNESCO Office in Ramallah. She supports the implementation of the NET-MED Youth Project in Palestine. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Media and a master’s degree in International Cooperation and Development.

Mohammad AlAmoush is Deputy Executive Director for Leadership and Entrepreneurship at The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development, and the Director of Princess Basma Youth Resource Centre. He has a BA in Political Sciences and an MA in Human Rights & Human Development. He began his career with Save the Children, the British Council and UNHCR, among others. libya morocco

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Ibtihal Benharoual is a PhD student in Public Policy in the laboratory Gender, Society & Culture. She is a member of the research and study team on Gender at the Hassan II university in Casablanca and is interested in public policy and youth policy. In NET-MED Youth, she represents Prometheus Institute for Human Rights and Democracy. She is also the founder of Rusibis Coworking Space in El Jadida.

Sami Hourani is a medical doctor and social entrepreneur. He is the Founding CEO of the educational platform For9a.com, the Founder and Executive director of the regional organization Leaders of Tomorrow and the innovative social initiatives Diwanieh, Mo7aka and FADFED. He is national coordinator for the Jordan Youth Strategy 2017-2025, and is member and implementing partner of NET-MED Youth.

Reema Khalil Salem is a youth advocate and activist from Gaza. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences. Reema joined NET-MED Youth in 2014 as the coordinator of the programme in the Gaza Strip. She works with youth on many areas: Media, Education, Employment, Policies and Strategies. She is knowledgeable about youth issues and defends their right to participate in public life.

Meriem Chikirou has a graduate degree in Business. She has been part of civil society and NGO networks in France and Algeria for many years. She is the Director of the SHAREK program, financed by the EU in Algeria, which supports youth organizations in the field of governance and the media. Meriem is also a focal point for the Association SIDRA within NET-MED Youth, including for the media axis of the Project.

Nour Kaabi has a Master’s in Management and Strategy. She is the Executive Director of Jamaity, and a consultant and Trainer in strategy, planning, project set-up, evaluation follow-up and governance of institutions. She is a specialist in facilitation, a member of the Tunisian United Youth Advisory Panel and a trainer in local governance with the WeGov, and an alumna of “Femmes d’Avenir en Méditerranée”.

Shani Landau is 32 years old, from Tel-Aviv – Jaffa. She has an MA in Labor Policy and Globalization. Shani is manager of NGhOme, a hub for more than 18 civil society organizations cooperating with each other in order to create a social network. She strives to enable social change by youth in Israel.

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Elyas Guermazi is Founder & Executive Director at the International Institute of Debate, a regional NGO that empowers youth by building their skills through education, and by addressing the key challenges that limit youth’s access to education. He has been at the forefront of advocacy for various youth issues and has trained over 3,000 youth during his career.

Phantina Sholi is a 23-year-old reporter, news and show host in local radio station Ajyal. She is project coordinator in the organization Taghyeer for Social Media, a freelancer and blogger. She is a social activist with different organizations (Red Crescent, Animal League, Ministry of Education). She believes that NET-MED Youth helps youth transform their way of thinking and become actors of change.

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All around the Mediterranean, we need to empower young women and

men to speak out, act and lead, to find solutions to pressing challenges and build a more just, inclusive and

sustainable tomorrow. The NET-MED Youth partnership between UNESCO and the European Union is breaking new ground to support young people

as partners and positive change-makers across the region.

Over the past 3 years, this has enabled networking and cooperation between youth civil society organizations and

stakeholders, it has helped revise and shape public policies and dialogue, it has enhanced the representation of

young people in media, while strengthening youth

employability skills.

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Alaa Aljarrash lives in Lebanon. He graduated in Civil Engineering from Homs, Syria, and in Public Health and Medical Social Assistance in Tripoli, Lebanon. He is actively engaged in the inclusion of young Syrian refugees in civil society organizations in Lebanon and works for the promotion of life skills and social cohesion.

Nada Elfeituri is an architect, writer and social activist from Benghazi. She began working in civil society after the 2011 Libyan revolution volunteering for media and cultural organizations. She founded the Young Writers of Benghazi, which aims to foster creative expression among Libyan youth. She is an executive committee member of the Libyan Institute of Architects, focusing on empowering young architects.

Aya Nasser is a 24-year-old Project Coordinator and M&E Officer at the Lebanese NGO Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA). She has been working on youth programs since 2015. Aya has a BS and an MS in Accounting and Finance. She has several training certificates in Trauma Healing, Profound Stress, Stress Management, Creative Facilitation, Active Citizens, and more.

Salma Negra is the National Coordinator for NET-MED Youth in Tunisia. Prior to joining UNESCO, Salma taught management at a university for 8 years where she founded a “Career Center” to enhance the professional career of the Institute’s management graduates. She has a Master’s in Accounting and Management and a Bachelor’s in High Commercial Studies. She is an activist and has founded many NGOs.lebanon

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Irina BokovaUNESCO Director-General

www.netmedyouth.org

#netmedyouth#BuildTomorrow