With representation from the Embassy of Morocco in Egypt and the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports

Entitled “The Current National Youth Policies in Southern Mediterranean Countries”

The participants unanimously agreed on the importance of the role of youth in making national decisions for peace and security

Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights organized a round table on national strategies to support youth in Mediterranean countries, within the framework of the project to strengthen the role of youth in peace and security. With the participation of Ambassador Moshira Khattab, Dr. Youssef Wardani, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports in Egypt, and Mrs. Maryam Zidan, Cultural Counselor at the Moroccan Embassy in Egypt. In addition to 12 young men and women from civil society leaders in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt.

During the table, the common problems of youth in the represented countries were discussed, in addition to mechanisms for overcoming these problems. In this regard, the attendees stressed the importance of youth participation in decision-making processes, especially in the formulation and implementation of national strategies from various backgrounds and visions in the country. The participants agreed on the need to pay attention to the youth in regions other than the capital, to ensure a balanced representation of the different ideas and visions.

Ambassador Moshira Al-Khattab emphasized that the involvement of youth is a fundamental need in what is an essential pillar of the development of the human rights situation in Egypt, which was emphasized by the “Human Rights Promotion Strategy” that she announced on the sidelines of the presentation of the report on the state of human rights in Egypt during the previous UPR cycle. Khattab indicated that it is in the process of adopting mechanisms for civil society work within the strategy based on youth.

Dr. Yusef Wardani presented what the Egyptian government has done in involving youth in previous years, and indicated that the Egyptian government is aware of the importance of Resolution 2250 regarding the integration of youth in decision-making related to peace and security.

Wardani emphasized that to implement this at the national level; It is imperative to increase awareness-raising efforts about the decision and its implementation mechanisms, and there is a need to increase youth civil society organizations working in the field of peace and security, while providing funding for initiatives and enabling them to participate in achieving the provisions of the resolution.

During her participation, Professor Maryam Zeidan explained that the Moroccan Embassy in Egypt is open to all initiatives that seek to integrate Moroccan youth into the civil society circle in Egypt, within the framework of Morocco's vision that works on integrated partnership at all levels. She expressed her happiness at the participation of a Moroccan youth delegation in this project.

It is worth noting that the Peacemakers Forum comes within the framework of the project implemented by the Maat Foundation, in cooperation with the North and South Center of the Council of Europe, within the framework of the Third South Program funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe.