Youth at the Centre of Government Action
A Review of the Middle East and North Africa
Young people have demonstrated resilience to shocks and led positive change in their communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Young people (aged under 30) constitute more than half (55%) of the population across MENA, compared with 36% of the population across OECD countries. While challenges vary significantly across the region, youth unemployment rates are among the highest in the world, young people tend to express low trust in public institutions, and nearly four in ten live in fragile and conflicted-affected areas. The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the need to place the needs of young people at the centre of an inclusive and resilient recovery. To support this process, this report analyses current governance arrangements and practices across 10 MENA governments in three areas: 1) uniting all government stakeholders to implement a shared, integrated youth policy and deliver services to young people; 2) building administrative and institutional capacities to mainstream the perspectives of young people in policy making; and 3) encouraging the participation and representation of young people and youth stakeholders in public and political life.
Participation and representation of young people and youth stakeholders in public and political life
Across the MENA region, young people’s trust in government is low. This chapter finds that the participation of young people in the policy cycle and their representation in state institutions are limited, with people under 40 years of age representing only 16% of members of parliament on average. At the same time, young people demonstrate agency by participating in the public debate through non-institutionalised channels and contributing to community life, via civil society organisations and through volunteering activities, both online and offline. This chapter provides an assessment of the legal, institutional and other governance barriers for young people to participate and access positions of public and political influence across the MENA region.
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