Voice of Arab Youth (VOAY)

VOAY draws on young Arabs' optimism, creativity, and energy - qualities that organisers say make them a strong mobilising force in community development. The hope is that, in the process of serving their neighbours, participants will develop greater ties to their country of origin (and greater commitment to that country's growth) while improving their own career opportunities. Specifically,

• VOAY selects entrepreneurial youth from Arab countries based on the project proposals they have designed to serve the pressing needs of their communities.
• VOAY trains these leaders to master skills to mobilise their communities in an effort to effectively implement their projects - for example, the Jubilee School in Jordan will serve as a training cite for a 6-week programme. Fifty youth (ages 18-25) from all over the Arab world will learn how to create projects in the fields of micro-enterprise and small business, fundraising, managing local organisations, protecting the environment, mapping community resources, and expanding health services.
• VOAY provides seed money to assist in the start-up of projects while offering ongoing training and technical support. In addition, in an effort to encourage participants to document their experiences, organisers have designed a media competition to honor the best stories and photos from participants. The winner of the competition will be rewarded with additional funds for his or her project. Organisers also hope to have documentary filmmakers film the project for later broadcast on television stations around the world.

Organisers "foresee a wide range of possible projects, ranging from the promotion of female education to the development of health programs."

Participation and collaboration are key elements of this initiative. Youth-led activities are implemented in collaboration with family, community leaders, local government authorities, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector. The VOAY interactive website - which is, of this writing, not yet live and still in a development phase - will allow participants to share their success stories with others. Set to launch by early November 2004, this website - in Arabic and, eventually in English and possibly French - is part of an effort to expand the impact of the programme throughout the region. AED indicates that VOAY is supported by Arab scholars, educators, and policy-makers. While the programme is, as of this writing, managed by AED, eventually a sustainable non-profit regional organisation will be trained to manage VOAY.

Youth, Economic Development, Education, Community Development.

Organisers say, "Considering the fact that we are now in the fundraising stage we would greatly appreciate help in providing contact information for potential funders. Because we are also anticipating the next phase of the project we would welcome contact information of media outlets and NGO's to conduct the outreach portion of Voice of Arab Youth, as well as key individuals or major national corporations anywhere in the world that would be interested in supporting Voice of Arab Youth."

Voice of Arab Youth is working on establishing VOAY chapters at universities and local communities worldwide, with contacts established (as of August 2004) in the United States and Canada.