BySCEME
We’re now accepting applications for our Algeria – UK Youth Exchange
Call for Applications
SCEME has launched its free youth exchange programme, ‘Jusour’ (Bridges) and is now accepting applications from UK based young people (aged 15-30) who would like to take part.
Jusour is a challenging and inspiring programme of training workshops, cultural trips and visits to meet NGOs that brings together young people living in the UK and Algeria who have an interest in youth, national and international issues.
Within this training scheme, you will have the opportunity to share your experiences with students, activists and young volunteers of different backgrounds and cultures; discuss some of the key challenges and issues facing your communities and young people internationally – and identify solutions; and become part of an international network of people that address some of the major issues facing youth in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
Over the course of 6 days you will have the opportunity to participate in a series of interactive workshops, and you can also join our group of fantastic Algerian youth to participate in a series of visits to London-based NGOs, cultural sites and to enjoy sharing London with a group of students and activists from Algeria.
You will also receive a YouthPass Certificate (European Union recognition of your learning in the youth field) to certify your completion of the training programme and to allow you to showcase your learning and experiences.
Over the course of the training, you will gain:
- Knowledge and understanding of a range of challenges and issues impacting on youth in the UK and internationally – including education, employability, inequality, social and political participation.
- The opportunity to share experiences, ideas, best practice and identify solutions with other young people in the UK and Algeria.
- Skills in Project Management and Fundraising.
- First hand Project Management experience, and the opportunity to implement a social action project together with other participants.
- New friends and supportive contacts who are committed to making a difference in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
- You will also become part of a long-term facilitated international network, and be provided with the tools and resources you need to continue interacting with other participants and making an impact together.
The training will take place in Central London this Easter break, from 25th-30th March. The training is free and local (Greater London) travel expenses will be covered, as will food.
Unfortunately, we are only able to accept applications from those aged 30 and under living in the Greater London area. Spaces are limited, so we advise that you apply early to avoid disappointment.
If you have any questions (don’t be shy!) please feel free to contact the team on info@sce-me.org. If you would like to apply, then please send a quick email introducing yourself and your interest in the programme to the same address: info@sce-me.org.
BySCEME
Without putting gender equality at the heart of policy there will be no change
In the SCEME office, we’re often consumed by passionate discussions about the importance of continuing our work to promote women’s participation in society. Not just because women’s participation is an absolutely fundamental right – because it is – but because this is the only way to secure a better future for all. This week, Trust Law Women hosted a ground-breaking conference to put the rule of law behind women’s rights. Noting the importance of tackling global discrimination of women, Monique Villa opened the two day event by reminding men and women from the legal, financial, government, corporate and non-profit sectors that:
And it’s true.
- We consistently see that when female education rises, infant and child mortality fall, while the overall health of all within the family improves.
- When countries experience an increase in a girl’s participation in secondary education, this is matched by an increase in women’s participation in the labour force – and an increase in household and national income.
- When women have leadership roles within the corporate sector, we see the results – improved business performance.
- Countries with more women in parliament tend to have more equitable laws, social programmes and budgets that advance not only women, but their families and children
In short, there is a growing body of evidence that shows that enhancing women’s participation improves the economies of their countries, increases their family income, boosts their children’s standard of living and increases the possibility that their daughters will benefit from secondary and further education, thereby securing better lives for their own future families.
Great strides have been made towards the empowerment of women and their families in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Primary school enrolment is high or universal in most MENA states; the gender gaps in secondary school enrolment have already disappeared in several countries and women are also more likely to attend university than previously. However, despite these improvements, most MENA states are still much more likely to have lower levels of women’s education and labour force participation than other regions with similar income level.
Efforts to improve the participation of women and girls in Middle Eastern and North African societies needs to move past roundtable discussions, rhetoric and discussions over coffee at high level conferences. We need real social programmes and governments need to take real action. Only by putting women’s empowerment and gender equality at the heart of all government policies can the region we are so committed to begin to see the change it deserves.
BySCEME
To grow up a Palestinian Refugee in Lebanon
Growing up can be hard anywhere in the world, but growing up a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon can be even harder.
| Young girls in the Shatila camp, Beirut |
In Lebanon, Palestinian refugees are denied fair and equal access to the state education system. With the cost of funding a child’s place in a private school being one of the highest in the region and Palestinian refugees being some of the most disadvantaged and deprived in the region, Palestinian children rely on UNRWA and non-profit organisations for the provision of both primary and secondary education.
Every child should be awarded the right to access an education that inspires and fully equips him or her to leave school as a young adult with the confidence and means to participate fully in social, economic, religious, cultural and political life.
Yet, for many of Lebanon’s Palestinian refugees, more than two thirds of whom are living in severe poverty, the prospects they face can be less than inspiring. The employment restrictions to which they will be subjected when they grow up will leave many wholly dependent on UNRWA both as a main relief provider and main employer. Unemployment rates for refugees are therefore staggering. Consequently, many young people, despairing at their future prospects, perceive education to be irrelevant. Commitment to one’s own education is therefore very often low, whilst drop-out rates are high.
If young boys drop out from school they most often seek employment in the form of unskilled temporary manual labour in order to support their families. One third of the Palestinian workforce does enter into some form of vocational training which awards them marketable skills and the prospect of securing employment in the tertiary sector. For a small group, approximately 12%, this is obtained through formal education. However, for the majority this is delivered by non-profits or obtained on the job. Extensive studies and anecdotal evidence show that vocational training or university education can help refugees secure more, and better, jobs. We estimate that around half of young people aged 16 – 18 are presently enrolled in some form of vocational and technical training, however crude such training may be; while the demand is much higher.
While for many boys it is the socio-economic conditions he faces, and the feeling of obligation to work to support his family that sees him drop out at a young age; many girls fail to complete their education due to early marriage – and their average age at marriage has been decreasing in recent years. Troublingly, many young people have overall poor emotional well-being and engage in risky behaviours, with one young person out of four feeling unable to resist peer pressure. Great social pressure is exerted, particularly on girls, to correspond to specific models and peer and youth-adult relationships suffer from conflict, misunderstanding and miscommunication. Young people are also vulnerable to abuse, and victims are frequently blamed. With vivid memories of violence imposed on their families, and in the face of poor socio-economic prospects and ill health, conflict as well as physical and verbal aggression, is sadly widespread amongst young people in the camps. Worryingly, a quarter of young people approve of violence and domestic violence in certain circumstances; a finding which correlates to the high and increasing prevalence of violence against women and children.
With the violence permeating Syria displacing increasing numbers of Palestinian refugees once more and forcing them into illegal status in Lebanon; we can only ask when the world will begin to offer rights to those who are most in need.
by Sarah Barnes (Project Manager, SCEME)
BySCEME
We Are All Malala
BySCEME
Tunisian universities should let their doors be open to everyone.
