Arab Youth and Hopes of Change

 

The United Nations declared 2011 to be an “International Year of Youth”. This represented an international invitation to adopt the talents and abilities of youth. The international community aimed at extending the available opportunities for youth and meeting their demands including development, job opportunities, dignity, and overcoming cultural and religious differences to reach their common objectives.

 

The latest development of events in the Arab World represented an interesting issue for social and social concerned people. New movements of mobilization and opposite mobilization appeared in the latest conditions, but the appearance of the new powers, Youth movements and activities, did not follow theories and samples of 1950s and early 1960s.

 

The movements that adopt terrorism and radicalism have targeted youth since the ending of twentieth century and the beginning of twenty first century by recruiting them such as Al-Qaeda in Eastern communities.

 

The official Arab attitude towards youth was at surface level interested in discussing and solving youth concerns, which was limited to entertainment fields, despite the fact that they did not find real solutions for the youth concerns and aspirations.

 

Youth as a social cause shows that they are a sect of every community; they have their own concerns and problems. Youth have a reaction depending on the role given to them by their own community and they can express their existence the way they find suitable.

Youth as a legal cause shows that they have the right of education which is taken gradually from his\her family and community.

 

Youth as a political cause interests the politicians especially the decision makers. Such a cause is represented in providing their needs and paying more attention to the youth concerns; which is known “Youth Policy” which answers the youth concerns, corrects youth risky behaviors, and protect them from radical thought.

 

Pierre Bourdieu discussed the relation between Youth and community and concluded that such a relation passes basically through school and family. While Emile Durkheim expressed that when the school as a foundation failed, new educational foundations emerges such as Youth movements. Plato’s philosophy described youth as a stage of life by saying that it is a habit connected with emotions. Margaret Mead in her study of Samoa tribes concluded that youth crisis that takes place in other communities; do not exist in the tribal Samoa community because of their simplicity of living.

 

 

Youth policy should be transformed from words to actions through programs that serve youth and their communities. The United Nations general-secretary Ban Ki-moon on his speech to the Youth said, “The opportunity is yours to change our world .. So take it.”  We wonder whether the words of Ban Ki-moon inspired the Youth including Arab Youth to fulfill their hopes of change.