The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) has held an official ceremony to launch the Youth Network, which will support youth leaders from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, and Sudan1 as active agents of change against drugs, violence, and crime. The event was hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt and supported by the Federal Republic of Germany.
The launch was attended by H.E. Dr. Nivine El Kabbag, the Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity, Dr. Amr Osman, Director of the Egyptian Fund Drug Control and Treatment of Addiction, Mr. Mostafa Ezz Elarab, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports for Youth Policies, Ms. Cristina Albertin, the UNODC Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa, Mr. Holger Illi, the Representative of the German Federal Ministry of Development and Economic Cooperation (BMZ), UNFPA representatives, youth, anti-corruption, and drug prevention experts, representatives from the League of Arab States (LAS) and other relevant stakeholders.
Addressing the youth, Nivine El Kabbag, the Minister of Social Solidarity, noted, “You are carrying a noble mission to spread peace and combat drugs and their associated societal violence. I am confident that your rich participation will have a significant impact in spreading this message among your peers.'”
The UNODC MENA Youth Network aims to empower young people to become active agents of change in their communities against drugs, violence, and crime through three pillars: empowerment, meaningful participation, and youth-focused partnerships and networking.
The youth passionately declared during their speech, “Launching the network stems from the belief in our right to participate in shaping the presence and the future, and it reinforces the active role of youth on both the national and regional levels, especially amidst the circumstances and challenges facing our region.”
Thirty-four youths, distinguished by their exceptional community engagement and leadership skills, were chosen to represent their countries. Half were nominated by relevant ministries and other national implementing partners, while the remaining half were selected competitively from 683 candidates.
The launch concluded the first two days of the agenda, focusing on empowering youth for community engagement and leadership through the introduction of UNODC’s mandate and the Youth4Impact regional program objectives, strategy development, critical analysis of challenges, decision-making, partnerships, and advocacy for social change. As a result of this training, the youth representatives drafted their relevant envisioned actions to implement in their respective countries’ communities.
Over the next two days, the agenda focuses on enhancing the young participants’ awareness about corruption, governance, and anti-corruption strategies, culminating in the development of a “MENA Youth 2030 Anti-Corruption Vision” and engaging in creative and strategic sessions to empower youth-led anti-corruption actions in the MENA region, as a part of the Global Resource for Anti-Corruption Education and Youth Empowerment (GRACE) initiative.
