03 October 2009 / 18:46

“Youth and Migrations: A Human Rights Based Approach”

League of Arab States
European Youth Forum
Mediterranean Forum for Youth and Childhood (Morocco)
CALL FOR EUROPEAN PARTICIPANTS
3rd Youth Forum of the League of Arab States “Youth and Migrations: A Human Rights Based Approach”
Assilah, Kingdom of Morocco, 14 - 20 November 2009
With the Support of the European Youth Foundation

We are pleased to announce the 3rd Arab Youth Forum of the League of Arab States will be held from 14 to 20 November 2009 in Assilah, Morocco, aiming to engage Arab and European youth leaders and representatives in a constructive dialogue about a Human Development and Human Rights-based approach on migration and its consequences on young people in the Arab and European countries, and the role of young people and youth organisations in dealing with its consequences.

The Forum is organised in cooperation with the League of Arab States, the European Youth Forum, and the Mediterranean Forum for Youth and Childhood (Morocco).

Objectives of the Forum:

In the framework of international, European and Arab conventions, and a human rights based approach, the 2009 Forum will pursue the following objectives:

• Participation and contribution in developing common knowledge and raising awareness regarding migration (levels, forms, types, trends, determinants and consequences) and related policies.
• To develop and formulate proposals highlighting and recognizing the benefits of migration for young people and development, curtailing its negative aspects.
• To develop proposals to remove barriers to youth mobility within the Arab region and between Arab and European countries.
• To develop approaches and projects on combating human trafficking networks and raising awareness of irregular migration.
• To develop proposals for safeguarding dignity, human rights and humanitarian law of young migrants and asylum seekers.
• To develop proposals for the prevention of discrimination against migrants and asylum seekers and guarantee equal opportunities for them and their children in the host societies.
• To strengthen the participation and role of young people and youth organisations in migration, development and intercultural dialogue matters.
• To further foster sustainable Euro-Arab youth cooperation projects.

Themes and Programme of the Forum

The programme of the forum will be based on the following themes:

I. Youth and Migration: State of the art and horizons.
II. Facilitating the mobility of young people pertaining to exchange & dialogue.
III. Integration & discrimination.

The following sub-themes will be deepened in workshops:

• Migration and Global Economical Crises
• Migration policies
• Youth Mobility
• Integration and Discrimination
• Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internal Displacement
• Skilled Migration and Brain Drain
• Irregular and Transit Migration
• Migration and Development
• Migration and Human Rights

All the workshops will look at their specifc theme through five cross-cutting issues

• Human rights and development approach
• Impact on young people
• Impact on Intercultural Dialogue
• Arab-Arab, Europe-Europe, Europe-Arab, Arab-Europe migration
• Gender Issues

The programme, while based on the workshops and their themes, includes various other elements, including interaction with the city and the people of Assilah, cultural activities, a field visit to Tangiers and meetings with Moroccan NGOs and projects active in the issues of youth and migration.

The participants are expected to arrive in Assilah on 14 November and depart on the 20 November.

RECRUITMENT OF EUROPEAN PARTICIPANTS

The Council of Europe’s Directorate of Youth and Sport contributes to the forum in various ways, including input in then preparatory process and financial support for European participants through the European Youth Foundation.

Part of the Council of Europe’s role is also to invite, organise and support the participation of 25 youth leaders and youth workers from Council of Europe member states.

This call concerns the recruitment and selection of these participants.

Profile of the Participants

Participants recruited under this call should be active in intercultural dialogue with young people and representative of the diverse realities of youth work across Europe.

All Participants should:

• Be leaders and active members of a civil society srganisations, particularly youth organisations;
• Be aged between 18 and 35 years
• Be experienced in the theme of youth and migration;
• Be motivated and interested in developing intercultural dialogue and cooperation with youth work and youth policy actors in the Arab region;
• Be resident in a member state of the Council of Europe or a state party to the European Cultural Convention.
• Be able to work in English or Arabic.

NB: in addition to the participants being recruited by the Council of Europe, the European Youth Forum (YFJ) will also recruit a similar number of participants from its member organisations. The call for the member organisations of the European Youth Forum is available on the YFJ intranet website, for accessing which the interested persons should contact their Member Organisation for a username and a password.

PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATIONS

All those youth workers and youth leaders interested in attending the forum should register and fill in an on-line application form at http://courses.opencontent.it according to the instructions provided on the site. The application should be accompanied by a supporting letter of the sending organisation or institution which states the reasons why the participation of the applicant is important for the organisation.

The Deadline for submitting applications is 13 October 2009.

Attachment: Course Presentation

Contact Information:

Viktoria Karpatska
Council of Europe - European Youth Centre Budapest
H-1024 Budapest, Zivatar u. 1-3. HUNGARY
Fax: +36 1 212 4076
E-mail: viktoria.karpatska@coe.int
www.eycb.coe.int

Source - unistudy.org.ua