Would you like to find out the story behind the “révolution heureuse”? Do you know whose slogan is “Liberty, Order, Justice”? Or you have travelled the whole Europe at the age of twenty-something (which is actually not impossible if you are an AEGEEan), and you are extremely eager to discover something new? If your response to any of these questions is yes, keep reading.

At the moment when various forms of civil disobedience are in progress on our continent (no matter whether you consider them demonstrations, revolutions, or something else), it is so intriguing to see what it looks like when one of them successfully finishes. There were different socio-cultural reasons for which Tunisia was a special case of the Arab Spring. Full Internet access, closeness to Europe (not only geographically), a big percentage of high-educated, but unemployed young people are only one of them. Since every AEGEEan supports taking an action instead of only complaining on social networks, this is an awesome opportunity to meet young people who actually did so. Undoubtedly, we can learn from them as much as they can from us.

The event takes place from 11th until 18th of May, with a 140 euros fee, including: accommodation in a hostel, three meals per day, transportation inside Tunisia and entrance fees to all the places visited as the part of the programme.

The programme provides you with activities exploring both the modern and conservative sides of Tunisia, meetings with members of different Tunisian NGOs, discussions about the Tunisian revolution and the Arab Spring, visits to religious and historic sites, as well as diferent cultural activities.

If none of the above reasons have convinced you to apply yet, feel free to check Facebook pages of EuroArab Project of AEGEE- Europe, or simply of the event itself. Of course, unless the wonderful photos taken personally by our HR Responsible Mariem Ben Ltaifa do not manage to seduce you before that.

More information can be found in:

• EuroArab Project Facebook Group
• Facebook Page of the Event

Written by Lana Tomić, AEGEE-Zagreb

If you’ve heard of the Arab minority in Europe, Hungary might not be the country that first comes to mind, but there is a minority in Budapest. When the Euroarab project team approached AEGEE-Budapest about organising an event, the first thought was that it would be a good opportunity to organise open lectures for externals (potential members). While brainstorming on “something Arab” the members developed the concept of AEGEE-Budapest’s ‘Arab week’, which took place in the last week of November.

This ‘Arab Week’ started with a roundtable discussion on the Muslim community of Hungary. Around 30-35 participants came to listen to the discussion (about half of them were the members of AEGEE-Budapest). There were experts from the university and a leader of the Hungarian Islam Church.

The participants learned that Muslim minorities have been living in Hungary even before the Ottoman occupation. So Arab merchants and travellers had been visiting Hungary for centuries. Now, in the 21^st century the situation is very different from other -for example Western European- countries. If you ask Hungarians where they can meet ethnic Arab people, they will probably say in the hospitals as doctors, or they might know some engineers, dentists, traders and businessmen. This is because in the sixties and seventies of the 20th century, thousands of young Arabs came  to study in Hungary. Some went home after their studies, but some of them stayed – having built a family there, with a Hungarian wife/ husband and children.

Of course the Muslim community is not the same as the Arab community of Hungary. The experts explained that around two-thirds of Muslims in Hungary are ethnic Arabs or have Arabic origins. It was very interesting to hear about the different groups within and different realities of a largely unknown heterogenous community. The speakers agreed that it is possible to live according to the Islamic religious rules in Hungary, though they saw some difficulties. Most problems in the workplace, schools and other places could be solved easily, but the biggest problem is a lack of knowledge and ignorance of the ‘majority’.

Muslims have had to acknowledge that many things in their traditions and customs (even the ‘rules of praying’) depend on their cultural background. So here, in Europe the different groups have to communicate to learn from one another.

The participants listened carefully to the long discussion and also participated with some interesting questions. In the end everyone learned a lot about this heterogenous group of people that lives among us. But whether there is something like a European Islam is still hard to say. How different is this religion existing in minorities, where many historically connected cultural and traditional features are not present?

After the roundtable discussion there was an ‘Arabian night’, a house party with some Arab cookies made by members of AEGEE-Budapest. Not all the rules of the Quran were followed during the night, but some potential AEGEE members joined, and  together they played a quiz to test their knowledge of the Arabian countries.

Two days later there was a lecture on the current conflict in Syria which also included a discussion of the different groups within the Syrian society. This time there was an audience of around 45 people, and many students from different universities took part in this thematic event. The Professor explained how history affected this fragile society. Even though the Syrian civil war is often in the news, without understanding the thousand years old coexistence of Muslims and Christians, one can only have a false picture of the country.

The Arab week for AEGEE-Budapest was a huge success. With strong PR many people were reached, and during the event members of AEGEE and other students were able to learn a lot about Arab culture and the reality of this minority group.

Written by: Roland Papp (AEGEE-Budapest)

This is the continuation of the interview with Diana Lesko, the Project Manager, and Taha Sharif, the Content Manager from the EuroArab project.

What is for you personally the best thing about Europe and/or European culture?

Diana Lesko (DL): It gives me a lot of opportunities to travel in and outside of Europe. I can freely go anywhere I want. As for European culture, what I like the most is that I can make free choices about my life and nobody tries to interfere.

Taha Sharif (TS): Well, I very much enjoy European cuisines and sport.

What is for you personally the best thing about Arab countries and/or Arabic culture?

DL: I adore their hospitability, generosity and caring. I spent some time in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. I was hosted by Arab families who treated me as their own child in their house, and my Arab friends took care of me from the second I entered the country until the second I left the country with a lot of consideration, respect and care.

TS: I believe one of the best things about Arab culture is the social coherence. Family means a lot to Arabs. Caring for the elderly in the family is a duty, but that each Arab does spontaneously.

What has been the biggest challenge for you so far as being a part of EuroArab project?

DL: The biggest challenge is how we, the EuroArab teame working from many different countries can reach young people in Europe and the Arab world. Also, we have to accept that we have different ways of communication and understanding things – in a sense, different maps of the world that may arouse clashes and conflict.

TS: As we have just begun the project, I do not recall any challenges. But, even if I happen to face a challenge, I truly believe in the EuroArab team’s spirit to tackle whatever might face us. And I should mention our project’s coordinator, Diana, who has chosen a team of Arabs and Europeans members with a great sense of responsibility and wisdom.

Can you give us an example of a positive EuroArab cooperation?

DL: For example, in our team, for each position there is an Arab and European responsible. While working together on the same tasks, they are sharing their own perspectives which can be very different because we are coming from very different cultural backgrounds. Having included all the different perspectives makes our work very unique. Last but not least, while working we are also learning many things about each others’ country.

TS: Surely, there are many cooperation treaties between Arabs and Europeans. Be they on a state level or the level of the Arab League and the European Union. Unfortunately, there are not as many youth oriented initiatives as there should be.  The EuroArab project is a great example which would strengthen youth cooperation in both regions on many levels.

How do you see the future of the next two years of EuroArab? What can we expect both individually and as AEGEE?

DL: As an individual, I expect that I will have a deeper and wider knowledge about what concerns the Arab youth. As for AEGEE, I expect that there will be more AEGEEans knowing more about the Arab youth and their culture. I would like to see more friendships and youth cooperation developing between young Arabs and AEGEEans. Moreover, I expect that having gained more knowledge about each other we, European youth, will reduce the negative stereotypes we have stamped on each other. Naturally, the events and case study trips we are going to organize during these two years won’t reach everyone as each of the events is for a certain number of people. Therefore, we have to go beyond that. We want to have online forums where we would facilitate discussions and offer platforms for getting to know each other, form relationships and accomplish projects together. This might sound really simple, however it’s very important, and it requires determination and effort – which I hope the young people will have and make.

TS: I expect EuroArab to be embraced by wide youth networks in both regions. These networks would be the backbone of our cooperative activities and our endless support towards youth issues in both regions. As an AEGEE’s member I believe this would accomplish one of the main aims of AEGEE: “striving to create an open and tolerant society for today and tomorrow and fostering democracy, human rights, tolerance and cross border cooperation”.

EuroArab team members and responsibilities

Diana Lesko, AEGEE-Debrecen, Hungary – Project Manager

Stephanie Müller, AEGEE-Heidelberg, Germany – Financial Manager

Taha Shariff, Khartoum, Sudan & Karolina Mazetyte, AEGEE-Kaunas, Lithuania – Content Managers

Mariem Ben Ltaifa, Sousse, Tunisia & Hazal Melike Akboga, AEGEE-Ankara, Turkey – HR Managers

Mazen Elhalfawy, Alexandria, Egypt & Irinelu Iacoban, AEGEE-Chisianu, Moldova – PR Managers

Orabi Nakhleh, Ramallah, Palestine & Marlen Osmanov, AEGEE-Sevastopol, Ukraine – IT Managers

Said Bakkali, Tangier, Morocco & Alfredo Sellitti, AEGEE-Salerno, Italy – FR Managers

Agnija Kazuša, AEGEE-Ogre, Latvia – Press Team, Journalist

Ahmed Wahid, Cairo, Egypt – Graphic Designer      

Dita Dlabolova, AEGEE-Brno, Czech Republic – Video Editor

Morgane Hoarau, AEGEE-Krakow, Poland – Content Team member  

Oliver Andersson Hugemark, Kristinehamn, Sweden – Content Team member 

Sandra Oborska, AEGEE-Krakow, Poland – Content Team member                                                                            

Kate Jenkins, AEGEE-Durham, United Kingdom – English Proofreader

Written by Agnija Kazuša, AEGEE-Ogre

Proofread by Kate Jenkins, AEGEE-Durham

What started as a mysterious attraction has developed into clear ideas about cooperation, mutual understanding, tolerance, getting to know each other, and overcoming stereotypes. Like a meeting of eyes that could create a new impression, like a vigorous handshake hoping to form a long lasting friendship, and like small talk that leads to an intelligent, deep conversation, the EuroArab project has formed its team.  Taking on 20 team members they have taken the first important step towards cooperation: uniting both Arabs and Europeans as leaders for each task. As they meet, exchange handshakes and conversation, we have invited two of the team members for a cup of coffee, to sit back comfortably in their chairs and to talk about their perceptions of the grand AEGEE initiative called EuroArab project. This is an interview (in two parts) with Diana Lesko, the Project Manager, and Taha Sharif, the Content Manager for the EuroArab project.

Please, introduce yourselves!

Diana Lesko (DL): I am Diana Lesko from Hungary; I am the Project Manager of EuroArab Project.

Taha Sharif (TS): My name is Taha Sharif, Sudanese, and I am working as a Content Manager for the EuroArab Project.

What made you a part of EuroArab project?

DL: In 2010 AEGEE organized a EuroArab Case Study Trip. I read the open call for participants and without hesitation I said I had to be there. I was always interested in Arab culture and people. It was some kind of mysterious attraction. Therefore, that open call in itself – uniting Arabs and Europeans in one case study trip – was attractive. At the event, I experienced the best intercultural experience I have ever had in my life with young Palestinians, Egyptians and Europeans. A few months later, I read another open call that was recruiting new team members for the EuroArab project, and again I thought, I have got to be there. And here I am.

TS: I joined this great project for two reasons.  Firstly, the rise of Far right/right wing in the political arena in Europe which could soon eliminate any political tolerance, and secondly, the rise of Islamists in Arab countries which could lead to the same result. Also, as a young Arab, living during this difficult time, I believe that I am obliged to take a positive role, to shape my future according to my generation’s needs and wishes. This should happen without any influence from older generations, as I see them contributing to the misunderstandings and the misconceptions in our world today.  I know that this will not be an easy process, but I firmly believe that if we, young Arabs and Europeans, are to progress and have the future we all dream of, we need to lead by example and start working together to achieve small successes which will lead to a great success.

What made you take up the roles you have in the project? Could you describe what it means for you on a daily basis life?

DL: I was very motivated to run the whole project, to get involved in every single detail of the project and make something big out of it. Currently, I spend a lot of time with the project on daily basis after work and on weekends. Moreover, I try to spend more time learning the Arabic language, and learning about Arabic culture and politics. I learn a lot from the stories of my team. We have our EuroArab Family Facebook group where we talk about everything, not only the project but also our daily life experiences, like food, updates about our countries, and videos of our cultures. That way we also care about what’s going on with ourselves.

TS: Having this position will further develop my media skills.  I believe the media has always had the loudest voice in helping to widen the gap between youth in both regions. It is an important responsibility that needs to be used wisely and with a great determination. Furthermore, this position has definitely sharpened my sense of the content of the media: the stated and unstated message(s) and of course its ramifications.

What are your aspirations regarding the project?

DL: My basic aspirations are reducing stereotypes and xenophobia in Europe and the Arab world, eliminating mental and physical borders between the Arab and European youth, informing them about each others’ social reality, culture and mentality in order to work together effectively and live together peacefully, and strengthen youth partnership between young Arabs and Europeans.

TS: My aspirations are to reach as many young people as possible in both regions and to make them realize how important it is to have a future built on mutual understanding and respect, tolerance, cooperation and peace.

Why is it important for Europeans and Arabs to be friends?

DL: Why wouldn’t we be friends? I think it is very important that young Europeans and Arabs get to know each other better and become friends. How is it good for us to know nothing about each other and remain ignorant? How is it good for us to remain unfriendly towards each other? We were born in the same world, and a lot of us live together in the same country. We need to be friends and allies so that we can develop great projects together and make the society a better place to live. What has prevented this so far is lack of opportunities to meet each other and learn about each other, a lack of awareness, a lack of initiatives such as our EuroArab project. In Europe, there are a lot of Arabs and they are ignored, as if they don’t exist. And even if Europeans realize they are here, they are often given a bad image.

TS: Pursuing friendship is a noble endeavor. This is how our future will flourish. However, our growing mutual interests should be taken into consideration too.

This was the first part of the interview with Diana Lesko and Taha Sharif. The second part will come soon.

Written by Agnija Kazuša, AEGEE-Ogre

Proofread by Kate Jenkins, AEGEE-Durham

After the historical result of the vote during the last General Assembly of the United Nations held on the 28th November 2012, a possible new chapter opened in the history of the Middle East.

With an overwhelming majority, the United Nations welcomed the Palestinian Authority as “Non-member observer State”, upgrading it from the previous status of “entity”, and in this way implicitly recognising Palestine as a State.

While Europe was once again divided on the matter, with the Czech Republic voting against and nine states abstaining from the vote, a further step has been taken in the direction of a long-lasting peace in the area.

However, not only Europe was divided on the vote. While Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority and Chair of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, welcomed the decision of the UN, declaring that the intention of the bid was not “to delegitimize a State (Israel) established years ago, but rather to affirm the legitimacy of the State that must now achieve its independence”, a part of Palestinians felt indignation at a decision that means losing their rights and which was agreed by somebody not entitled to represent all Palestinians.

We must keep in mind that the Palestinian territory is divided in two parts: the West Bank, under control of the Palestinian Authority, and Gaza, governed by the Hamas which, through its leader Khaled Meshaal, backed Abbas as a joint strategy to empower all Palestinians.

Will the bid change anything? Will this decision help the peace process between Israel and Palestine?

While Hamas and Fatah are getting closer, the “symbolic” decision taken by the United Nations can be a starting point for a new era. European votes showed that rather than giving unconditional support to Israel, what really matters is the end of hostility. Their vote showed that Europe is finally interested in the conflict, and that the primary interest is no longer merely economic, but rather in achieving social stability in the area.

The “Two-states solution”, as the United Nations calls it, seems a little bit closer: war is never a successful solution, and if young people may forgive and look ahead, we can hope to see a new generation living together under the same sky.

Written by Alfredo Sellitti, AEGEE-Salerno & Fundraising Responsible of the EuroArab Project

I am not a writer and I am certainly not a political analyst. I am just a concerned civil activist interested in the field of the intercultural dialogue, conflict resolution and breaking stereotypes. For the last five years, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of people from different nations, religions, languages, thoughts and beliefs, but with one common link, and that is acknowledging the fact that we are all part of one human family.

If you think the last line is just part of my routine to get you to pay attention, then please stop reading this article, but if you do believe in it, please read on!

As an icebreaker, I used to introduce myself in all the trainings and meetings I attended with following introductory  sentence — “I am Karim Gaber, I am an Egyptian Muslim, young man, and don’t worry I don’t have a bomb, they took it at the airport!”

Over the last decade, media has been promoting three following words: stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. Three words that we, as doctors in psychology, consider to be very much related.

First, you have to have stereotyping thoughts which resemble our expectation and beliefs about someone, which then lead to a prejudice, which is the emotional response, and finally to discrimination which is the action.

This brings me to the recent real life situation that took place due to an unknown American, a producent of a low budget movie that promotes hatred speech against Muslims and the Prophet Mohamed (Peace be upon him), which then made its way to the air waves on 9/11/2012. Once it reached the Middle East and the Arab world, violent acts against U.S embassies around the world took place.

I am not going through that it is the elections year in USA and there might be a conspiracy to embarrass Obama’s administration and show that there is no way to deal with Arabs except by killing.

I am also not going through that these acts coincide with the Arab spring and the wining of the Islamic parties in some countries as Egypt and Tunisia and how media continue to promote islamophobia among the US and European countries.

I won’t go through all this because I am not a conspiracy fan guy and I will stick to what I do best which is dialogue.

I believe we should fight ideas with ideas, not with violence and so I am against all the violent acts against US embassies in the Middle East because if the prophet Mohamed (PBUH) himself were alive, He would be against it.

That takes me to a serious thought, how would prophet Mohamed (PBUH) react if He were alive? And what does Islam tell us to do against hate speech?

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “He will not enter Paradise whose neighbour is not secure from his wrongful conduct.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 15)

He also said “The best (Jihad) is (to speak) word of justice to an oppressive ruler.” (Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 2040)

He is the one who said: “Do not kill women or children or an aged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place.” (Al-Muwatta, Volume 21, Hadith 9 and 10)

These are the prophet manners that we should embrace and so, I am not angry with the movie, because probably prophet Mohamed (PBUH) wouldn’t be angry neither. He probably would go and work more to spread peace, not attack embassies.

I am sad that some Moslems, who, I am sure, love the prophet, did not follow his rules, instructions and manners but attacked embassies instead.

They were like the bear that killed his friend and they badly influenced Islam more than the movie itself.

Also, I am not surprised that the corrupted media focused on the violent acts and did not mention the majority of other Moslems who call for stopping the violence and having a productive intercultural dialogue.

I am confused that if you call a man black, you are a racist but if you promote hatred speech against prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and Islam or any religion, it is called freedom of speech.

I am not against freedom of speech, and to prove that I will ask you proudly to please stereotype me!

Yes, please stereotype me, at least by doing that you spend some of your time thinking about me, which means that you acknowledge my existence!

Congratulations, it is a huge step you have made.

Please stereotype me, collect data and thoughts. Stereotype me with all the hatred speech, but before you transform that to emotions to judge me, spend more time to come and ask me first.

I won’t ask you not to believe in it, but at least we had a dialogue.

Written by Karim Gaber, Member of the EuroArab Project Team 

Website reference for the Prophet (PBUH) Hadith http://www.islamset.com/islam/hadith/sayings/part-1.html

It is a summer school which was attended by 135 participants from 69 countries. It already sounds awesome!

It was the third edition of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Summer School which was held by the University of Coimbra, Portugal, between 6^th and 11^th August.

The two main objectives of the summer school were to promote the empowerment of young people by strengthening their intercultural skills and competences, and to strengthen their capacity to get involved in the preparation and implementation of cooperative actions among nations to promote peace.

We attended several lectures and workshops aiming to address the objectives of the summer school.

In the framework of various workshops the participants were given the chance to introduce their projects to other participants.

In one of the workshops, called “Youth activism against stereotypes and prejudices”, I presented the EuroArab Project of AEGEE – Europe, and it felt great to spread the word!

The summer school has also given space for inter-religious dialogue. We visited a cathedral, a synagogue and a mosque in Lisbon. It was very important for us to understand where and how people of different faiths practice their religion.

Written by Diana Lesko, AEGEE-Debrecen

Come with me for a few minutes and learn about an awesome AEGEE project!

The EuroArabs on the move

I went to the Comite Directeur (CD) house at the end of July for a few days with Sandra Oborska and Morgana Hoarau from AEGEE-Kraków. We dedicated three full days working on the EuroArab project with the help of Gizem Karsli and Luis Alvarado Martínez from the CD house.

Some of us from AEGEE have been working for a while on EuroArab related activities.  As for now, we are six AEGEEans in the EuroArab team: Agnija Kazusha and Ilona Nuksevica from AEGEE-Ogre, Sandra Oborska and Morgana Hoarau from AEGEE-Krakow, Karolina Mazetyte from AEGEE-Kaunas and Diana Lesko from AEGEE-Debrecen. We are so ready to launch the official EuroArab project within AEGEE. Therefore, some of us gathered to agree on the basics of project which will run for 2 years.

What are the EuroArabs doing?

The purpose of the project is to establish and maintain good and prosperous relationship between young people in Europe and Arab world.

The EuroArab project is focusing on creating awareness, promoting cooperation, peace, mutual understanding thus bridging Europe and Arab world; creating knowledge, sharing ideas, exchanging values and providing direct experience of current situation in Europe and Arab world for European and Arab youth; empowering youth, strengthening and developing active civil society.

We are now recruiting team members. Our core team will consist of AEGEE and Arab members. This is something new in AEGEE. Normally, our team members all belong to one of our local antennae. However, this project will be different. You know, how would we  have a Euro-Arab project without Arabs? That would be funny. I can assure you it will be an interesting experience to work with young people from the Arab world, such as Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Algeria or Sudan. The open call is already published by Announce-L. Check it and apply if you like it.

Future activities with the EuroArabs

Let’s see now what we have planned so far for the project. We are working on implementing training courses and case study trips on intercultural project management, capacity building, conflict resolution, peace building, democracy, youth participation, volunteering and youth rights. One of them is going to take place in Kraków in December. AEGEE-Kraków will host Egyptians from their partner organisation, SHIFT, based in Alexandria, and Polish youngsters from AEGEE -Kraków to discuss democracy and political transition on the examples of Egypt and Poland and exchange best practices.

We are going to be present as well at all Agorae. Next time you can all see us in the autumn Agora, in Budapest, where you can join our workshop. We are planning a webseminar where young Arabs will also join us through Skype. Moreover, as the next EMB in Valletta will deal with EU neighborhood relations with all countries that currently are gathered under the European Neighborhood Policy, there will be a lot of talks on EuroArab relations with us.

There are going to be policy making seminars as well. One of them will be a seminar on intercultural dialogue. We want to have intercultural dialogue introduced in the curriculum of schools in Europe and the Arab region. We will work on developing the content of such course in the EuroArab context.

Last but not the least, we are planning on creating an AEGEE Euro–Arab website where young Arabs and Europeans can connect to each other and discuss various topics in order to get to know each others’ culture and society and you can be up-to-date about our activities.

There are plenty of more ideas which you will hear about very soon.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact us at euroarab@aegee.org!

I would like to also draw your attention to the articles which had been previously published thanks to our EuroArab friends in AEGEE:

The Euro Arab youth cooperation is officially getting started

Bridging the gap between Europe and Middle East

EuroArab mac Krakow

Experiencing real diversity in the EuroArab Project

EuroArab in the house

Written by Diana Lesko, AEGEE-Debrecen

Just one year ago I was one of the millions of Europeans that had no idea about the Arab world. I had

Delegates from Qatar, Poland and Iraq in front of Bibliotheca Alexandrina

these negative pictures in my head and was thinking in stereotypes. Then one day Shift – Euro-Arab Youth Initiative established a partnership with the European Students Forum AEGEE-Kraków and I became the coordinator of the second stage of the EuroArab – Media & Culture Project, which was an exchange programme. Before making this decision I had a lot of doubts, as I had little knowledge about the Arab culture and I already had a certain way of thinking. But then I said to myself: “Hey, isn’t this the perfect opportunity to verify everything I had learned from the media until now?”. And so I started to work on the project with Shift.

First steps in having an intercultural dialogue

We had regular Skype meetings in which we planned, discussed, exchanged ideas and best practices – we learned a lot from each other. During the dramatic events that took place in Egypt in November 2011, I was in direct contact with Karim Gaber, the president of Shift, every single day, and I was updated about the current situation. I heard tragic stories about human rights being violated on a daily basis on the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, and other cities. I watched videos posted on YouTube where I could see how the youth was fighting for their country and they inspired me greatly.

When the Egyptians finally came to Poland for the exchange programme, my team and I had the opportunity to learn more about the Egyptian revolution, about the problems that young people are now facing, but also about their dreams. I realized that the Arabs were so similar to the Europeans in so many ways. I understood that all those negative pictures I had in my head were nonsense and that we could truly become friends. This intercultural dialogue was continued afterwards on social media platforms and via Skype.

The EuroArab Youth Forum

When I heard Karim’s idea of having a EuroArab Youth Forum in Alexandria, I thought that this could be a fantastic start in creating strong foundations for building real Euro-Arab relations. I supported the idea from the very beginning, and so eventually AEGEE-Kraków became the official partner for this event that took place in Alexandria (Egypt) in the beginning of May. There are not many Euro-Arab initiatives in the world, so this event was unique and I had the feeling we might be making history. During the Forum we discussed various issues connected to sustainable development in both regions and were looking for implementable solutions. The participants got the opportunity to do some networking and already there are some plans for establishing different projects together. Not only AEGEE-Kraków participated in the Forum – delegates from AEGEE-Durham, AEGEE-Rodos and AEGEE-Tilburg were present too. Meeting all the people involved in the Forum, whether it was the participants, organizers or even the local people that approached us, was so inspiring and heartwarming. Thanks to the interaction, we were able to leave a positive impact on the local society and hopefully we have activated young Egyptians to join or even create similar initiatives. Egypt needs an active and wise society now,

Egyptian media was present during the Closing Ceremony

especially with the political transition going on. The youth plays a huge role in shaping the future of the country and the actions they take today will affect it. The cooperation between youth from Europe and the Arab world might not be on the high political level, but our will to cooperate comes purely from our hearts and that is what makes it so special and true. AEGEE-Kraków is already working on another project with Shift, more information is yet to come.

The Egyptian Revolution

During my stay in Egypt I saw with my own eyes that the revolution was continuing. There were some demonstrations going on (even in front of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in which we had our workshops; or in front of a police station, while we were visiting the pyramids in Giza). You might think that the youth has no say in politics – but the Egyptians (of my age!) proved that they do have a say and that they really can make a difference! Their determination and courage was simply impressive! Walking around the center of Cairo, specifically Tahrir Square, where the Revolution had begun, I felt as if I was witnessing history – indeed I was. I saw burnt buildings (including the former headquaters of

Press Conference at the end of the Forum

Mubarak’s political party) and beautiful street art, painted by young people, who wanted to tell the world the truth about what was and still is going on in Egypt. Everywhere around I spotted posters of candidates running for President. The first democratic elections, after the fall of the regime, are about to begin and so the world, along with me, will be watching the post-election events. Hopefully we will witness the rise of a new democratic country. Egypt still has a long way to go, but with the new generation –  the revolutionaries – I believe it will become a country of justice, where human rights are respected and where everybody can live a worthy life.

To be continued…

The EuroArab experience has made such an impact on me, gave me new precious friends and fresh inspiration, which makes me want to come back to Egypt once more and take more action. I believe that together we are able to achieve big things.  The adventure has just begun…

If you are interested to know more about the Euro-Arab initiatives visit:

http://www.euromedyouth.net/

http://www.salto–youth.net/rc/euromed/

Written by Sandra Oborska, AEGEE-Kraków

Media, Arabs, culture, fun and so many experiences.

I do not even know how to start. I will just say that everything was so good and lovely that it took me some time to come back to everyday reality and write this article. An article about an amazing week spent in Krakow during the EuroArab Project.

An explosive mixture of people

15 people from all over Europe and 15 people from Egypt. As we say in Ukraine –  an explosive mixture. But from the first day till the last minutes of the last day of the project was more than worth it. Maybe the point is that already before the trip we got to know each other quite well. This happened through sharing some songs and social communication online before the event even started.

Feel the magic of Krakow city

This is the magic of Krakow city, or maybe it was just good mood, but Iryna (a fellow participant from Ukraine) and I got out of the bus and already knew that we would love this week.
However, I will not bore you with compliments but will tell you the truth about what was so amazing about this gorgeous week in Krakow.

Lesson about life that will last a life time

As  mentioned above, there were different participants from different countries, moreover different religions and ways of thinking. For any single second I did not feel uncomfortable or bothered by any obstacles. For people who are wondering why I am writing like that, just google prejudice of Ukrainians against Arabic people.
Moreover, I was just wondering how the organisers managed to create such a nice atmosphere. From the first day everybody was friendly, helpful, and what is very important – openhearted. In a moment all my prejudice just disappeared. I learned so many new things about another culture, I was amazed about all the things I did not know before – way of thinking, perception of everyday life, philosophy of life, behavior in the life of Arabic people.

The life of Tommy and Billy

No doubt, communicating with these guys – witnesses of Egyptian revolution – gave us a lot of knowledge and real examples of how it worked in reality, how it was for them to be a part of this power to change their own lives, hopefully for something better. Furthermore, what I really appreciated was the nice atmosphere that made everybody feel comfortable to discuss everything, to voice their opinions, and to argue about some topics. You should have seen us during one workshop about the life situation of two guys: Tommy and Billy. The participants were separated in two teams and there was a story: these two guys are friends. Billy works in a jewelry shop and he owes some money to Tommy. Once Tommy came to shop and stole a golden ring from the shop and now Billy is in trouble because his boss will kill him, but Tommy has a very ill daughter and he needs to take care of her.

One team was supposed to defend Tommy and the other one was defending Billy. What happened was that Tommy’s team was so passionate about his defense that if you ever need a lawyer maybe one of the participants from the EuroArab project could help you out!

Program full of activities

It is impossible not to mention all these interesting and efficient city games, amazing workshops in which we had to investigate the streets of Krakow and then put it into interesting presentations. The Polish dancing workshop made us dance, the lesson of Polish history gave us valuable knowledge, and Polish and Arabic language lessons extended our vocabulary. What I enjoyed a lot was the city quest, apart of my very tired legs. Trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau, although it is hard to speak of, is for sure worth visiting and should be visited.
And then of course there is the social program – jazz cafes, shisha bar, galleries, traditional cuisine, and lovely parties at the hostel.

In the end I have one more remark – everybody wanted to prolong the project. Explosive mixture of these crazy, interesting, so different and so cool people has not yet burst. It is waiting for its chance to do so somewhere in Europe.

Written by Lidiia Akryshora, AEGEE-Kyiv