YouthNet blog
An insight into youth issues, volunteering trends, charity life and more from the UK charity YouthNet
All | Events | Youth | Technology | Volunteering | YouthNet | Charity World
Tuesday May 16, 2006
Doing it in Tunisia
PHOTO: Marouen (Tunisian volunteer), Patrick (YouthNet), Simon (YouthNet), and Lilia (British Council Tunisia) at Tunis Science City.
YouthNet was invited by the British Council in Tunisia to participate in a conference, to explore new ways of setting up a regional volunteering database amongst countries in North Africa and the Middle East. The event was an opportunity to share YouthNet's experience developing do-it.org.uk and learn from others with experience of volunteering in the Middle East.
The voluntary day event (06-05-2006) sought to build on the experiences of 'Bridges', a 'Connecting Futures' project running in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and the UK. It was interesting to learn about the experiences as diverse as the Egyptian Volunteer Centre, the Red Crescent in Syria and the Tunisian Scouts. Bridges is a project that aims to create a regional network of young people willing to be actively involved in their communities and to make a difference.
In November 2005, Tunisia played host for the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS). WSIS put Tunisia centre stage of the debate around information and its potential benefits to society. Although sometimes controversial in the Tunisian political context, WSIS proved beneficial to many young Tunisians working hard to harness the potential of the information age for voluntary groups in Tunisia.
The voluntary day event on 6th May was an opportunity to learn about the work and experience of young volunteers across North Africa and the Middle East- many still with the experience of WSIS fresh in their minds. One such volunteer was Marouen Mraihi, a young Tunisian who blogs about his experiences in the voluntary sector. He told us about the enthusiasm of young people keen to get involved in their community. Marouen was particularly interested to use his IT skills to set up a volunteering database in Tunisia.
It was inspiring to see how volunteering is being promoted in different ways in different countries. And it has to be said, it was also incredibly refreshing to see beyond the narrow focus of the Western media. We had a chance to discover the vibrant civil societies in North Africa and the Middle East, that are all too frequently 'off our radar'. Posted by Patrick Daniels ( 10:22 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
