Middle East

LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES

[Link]

The League of Arab States (also known as the Arab League) is a voluntary
association of independent countries whose population is mainly Arabic
speaking. It seeks to strengthen ties among the member states, coordinate
policies, and promote common interests. It was founded in 1945 with states
joining progressively over time. Its membership now extends to 22 states. It
is involved in political, economic, cultural, and social programs designed to
promote the interests of member states. It has served as a forum for member
states to coordinate their policy positions and deliberate on matters of
common concern, settling some Arab disputes and limiting conflicts. It has
played an important role in shaping school curricula, and preserving
manuscripts and Arab cultural heritage. It also encourages measures against
crime and drug abuse, and deals with labor issues (particularly among the
emigrant Arab workforce) and with issues of intellectual property and
information and communication technology promotion.

The League of Arab States emphasizes the role, strengthening, and

empowerment of Arab youth, and endorses young people as a principal factor
in the development of the Arab region. For this purpose, a League of Arab
States Youth Forum is held annually. The objectives of the forum are:

 exchanging knowledge, successful stories, ideas, and suggestions

concerned with the various dimensions of dialogue among social groups
with different cultures;
 crystallizing suggestions and mechanisms for enhancing the role of Arab
and European youth in fostering intercultural dialogue within the Arab
region and activating Euro-Arab cultural dialogue. Also to support
exchange, partnership, and joint actions between Arab and European
youth leading to intercultural interaction and complementarily;
 identifying youth ideas and suggestions to enhance the role of the
League of Arab States and its organizations in holding a continuous and
creative intercultural and inter-religious dialogue at the Arab,
Mediterranean, and international levels;
 proposing elements for a youth joint vision initiated from what is known
as a “transnational cultural” approach one that enhances intercultural
dialogue and complementarily values and ensures the sustainability of
common interests and values for all nations, and limits discrimination,
prejudice, and the false conflict among civilizations.
The 2008 League of Arab States Youth Forum was devoted to the theme of
“Youth and Intercultural Dialogue.” Detailed information on the program is
available at [Link]

No information is available in the public domain concerning the League’s

budget allocations for youth-related programming.

ARAB LEAGUE EDUCATIONAL, CULTURAL AND SCIENTIFIC

ORGANIZATION (ALECSO)

[Link]

ALECSO is a specialized agency, with headquarters in Tunis. The organization,

which works within the Arab League, focuses on enhancing and coordinating
educational and cultural activities in the Arab world. It was established in
1970. ALECSO is a resource center for the Arab world in matters of education,
culture, sciences, and communication.

ALECSO’s work is guided by an action plan for the period 2005–10. The plan’s
priorities include improving literacy in the Arab world, closing the technological
and digital gap between the Arab countries and developed countries,
enhancing educational systems using modern techniques in teaching and
learning, coping with the negative effects of globalization on Arab societies,
supporting dialogue between Arab culture and other cultures, developing
scientific research, preserving historical heritage, and disseminating Arab
culture to the international level. All of these priorities recognize young people
as a key constituency and a key beneficiary, but no information is available in
the public domain concerning the actual investment made in young people by
this agency of the Arab League.

EURO-MED YOUTH PROGRAM

[Link]

The Euro-Med Youth Program is a regional program set up within the

framework of the third chapter of the Barcelona Process titled “Partnership in
Social, Cultural and Human Affairs.” It aims at stimulating and encouraging a
mutual comprehension among youth in the Euro-Mediterranean region,
fighting stereotypes and prejudices and enhancing the sense of solidarity
among youth by promoting active citizenship. It also seeks to contribute to
the development of youth policies in the Mediterranean Partner Countries. It
supports concrete actions implemented by organizations on the ground
following calls for proposals, focusing on three types of actions: Youth
Exchanges, Voluntary Service and training and networking. The current phase
(IV), for 2010 – 2013, follows on from the Euromed Youth III program carried
out from 2005-2009. Its geographical scope comprises the 27 EU member
states and Mediterranean partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria and Tunisia.

Applicants and project leaders from the Mediterranean partner countries apply
directly for grants to their own national youth authorities, which are now
responsible for grant awarding and the overall management of the program.

Grants are awarded for the following activities:

 Support measures also follow the 2+2 formula (young people from two
EU member states and two Mediterranean partner countries). Projects
include job-shadowing, contact-making seminars, study visits, and
training courses.
 Voluntary Service consists in an unpaid, full-time, and nonprofit-making
transnational voluntary activity for the benefit of the community. It
involves young people from at least one EU member state and one
Mediterranean partner country.
 Youth Exchange projects bring together young people from at least four
different countries (two EU member states and two Mediterranean
partner countries), providing them with an opportunity to discuss
various themes and learn about each other’s country, culture, and
language.

Africa
THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (AFDB) AND THE AFRICAN
DEVELOMENT FUND (ADF)

[Link]

The AfDB is a multilateral development bank whose shareholders include 53

African countries and 24 non-African countries from the Americas, Asia, and
Europe. It was established in 1964 and officially began operations in 1967.
The group’s primary objective is to promote sustainable economic growth in
order to reduce poverty in Africa. It achieves this objective by financing a
broad range of development projects and programs in five topical areas,
including poverty reduction and regional integration, and with many projects
that have young people as their primary beneficiaries. During its 40 years of
operations, AfDB has disbursed over 3,000 loans and grants totaling over
US$50 billion.
As a more specific instrument, AfDB launched the ADF in 1974. ADF’s objective
is the promotion of economic and social development in 38 least-developed
African countries by providing concessional funding for projects and programs,
as well as technical assistance for studies and capacity-building activities. In
2008, US$3.1 billion were disbursed to projects in areas including
infrastructure development, environment, agriculture and rural development,
and social services. Among the latter, education represents an important
target of ADF funding.

A directory of ADF-funded projects is available

at: [Link]

AFRICAN UNION (AU)

[Link]

Founded in 1964, the AU is the continent’s principal organization for the

promotion of accelerated socioeconomic integration, with the aim of creating
greater unity and solidarity among African countries and peoples. It focuses
on the promotion of peace, security, and stability on the continent as a
prerequisite for the implementation of the development and integration
agenda of the Union. Given their demographic importance, young people are
seen by the AU as a key vehicle for implementing its objectives of peace,
unity, and prosperity.

In this pursuit, a key vehicle was launched in 2005 with the Economic, Social
and Cultural Council of the AU. The Council marks a new course for the AU as
it responds to calls for democracy and development from Africa’s vibrant civil
society institutions. The rich and diverse human and institutional resources at
the grassroots level in Africa are to become part of new partnerships between
the governments and all segments of the society. One of the key functions of
the Council is to “forge strong partnerships between governments and all
segments of the civil society, in particular women, the youth, children, the
Diaspora, organized labor, the private sector, and professional groups.” The
Council formed a number of sectoral cluster committees, including several that
are of particular relevance for young people: peace and security; social affairs
and health; human resources, science, and technology; and women and
gender.

COMMONWEALTH YOUTH PROGRAM (CYP) AFRICA

[Link]
The CYP Africa center is located in Lusaka, Zambia, and is one of four centers
established to serve the member countries of the Commonwealth. CYP Africa
responds to youth development for 20 countries, including Botswana,
Cameroon, Cyprus, Ghana, The Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Malta,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South
Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

CYP Africa has four strategic program areas aimed at improving the condition
of young people in Africa: Youth Enterprise and Sustainable Livelihoods;
Governance; Development and Youth Networks; Youth Work Education and
Training. Through these program areas, CYP Africa:

 provides skills, resources, and contacts for young people to create their
own business ventures;
 strengthens youth governance and youth networks so that they serve
young people more effectively;
 develops youth work as a profession;
 works with governments to create value for the contributions young
people make in running their countries;
 provides learning tools, models, Commonwealth experiences, and best
practices in youth development across countries and regions;
 provides opportunities to use information and communication
technology (ICT) to support young people and their development;
 builds youth leadership and decision making;
 helps young people play a greater part in economic and social
development;
 provides a platform for advocacy and mainstreaming youth
development in the work of multilateral development agencies.

For example, CYP Africa engages in human resource development efforts

through professional training courses in Youth in Development Work and
delivers a CYP diploma course, as well as short courses relevant to youth
development skills. The Commonwealth Diploma in Youth in Development
Work is an 18- month distant education course covering various development
needs of working with young people and development in general.

SOUTHEAST ASIA
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the
regional intergovernmental organization and geopoliticalunion of nations
in South Asia. Its member states
include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal,
the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC comprises 3% of the world's
area, 21% of the world's population and 3.8% (US$2.9 trillion)[3] of the global
economy, as of 2015.
SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.[4] Its secretariat is based
in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes development of economic
and regional integration.[5] It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in
2006.[6] SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United
Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities,
including the European Union.
The ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute (Chinese: 尤索夫伊萨东南亚研究院
; pinyin: Yóusǔofū Yīsà Dōngnányà Yánjīuyuàn) is a Singaporean statutory
board and research institution established by an Act of Parliament in
1968.[1] Previously known as the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS),
the organisation was renamed as ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute in August
2015, in honour of Singapore's first President.[2]

According to its website, the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute's primary objectives

are:

 To be a leading research centre dedicated to the study of socio-political,

security, and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its
wider geostrategic and economic environment.
 To stimulate research and debate within scholarly circles, enhance public
awareness of the region, and facilitate the search for viable solutions to
the varied problems confronting the region.
 To nurture a community of scholars interested in the region and to engage
in research on the multi-faceted dimensions and issues of stability and
security, economic development, and political, social and cultural change.
The institute conducts a range of research programmes; holds conferences,
workshops, lectures and seminars; publishes briefs, research journals and
books; and generally provides a range of research support facilities, including
a large library collection.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

ABOUT

Countries in East Asia region have thriving trade and economic relations with
each other through free trade agreements. The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) has free trade agreements with six partners namely People’s
Republic of China (ACFTA), Republic of Korea (AKFTA), Japan (AJCEP), India
(AIFTA) as well as Australia and New Zealand (AANZFTA).
In order to broaden and deepen the engagement among parties and to
enhance parties’ participation in economic development of the region, the
leaders of 16 participating countries established the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP). The RCEP was built upon the existing ASEAN+1

FTAs with the spirit to strengthen economic linkages and to enhance trade
and investment related activities as well as to contribute to minimising
development gap among the parties.

In August 2012, the 16 Economic Ministers endorsed the Guiding Principles

and Objectives for Negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership. The RCEP negotiations were launched by Leaders from 10 ASEAN
Member States (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) and six ASEAN
FTA partners (Australia, People’s Republic of China, India, Japan, Republic of
Korea, and New Zealand) during the 21st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits
in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2012.

The objective of launching RCEP negotiations is to achieve a modern,

comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial economic partnership
agreement among the ASEAN Member States and ASEAN’s FTA partners. The
RCEP negotiations commenced in early 2013.

COVERAGE AREAS

The RCEP negotiation includes: trade in goods, trade in services, investment,

economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition,
dispute settlement, e-commerce, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and
other issues.