Above: the town of Majdal Anjar, Lebanon Nidal Khaled, Coordinator, Local Prevention Network. President of the Youth Initiatives Association. Ghida Elassaad, Project Coordinator, Strong Cities Network This article was written before the Lebanese government ordered the coronavirus lockdown. Fear of the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping across Lebanon, and the border town of Majdal Anjar is…
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Above: Teams develop their campaigns at our Youth Innovation Labs, like this one in Mombasa, with guidance provided by the Young Cities team. It started with a simple invitation – a request for applications from youth interested in attending an innovation lab and solving a key local challenge. We shortlisted the brightest ideas and invited…
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Continuing on from our previous article on the importance of engaging and involving youth in municipal decision-making, as well as the mission of the SCN’s Young Cities programme, we are pleased to provide an update on the projects and work that youth are undertaking in Kenya, Lebanon and Senegal. We hope this can provide inspiration for our members for ideas on how cities can work with and empower youth, the range of issues that can be addressed, as well as the benefits of collaboration.
Above: the media campaign ‘Stray Bullets’ designed by Tripoli youth through SCN’s Young Cities programme is discussed on Lebanese national television Around the world, celebratory gunfire is a serious threat to life, with some bullets potentially reaching terminal velocity of 300 feet (91m) per second as they fall. Efforts by law enforcement to ban gunfire…
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Building trust between youth and local government can be a daunting task. The more local governments can create opportunities to support, partner and work with youth on the local issues that matter most to them, the better.
Cheikh ‘Keyti’ Sene, one half of the rap duo Journal Rappé As part of our recent work in Senegal, Young Cities conducted an interview with Keyti, a civil activist in Senegal and one of the co-founders of Journal Rappé, an online programme where artists relay important and often complex political information to youth through music and…
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Above: the launch of the Tripoli Youth Office in Lebanon The past two months have been a busy period for the Young Cities team, delivering activities in collaboration with SCN members in Kenya, Lebanon and Senegal. Young Cities is SCN’s flagship youth engagement, capacity-building, advocacy and policy programme that supports the development of local youth-led…
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After Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon, Kenya saw its first Young Cities Youth Innovation lab take place in Mombasa from 19 – 21 November. Young Cities unites efforts from ISD’s Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN) and Strong Cities Network (SCN), and is an integrated training and support programme for young activists and municipal policymakers and practitioners….
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Authors: Nourhan Nassar and Yomn al-Kaisi Reem Shaker was only 18 years old when a stray bullet struck her head on the balcony of her family home in the Lebanese city of Miniyeh. The shot which killed her was fired not in retribution, but in jubilation by a group celebrating the return of their loved ones from…
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The SCN and YouthCAN teams met with the County Government, youth and local CSOs in Mombasa, Kenya last week, in preparation for an upcoming Young Cities workshop. Further expanding upon ISD’s expertise and portfolio in East Africa, Young Cities Mombasa will be held at the end of November. The programme aims at increasing the capacity of youth to…
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