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Middle East & North Africa Regional Impact

Publication Date:

27/01/2026

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MENA Regional Hub

Cities Leading Change Across MENA

With from the European Union, the Strong Cities Network launched its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Hub in 2023 to empower local governments and their leaders to prevent hate, violent extremism and polarisation. Since then, the Hub has brought together more than 30 cities from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, sparking a growing movement of mayors and local officials driving inclusive and sustainable prevention from the ground up. 

Across the region, cooperation between national and local governments on prevention is increasing as city leaders are stepping forward with new confidence and purpose. In Morocco, the City of Rabat’s leadership within Strong Cities has inspired six other municipalities to join the network and prompted the Ministry of Interior to formally include local governments in national prevention efforts. In Iraq, following Strong Cities-facilitated engagement, the National Committee for Countering Violent Extremism is now working directly with local authorities to co-design local action plans. And in Tunisia, Strong Cities’ partnership with the National Counter-Terrorism Commission led to the first-ever convening of officials from both national and municipal government as they look to localise the country’s revised strategy on countering violent ext support remism. 

Increased opportunities for cities to learn from each other have also sparked tangible action. Strong Cities MENA Regional Hub supported Amman (Jordan) to develop a Crisis Management and Response Guide to strengthen preparedness for complex crises, while Fes (Morocco) and Miqdadiyah (Iraq) have each established youth councils that give young people a voice in shaping city strategies for inclusion and resilience. In Tangier, Strong Cities convened Morocco’s first national workshop on rehabilitation and reintegration of returnees, producing a national-local roadmap that now serves as a model for other countries. 

These outcomes demonstrate how investing in city leadership in prevention delivers real change. When national and local governments work hand-in-hand and mayors are empowered to lead, prevention becomes more inclusive, sustainable and rooted in the realities of communities. Through the MENA Regional Hub, Strong Cities is proving that strong cities make stronger societies

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