" I hope for peace" - Hopes, aspirations and drivers of engagement for young people in MENA
UNICEF MENA
Highlights
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is home to an estimated 440.5 million people, a large majority of them young. Over 58 per cent of the population is under 30 years old‚1 giving the region the second youngest population in the world after sub-Saharan Africa. Some 28 per cent of the total population (122.4 million) is between the ages of 10 and 24 years old, and adolescents aged 19-10 years constitute 19 per cent (81.6 million).
What do we know about these young people, particularly those aged 24-10 years? What are their hopes, aspirations and motivations?
To help answer these questions, UNICEF, in collaboration with partners, conducted a study on young people. The analysis was guided by deliberate attention to young people’s perspectives and attitudes towards positive forms of social, economic and political engagement in the Middle East and North Africa. Much research in the region seeks to track negative forms of engagement and yet fails to take into account the perspective of young people which would ideally provide a robust alternative. This could result in a one-sided narrative that fails to engage sufficiently with the attitudes, opinions and perceived needs of young people themselves. It is hoped that by understanding and analysing the attitudes and views of young people, youth programmes can be better tailored and designed to respond to their identified needs.
