Youth and local organisations from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen have teamed up with Equitas to launch a new three year project called Mosharka (“participation” in Arabic). This project is funded primarily by the European Union (750,000 €) and by the Ford Foundation. It builds on the vital role played by young people, who have been at the forefront of dramatic changes in the region, to integrate youth as active participants in the advancement of democracy, equality and fundamental rights and freedoms in their societies. The project will also help young women and men better understand and apply human rights principles and values to promote equality, diversity, non-discrimination and access to justice for young people. Mosharka Project activities will involve at least 1,000 young people in training and action-oriented activities with the aim to develop a common and inclusive regional agenda for youth. 
The Project was launched on November 12 during the Regional Workshop in Fes, Morocco, which brought together 26 participants from the five countries involved in the project. National sessions and youth initiatives will follow the regional session with the project culminating in a regional youth forum in 2015. Read about the launch in Le Matin: Leçons de démocratie aux jeunes, November 19, 2013 Read the press release. The project is implemented jointly by Equitas and six partner organizations: Arab Network for Citizenship Education (a regional organization based in Jordan), Horus Foundation for Development and Training (Egypt), Change Academy for Democratic Studies and Development (Jordan), the Association marocaine pour l’éducation et le développement de la jeunesse (Morocco), the Association des femmes Tunisiennes pour la recherche et le développement (Tunisia) and Youth Leadership Development Foundation (Yemen). 