The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), and the Middle East Institute (MEI) are honored to co-host a policy presentation by the Representatives of the Young Global Leaders Forum conferences in Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan to discuss “Democratic Development in the Middle East and North Africa.”

For POMED’s complete notes on the discussion, click here.

MEI event

Event Description

In the Middle East, youth are becoming an increasingly powerful demographic force: roughly two-thirds of all people living in the region today are under the age of 30. As a consequence, their attitudes towards the U.S. – Middle East relationship will have an increasingly important effect upon that relationship in the years ahead. As Americans debate the future course of U.S. policy in the Middle East in the context of the 2008 election, and in anticipation of a new administration taking office, both Americans and Middle Easterners see a major opportunity to turn over a new page in America’s approach to political and economic reform in the region. The success of any new approach may well depend on the perspectives and reactions of youth.

This past spring, 138 young Middle Eastern and American leaders met in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan at conferences sponsored by POMED and AID to develop and ratify policy recommendations on how to improve America’s impact on Middle East reform. These recommendations, directed towards the U.S. government, Middle Eastern governments, and international media and civil society organizations represent a compelling point of departure for efforts to improve the U.S. – Middle East relationship.

The conference participants elected a committee of representatives to act as “voices” for the recommendations. These representatives came to Washington to speak about recommendations on the following topics, among others:

How can U.S. development assistance better foster sustainable economic and political reform in the Middle East?

What impact have other U.S. policies had on political reform in the region?

How can the U.S. best support independent media sources and freedom of expression?

How can the U.S. and the Middle East cooperate to give youth a meaningful voice in social, economic, educational, cultural and political debates?

Click here, for full bios of the panelists

Moderated by Ambassador Wendy Chamberlain, President of the Middle East Institute

Event Details:

Tuesday, July 29th 2008, 12:00-1:00 pm
MEI Boardman Room