Ms. Hiba Majdoub, reflects on the change that the project aims to achieve and why: 'For young people it is a great chance to be supported in working on ideas that they have. It is important that they discuss these ideas early on with others to get more information on what are the requirements (the costs, the workload, etc.) to put their idea into practice. And of course, learning to work in a team, to be willing to compromise and to solve conflicts are extremely necessary skills to have, in order to be able to contribute to society.'
The experiences in the first year of the project showed how important this is, as explained by Ms. Majdoub: 'Young people see the problems existing in their town and in their country. It bothers them and they want to improve the situation, but they don't know where to start from. In a format like the youth forum, they meet other young people and see that there are others who want to make a change too. For many participants, it is the first time ever to work in a group in which all participants actively contribute, because they are all interested in the topic. They experience first-hand, how effective good group work can be. It makes them proud to look back and see that they had an idea, had put a lot of effort into making it happen, and were successful with it. It shows the impact of participation.'
About Interchange
In 2019, Interchange e.V. started a youth forum in the Tunisian city of Menzel Bourguiba with the support of ifa's zivik Funding Program. Currently, 15 young people are being trained to become moderators for the forum.
In the youth forum, participants were encouraged and supported to actively work on their ideas for the future. They discussed their ideas and worked on them together. They also received input on their ideas from representatives of the city administration and local experts.
In 2020, ifa's zivik program supports a follow-up project in which 15 young people are trained as moderators. By training these youths, the aim is to establish the youth forum as a sustainable project, which they themselves can hold annually. Interchange e.V. carries out this project together with partner organizations Association voix de la culture Radio SAWT and Al-Tabedol.