Aim

DUF's vision is to enhance and develop dialogue, and to promote basic freedom rights through cooperation between Denmark and MENA concerning children, young people and youth organizations.

Basic freedom rights are a main purpose for DUFs involvement in the Middle East. The work is centred around promotion of children and youths participation, engagement and influence. The wish to increase democratic attitude among Danish and Arab children and young people through their involvement in society in general, and in civil society organisations in particular is thus the overall aim for DUFs work in the MENA region. Projects must reflect this aim.

Dialogue is a tool to build relations, get to know each other and gain new knowledge. To create a dialogue between two or more partners, it is important that the persons involved represent themselves and not a specific culture, organisation, religion or country. Dialogue is based on relations to and among people willing to get engaged. Personal contacts will often be the drive in dialogue activities, and through an interest in expanding the dialogue activities the work will develop. Working with dialogue cannot be the only element in projects applying DUFs MENA-DK pool for partnership activities.

Aims:

• Increase young people’s participation in democratic reform processes and the strengthening of civil society
• Enhanced understanding of cultural values and increased dialogue between youth in Denmark and the MENA-region
• Youth organizations gain strength as advocates of basic freedom rights and the inclusion of youth in decision-making

All projects will be concerned with:

• Dialogue
• Basic freedom rights
• Gender equality