Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

On the eve of World Youth Day tomorrow, 12 August, the European Commission in Brussels announced today, Friday, the selection of 25 young people to be members of the European Union's Youth Voice Council for International Partnerships 2023-2025. It was noted the absence of Arab youth from the list The Council will advise the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpelinen, and the Directorate General for International Partnerships on youth participation and empowerment in EU external action. This is the second edition of the Youth Voice Council for International Partnerships after the first group completed its mandate in July.
The Youth Sounding Board members were selected through an open call that resulted in more than 4 500 applications from 150 countries. For the next two years, the board will be composed of 14 women and 11 men, aged 19–29. Ten members come from Africa, six from Asia, one from the Pacific, five from Latin America and the Caribbean, and three from the European Union. They are:

Ahmednoor Bashir Haji from Kenya
Alicia Ramdal from Trinidad and Tobago
Amani Al-mehsen from Finland
Andrea Remes from Mexico
Ani Tuisausau from Fiji
Anna Gabriela Ferreira Noval from Venezuela
Anojitha Sivaskaran from Sri Lanka
Damien Baraka from Malawi
Deborah Mukundwa from Rwanda
Dexter Arvin Yang from the Philippines
Emmanuel Todd Gweamee from Liberia
Geth Semani Akhenra Maiga from Côte D'Ivoire
John Jessy Nabundesi from Uganda
Kiwar Maigua from Ecuador
Lorna Akoacha Enow from Cameroon
Luis Gustavo Heredia Vasquez from Peru
Mariama Faty from Senegal
Nora Piay Fernandez from Spain
Pak-Yen Loke from Malaysia
Pratik Kunwar from Nepal
Raphael Denis Harriohay from Tanzania
Shakhzoda Mirakova from Uzbekistan
Sofia Scarlat from Romania
Stephanie Chiaky Otuteye from Ghana
Wajid Zahid from Pakistan
Under the mandate of Commissioner Urpilainen, the EU has put more emphasis on pro-actively engaging with young people to foster sustainable development worldwide. The Youth Action Plan in EU external action, adopted in October 2022, formalises this vision of partnership with young people as essential actors of change for more democratic, equal, inclusive and peaceful societies. The EU Youth Sounding Board 2021–2023 participated in  co-creating the Youth Action Plan, and the Youth Sounding Board 2023–2025 will be involved in its implementation.