Brussels, 14 October 2019
Last October, the EBU organized a roundtable in Brussels to present the outcomes and the impact of the “Generation what? – Arab version” regional survey on the media and audiovisual policies in the South-Mediterranean countries.
In this unique survey, thousands of young people aged between 18 and 35 years describe their living conditions, voice their opinions on society, discuss their aspirations and fears relating to a wide range of subjects, such as personal relationships, studies, work, leisure, obligations, private life, political outlook.
A portrait of the Arab youth offering a broad and insightful overview of this generation’s worries and dreams, often unexpected. A regional comparative study involving the eight target countries - Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia - shows that, contrary to common misconceptions, young people from Europe and the South-Mediterranean share lots of attitudes and feelings. The report also reflects a general distrust of institutions and a unanimous condemnation of injustice and inequalities, highlighting that young people from both regions believe in the virtues of solidarity and need culture to reach their happiness.
The participants in the roundtable underlined the essential role of public service media in building up resilient democracies to better meet the expectations of the young generations. The debate involved representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament, who committed to support the dissemination of the project results, in order to contribute to broader discussions amongst all parties and help relevant policy making.
