New age citizenship
Last week, four Arab communities declared their own leaders.
Amira El-Noshokaty reports from Al-Aqaba
Recently the Arab world was shaken by the images of the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue, bringing the dual concepts of leadership and citizenship under increased scrutiny. With participants bearing these changing roles in mind, forms of leadership and concepts of civic responsibility were discussed at workshop in Jordan last week.
The Leaders Initiative Workshop was organised by Save The Children (SC) to award certificates of distinction to 20 community leaders and nine non- governmental organisations (NGOs). The community leaders recognised during the event were chosen from a field of 100 nominated individuals and 15 NGOs in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon.
The workshop was part of the New Middle East Community Leaders Initiative implemented by SC in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon. Through this programme, SC has documented the successes of many youth, women and women-based institutions that have played a leading role in their community.
In a programme document issued by SC, the organisation outlines its goal of "providing positive role models of leaders for social change" while simultaneously seeking to "build public confidence in and support for responsible, responsive leadership, and identify successful strategies for supporting leadership development".
Attallah Ktab, head of the SC Federation in Egypt, explained to Al-Ahram Weekly how "Set against a background of doubt and frustration in these countries, the importance of the project is that it emphasises the fact that under the most difficult circumstances, there are those who do and can help others."
Rawhia Rashwan, a community leader from the Upper Egyptian village of Sohag was one of those honoured this week in Al-Aqaba, proudly grinning as she was handed her certificate of honour. "I felt that if I did not do something to help myself I would die," Rashwan said earnestly. She is the first divorced woman in her community to work, becoming a house painter. This was nine years ago, when her husband divorced and abandoned Rashwan and her baby son. "I realised that economic independence was the only way that I'd get to have a say in the upbringing of my only son," she explained.
A few years later, she was financially independent enough to be able to build her own house. As she achieved success in her struggles over the years she became an example emulated by other women in the village. "I have been chosen [for this award] because I was able to go on with my life. And by doing so I encouraged other women to go out and support themselves," explained Rashwan. "Being here is a success in itself, and when I go back I will help other women."
Like Rashwan, other Upper Egyptian women have succeeded in breaking social codes (see related profiles below), among them Zeinab Ashour, a 36-year-old widow from Qena who is part of the administrative staff in the Qena high school for art. She is the first female sports trainer and the founder of the first girls' football team and women's wrestling team in Qena. She is also a representative of the women's council at the ruling National Democratic Party section in Qena.
In Amman and later in Aqaba, community leaders exchanged notes and revealed lessons learned, foremost on their minds the question of how to maintain and expand on their initial successes. Fifteen year-old Donia Aql and 17-year-old Ahmed Abdul-Karim are the youngest Jordanian community leaders to receive awards. Abdul-Karim has already attended 35 youth camps, training courses by UNICEF, Save The Children, the Jordanian Red Crescent and USAID, and was the only 17-year-old Jordanian at the regional meeting of the UNICEF in Jordan, where he participated by creating a manual on the topic of adolescence. "Now I have founded a social service team that includes three girls and seven boys under the umbrella of Al-Zarqa Youth Centre," expounded Abdul- Karim, who also supervised the training of almost 600 boys and girls on HIV awareness.
Egyptian NGOs were also to be seen in Aqaba. Among their representatives was Mohamed Zidan, head of the Association of Community Development in Atwani village, Aswan governorate. He is one of the founders of the first NGO to be established in the village in 1984 aimed at addressing the concept of women's role in civil society. Since then the organisation has come to train others interested in working within the field of community development. "Other NGOs wanted to learn from our experience," explained Zidan, "We granted them an organised training task force. It is important that not everyone is starting from scratch. Networking is key."
Another example of leadership overcoming adversity is Mohamed Lutfi from Beirut, Lebanon, a blind student. He joined Al-Shabiba Organisation for the Blind, through which he became an active member working towards integrating blind people within mainstream society. Lutfi is now the head of the youth committee at the World Union for The Visually Impaired and is studying for his master's degree. "Being here and meeting all those other leaders who have accomplished so much, motivated me to go back home and work even harder," enthused Lutfi, "It emphasised the great impact of social work in our community and made me aware that I was not alone."
In Palestine, social development has evolved as an important form of resistance. This was the message conveyed by those representing Tamoun Sports Club in the village of Tamoun near Jenin. The club was first established in 1996 and is unique in that it has remained politically independent. "Under the umbrella of the club we created Al-Awda Scouts Group (ASG)," explained Osama Abdullah, head of the ASG. Part of that activity is to keep track of all the Palestinian villages being erased by Israeli occupation.
Under the occupation, Scouts' activities are difficult but not impossible to continue. Flexibility is necessary and ASG has even managed to connect with other Palestinian youth and community service organisations. Through networking, the efforts of 22 youth clubs and centres have been coordinated across Palestine.
When asked about the power of social work in the Arab communities, Abdullah emphasized "if the youth are involved in social work for the sake of development and through a sense of belonging, this will make a real difference in society. The people I have met here have such potential and eagerness to exert that effort. And the fact that all of them came from very under-privileged communities, yet managed to serve them, sets the perfect example for successful social development."
The overall goal of the project is to spark wide-ranging discussions about community leadership, to broaden the discourse that surrounds leadership in the region and ultimately to encourage the emergence of new leaders who can help bring about positive social and economic change as defined by most members of their communities. It is hoped that the activities of the Amman and Aqaba conferences will inform and facilitate future activities.
