ODFS Member invited to take part in FAES MENA Programme in Spain

ODFS Member, Sami Al-Maradni, was invited to take part in the second FAES Foundations Middle East and North Africa Visitor Program.

Twenty-two young people from thirteen countries of the region took part in conferences and discussions on topics such as the ‘Arab Spring’, democratic transition, the EU’s commitment to freedom, democracy and human rights in the MENA region and the importance of political parties, constitutions and the rule of law.

The Middle East and North Africa Visitor Program is part of the activities developed by FAES for the promotion of democracy and the consolidation of human rights around the world. Participants are young politicians, economists, analysts, journalists, researchers and entrepreneurs from the MENA Region.

Some of the personalities whom the students met included José María Aznar, President of FAES and former Prime Minister of Spain, Jesús Gracia, Deputy Minister for International Cooperation, Jaime García-Legaz, the Deputy Minister for Trade, and Antonio López-Istúriz, Secretary-General of the European People’s Party and the Centrist Democrat International.

Participants gave their opinion on the challenges faced by freedom, democracy and human rights in their countries after the so-called ‘Arab Springs’, and visited institutions such as the Congress of Deputies and the Casa Árabe.

The Middle East and North Africa Visitor Program is promoted by the Human Rights Office of the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Some of its aims are building and strengthening a network of partners linked to movements which demand democratic reforms, equality of opportunities and respect of human rights in countries of the Middle East and North Africa, in order to support and consolidate them.

FAES organises for the second consecutive year its Middle East and North Africa Visitor Program following the model of its already consolidated program of Latin American Visitors, which celebrated its XII edition a few weeks ago, and in which more than 700 students from nearly all Latin America countries and the United States have taken part, aiming to learn about the Spanish political, institutional and economic system and to be trained in leadership skills.

Photo Credits: FAES & Katherine Jane O’Neill

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