ARDD Launches Campaign Marking the 25th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325 and the 16 Days of Activism: Reaffirming Women’s Leadership in Peace, Justice, and Dialogue
Amman — 6th October 2025 — The Arab Ren…
06/10/2025
Partners for Change: Youth and Institutions
Introduction
At a time when crises and challenges are intensifying across Arab societies, the need to institutionalize the renaissance dream has never been more urgent, moving it beyond ideas and aspirations into organized, collective action.
From this perspective, the Al Nahda Youth Network was established as an inclusive Arab platform that brings together youth and civil society institutions within one participatory framework. The Network seeks to anticipate the future, renew the tools of public engagement, and bridge the gap between renaissance thinking and on-the-ground practice.
The Network is driven by a clear conviction: renaissance cannot be achieved through isolated individual efforts, nor through abstract rhetoric. It can only be realized through conscious partnerships that integrate youth energy with institutional expertise—within a networked model capable of turning ideas into policies, initiatives into programs, and mobilization into sustainable impact.
The Beginning
The Al Nahda Youth Network is a contemporary Arab network launched by the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) in 2020, in response to the call to renew the humanitarian civilizational message. The Network aims to support Arab youth in moving from despair and alienation toward organized collective action, and to strengthen their role as active partners in shaping public life. It does so by connecting their energies to rights-based frameworks, policy engagement, and impactful programming.
In 2022, ARDD launched the Youth Organizations Coordination Platform, expanding this pathway by building a network of youth organizations and groups, coordinating efforts, and developing joint initiatives across social, political, and economic fields.
With the beginning of 2026, the Al Nahda Youth Network further strengthened its institutional structure, evolving into a networked ecosystem that integrates youth energy with institutional expertise and connects them with think tanks, civil society actors, and decision-makers through strategic partnerships. This ecosystem seeks to transform youth voices into tangible policies and programs, grounded in a renaissance vision based on social justice, democratic participation, and human dignity.
Our Philosophy
“Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.”
The Network is grounded in this philosophy, reflecting a deep understanding of human nature and the psychological realities of youth, a stage of life defined by vitality, initiative, and a strong drive for change. Youth were not created for defeat or withdrawal, but for life, conscious engagement with reality, and the creation of alternatives.
Building on this understanding, the Network works to confront the crises of isolation, loss of meaning, identity fragmentation, and value confusion—and the violence, extremism, and division they have produced. It does so by transforming frustration into organized collective action that restores shared human and ethical foundations and helps shape a renewed renaissance pathway.
Our Vision
An active Arab network of youth and institutions that serves as a catalyst for organized social mobilization, contributes to renewing the contemporary renaissance project, and strengthens informed participation in public affairs and policymaking.
Our Mission
To build an Arab platform that brings together youth and civil society institutions; creates space for contemporary, rational dialogue; unlocks creative energies; organizes collective youth action; and links youth issues to rights-based frameworks, public policy, and impactful programming.
Our Values
Our Areas of Work
Supporting youth to participate effectively in shaping public policy, and enabling the development of position papers and advocacy initiatives grounded in lived realities and institutional experience.
Organizing youth engagement through thematic network structures, and building working groups capable of collective action around rights-based, social, and economic issues.
Strengthening youth skills in critical thinking, advocacy, research, and community leadership, supporting their transition from ideas to influence.
Our Work Mechanism: Networked Social Mobilization
The Network adopts a model of networked social mobilization that combines field-based action with digital engagement. It strengthens horizontal networking between youth and institutions, supports knowledge exchange, accelerates mobilization, and transforms ideas into tangible impact.
Our Motto
“We were not created to be defeated… we were created to live.”
