Global Arab Network | Tunisian President Ben Ali: Nations are built with their youth

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Tunisian President Ben Ali: Nations are built with their youth

Thursday, 14 January 2010 14:49

The international symposium on "Youth and the Future: Current Challenges, Capacity Building and Participation Mechanisms" has opened today and presided over by Tunisian President Mr Zine El Abidine Ben Ali at the Presidential Palace, in Carthage.

This three-day symposium is being organized as part of the international year for the youth, and in cooperation between the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the General Secretariat of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).

Tunisian President Mr Zine El Abidine Ben Ali delivered a keynote address in the opening of the official ceremony. Also talking during this ceremony were Mr. Habib Ben Yahia, Secretary General of the Arab Maghreb Union, and Dr Mohamed El-Aziz Ben Achour, Director General the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).

In an address at the official opening ceremony, Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) has pointed out that care of the youth in terms of education and training is the surest way to achieve comprehensive development of society. He went on saying that the promotion of the youth requires, first and foremost, addressing their problems frankly and in a transparent manner, offering them adequate opportunities to achieve an integrated and balanced development, and responsibly engaging them in the process of development and the progress of their societies.

In addition, Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri commended in his address the leading Tunisian experience in the promotion of the youth. In this regard, he said, "This success was made possible thanks, first and foremost, to Almighty Allah, and to the constant support of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to the Tunisian youth and his attendance to their concerns.", pointing out that this outstanding Tunisian experience will enrich this symposium and contribute to shaping the future of the youth in the Islamic world.

The following is Tunisian President’s address to the opening of the Symposium:

''I ma pleased to open, by the grace of God, this International Symposium on ''Youth and the future: current challenges, capacity building and participation mechanisms''.

I would like, on this occasion, to extend a warm welcome to Their Highnesses and Excellencies, to the representatives of regional and international organisations, to the representatives of non-governmental organisations, as well as to experts, thinkers and researchers from sisterly and friendly countries, wishing them all a pleasant stay among us.

I would like to commend the joint initiative taken by ISESCO, ALECSO and the Secretariat-General of the Arab Maghreb Union to organise this International Symposium on a fundamental issue that is of crucial importance for the present and future of youth.

I also wish to commend the close co-operation existing between Tunisia and these regional institutions.

Special thanks are due to the Directors General of ISESCO and ALECSO and to the Secretary General of the Arab Maghreb Union for the lofty feelings they have expressed toward Tunisia, its people and its leadership, and for their words in praise of the Tunisian experience in terms of care for youth and interest in their concerns and problems.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This symposium takes place after the unanimous adoption, by the UN General Assembly, on December 18, 2009, of the initiative we had proposed on November 24, 2008 at the opening of the International Conference on ''Youth issues in the Islamic World''.

This initiative calls for proclaiming 2010 an international year of youth, and for organising a World Youth Conference under the auspices of the United Nations.

I avail myself of this opportunity to express my thanks and consideration to the United Nations Organisation and its member states, as well as to the regional and international organisations, for supporting this initiative.

We had, in fact, proposed it in the context of the initiatives which we had launched at the international level and which had also been unanimously approved by the United Nations.

Mention can be made, in this regard, of our initiative of August 25, 1999 concerning the establishment of a World Solidarity Fund, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2002; our initiative of April 22, 2003 concerning the promotion of the right of youth to practice sports and physical education, adopted by the UN General Assembly, which, on that occasion proclaimed 2005 an international year of sport and physical education; and the initiative we proposed to the Un General Assembly in 2005 for proclaiming an international human solidarity day, with the aim of anchoring this ethical value among all humans and nations, an initiative adopted by the UN General Assembly which proclaimed December 20 of each year an International Human Solidarity Day

Our aim, through these initiatives, was to contribute to serving the issues of education, health, solidarity, development and peace in the world, which are common denominators for all human beings.

Our aim was also to enhance the sense of beneficial action in the international public opinion, to anchor these virtues in international relations, and to assert the fact that what unites humans is more than what separates them, and that the problems of our time can be addressed only by mutual trust and common effort.

I would like, on this occasion, to exhort all nations, organisations, and specialised UN agencies to participate in the celebration of the International Year of Youth proclaimed by the United Nations, and to prepare practical, comprehensive and purposeful programmes that offer youth wide prospects for action and creativity, and vast opportunities for consultation and dialogue with them in all fields that concern their time and their world.

This International Year of Youth will constitute a precious opportunity to increase care for youth, to deepen their knowledge of the civilisational and historic responsibilities entrusted to them, and to raise their awareness of the great hopes placed in them.

They are, in fact, called on to come up with audacious visions and innovative solutions to overcome the crises and tensions that plague our time.

This will provide a new international climate that encourages the building of fair and strong relations among all countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In every nation, youth are the social category that is more exposed to the impacts of local errors and international imbalances, which cause them to feel disappointed and frustrated, and have adverse effects on their growth and aspirations.

One of the most serious errors committed against youth is to overlook their concerns and aspirations, to thrust them in ideological, racial or factional conflicts, to fill them with feelings of hatred, grudge and racism, to show unconcern vis- à-vis the country's sovereignty to the extent of bequeathing to the emerging generations a sense of dependence and weakness, and to take grave and thoughtless decisions that might block youth's prospects and destroy their future.

One of the most flagrant world disparities that most affect young people is the adoption of double standards in addressing international issues, the increasing excessive inequalities between developed and developing countries, the propagating trends of extremism, violence and terrorism, the intensifying scourges of poverty, hunger and disease, and the expanding crises, conflicts and tensions.

Recent statistics indicate that the number of young persons aged between 15 and 24 exceeds today 1.3 billion, and that young people represent about 30% of the population in most countries.

This reflects the demographic size and social weight of youth in our societies' composition, and the responsibilities we have to assume vis-à-vis our youth.

It is, in fact, our duty to offer them all due care, attention, protection and encouragement, to continuously enhance their capacities and skills, and to improve their conditions in all fields.

It is also necessary to imbue our youth with the culture of diligence and self-reliance, and with the sense of transcendence in overcoming the difficulties and obstacles they face in their life.

Attention should be focused on the vital sectors that target youth directly, such as health, education, training, culture, communication technologies, employment, social care, leisure and sports activities, volunteerism, and civil society action.

Wisdom dictates that in all these sectors, we should offer youth all the conditions that ensure a sound educational, intellectual and physical upbringing, and prepare them to be an inspiring force of action in their societies, to assume their share of responsibility in terms of decision-making in their countries and to positively influence their time.

Our duty vis-à-vis our youth also consists in acting, with firm determination, for alleviating the tensions and disparities prevailing in our world, while sparing no effort to offer the emerging generations propitious conditions for security and prosperity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In Tunisia, we have based our youth policy on investment in the development of our human resources, while breaking with all forms of marginalisation, exclusion and predominance.

We have considered youth as partners in all that concerns our country's affairs and in what is currently taking place in the world around us.

We have developed legislations toward allowing the largest number of young people to exercise their right to vote and to run as candidates for municipal councils and the chamber of deputies, by lowering the candidacy age to 23 and the voting age to 18.

We have also established comprehensive partnerships with institutions, structures, organisations and associations so as to rationalise the way we treat our youth and renew the discourse addressed to them, while reconciling between authentic adherence to the national specificities and clear- sighted adaptation to the requirements of modernity. Moreover, youth consultations are held on a regular basis every five years.

We, in fact, want these consultations to serve as a mechanism to listen to young people and to take cognizance of their views, concerns and ambitions.

These consultations are taken into consideration when preparing development plans.

We also devoted the year 2008 for conducting a comprehensive dialogue with youth from all social categories.

This dialogue led to the drafting of a Tunisian Youth Pact that confirms the youth's adherence to their national belonging and to their common social, cultural and civilisational heritage, and deepens their integration within their world and the spirit of their time.

The International Year of Youth coincides with the launch of the implementation of our programme for the future which we have set for Tunisia for the five coming years.

In this programme, we have provided various measures and initiatives for youth, the most important of which being the establishment of a ''Youth Parliament'' which will serve as consultative institution through which young people express their views and positions vis-à-vis all matters of national concern.

The current year 2010 will witness the launch of the fourth youth consultation in Tunisia. The results of this consultation will be taken into consideration for preparing the 12th development plan and for enriching political participation and democratic practice in our country.

The national youth strategy we gave instructions to establish for the period 2009-2014 will constitute a general framework for intensifying care for young people, diversifying the channels of dialogue with them, and promoting the measures and initiatives taken for them, in such a way as to meet the requirements of the new realities and the current challenges.

We have also given instructions for establishing a bill on volunteer action, which will soon be submitted to the legislature for ratification, so as to enhance the sense of civic behaviour in our youth for serving the public good, and to prompt them for further action and contribution, as part of an organised and effective partnership between public structures and civil society components.

We are keen to make sure our youth serve as a competent partner in all our choices and orientations, while being involved in their country's affairs, open on their time, and in tune with their world.

We are indeed proud of the UN's adoption of our initiative by proclaiming 2010 an International Year of Youth.

In this context, we announce the following decisions: First, establishing a national committee for the international year of youth, to be in charge of formulating the executive programmes for this year; Second, involving representatives of Tunisian youth, from both sexes, in the national delegations that will participate in the relevant UN meetings, pursuant to the call launched by the United Nations in this regard.

We hope all countries will involve representatives of their youth, from both sexes and all social categories, in the world youth conference to be held subsequently.

We also hope this conference will offer a propitious opportunity to build friendships and establish ties among all the world's youths, to promote mutual acquaintance, rapprochement and mutual understanding, and to establish plans and mechanisms that highlight their future role on the international scene.

Today, at a time when humanity has closed the first nine years of the 21st century within international conditions that call neither for quietude nor satisfaction, we are called on to turn to the symbol of dynamism and optimism in our societies, that is to youth from both sexes, by involving them with us in addressing our world's issues and in looking for optimum ways to set right its conditions and to curb its dangers, away from the accumulated mutual misunderstandings and missed opportunities, and as part of a constructive collective effort that lays the ground for a secure and prosperous future for all humanity.

Nations are indeed built with their youth; and so is the world.

Everywhere and at all times, youth remain always the glowing spirit of the present and the hope of the future. They are the symbol of all the noble values to which they adhere and which influence their behaviour, particularly the values of freedom, equality, justice, dialogue, tolerance, democracy and human rights.

Hope is today placed in youth for development, innovation, and contribution, with all the forces of good in the international community, to materialising these values, and to spreading them among all humans, irrespective of their nationalities, colours, cultures and religions.

For no security and stability can be achieved in the world without consensus, coexistence, cooperation and solidarity.

Tunisia warmly welcomes the call launched by the United Nations to all member states, to the UN agencies, funds and programmes, and to the specialised international organisations, to benefit from the international year of youth, enhance its activities, and materialise its objectives.

Being the country that launched this initiative, Tunisia will actively contribute to ensuring the success of the international year of youth, at national, regional and international levels, based on its rich experience in terms of care for youth to whom it attaches a crucial importance in its policies and choices.

To conclude, I would like to reaffirm that Tunisia is proud to host this international symposium at the beginning of the new year 1431/2010.

We hope our symposium will confirm that a new awareness of the youth's role is growing and developing, so that this role turns into an active and positive participation that makes us optimistic about the advent of an international community that is more dynamic and inclusive, more open and interconnected, and more cohesive and mutually supportive.
Thank you for your attention.''

Global Arab Network

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