Open seminar: Youth transitions in the Middle East and North Africa Venue: Linna K113, Kalevantie 5, Tampere University Time: Monday 17.6.2019 at 14.00-16.30 Following the rapid social change and political turbulence in the Middle East and North Africa in the 2010s, the longstanding challenges - such as social polarization, demobilization and the lack of decent jobs - affecting youth lives have not disappeared. Youth transitions have become increasingly complex and multidimensional also globally, and the conventional markers of adulthood may no longer be considered self-evident goals; rather, the characteristics that are traditionally associated with youth, such as flexibility, mobility and dynamism, are in greater demand in the labour market. Welcome to an open seminar on youth transitions in the Middle East and North Africa. Keynote speeches are given by Senior Research Fellow Elena Sánches-Montijano and Assistant Professor Fadma Aït Mous: "Youth at the margins in the Arab Mediterranean Countries" by Elena Sánches-Montijano, Senior Research Fellow at Barcelona Centre for International Affairs and lecturer at the Political Science Department of Barcelona University, Spain. Her main research interests include migrant integration policies, migrant transnational relations and youth studies. She was the scientific coordinator of the Researching Arab Mediterranean Youth: Towards a New Social Contract -project (http://sahwa.eu/). "Youth in Morocco: a liminal situation between disillusionment and seeking change" by Fadma Aït Mous, Assistant Professor with Ain Chock Faculty of Letters and Humanities at University of Hassan II, and Associate researcher at Economia, HEM Research Center, Morocco. Her research is mainly focused on issues related to nationalism, collective identities and social movements, gender and socio-political transformations, history and memory, youth cultures, social media and migration. The event is a part of the kick off -seminar of the project What works? Youth transitions from education to employment in the Middle East and North Africa (https://projects.tuni.fi/whatworks/) (2019-2022) which is funded by the DEVELOP Programme for Development Research, Academy of Finland (http://aka.fi/en/research-and-science-policy/academy-programmes/current-pro…). The research project explores the dynamics of transitions to adulthood from the perspective of young people in the region. It examines young people's agency and livelihood strategies while transitioning from education to the labour markets in the late 2010s, and addresses three areas of research: youth initiatives of social innovation and entrepreneurship, young people's job seeking strategies in precarious settings, and their aspirations to migrate abroad for the purposes of education and employment. The seminar is organized in cooperation with ALL-YOUTH - All youth want to rule their world -project (https://www.allyouthstn.fi/) (2018-2023, funded by Strategic Research Council) that explores the visions of youth regarding sustainable future, growth and well-being. Both projects examine employment paths of young migrants in Finland. In addition to keynote speeches, the seminar includes a short presentation of the What works? -project and discussion. Refreshments are served after the discussion at 16.00. Please register your attendance at https://www.lyyti.fi/reg/what-works-kickoff by 12th June, thank you. For more information: Professor Päivi Honkatukia, paivi.honkatukia@tuni.fi<mailto:paivi.honkatukia@tuni.fi> https://projects.tuni.fi/whatworks Best regards, What works team - - - - Sofia Laine<http://www.youthresearch.fi/research/researchers/sofia-laine> Adjunct professor (Youth research, University of Tampere) Senior researcher (Finnish Youth Research Network) email: sofia.laine@youthresearch.fi<mailto:sofia.laine@youthresearch.fi> mobile: +358 50 583 0019 skype: stlaine1 / twitter: sofia_laine_ Current memberships and projects: Young people testing art. A study on the effects of the Art Testers initiative on young people 2018-2019<https://www.youthresearch.fi/research-projects/art-testers> What works? Youth transitions from education to employment in the Middle East and North Africa 2019-2022<https://projects.tuni.fi/whatworks/> Break the Fight! Breakdance against school violence. Evaluation and action research <https://www.danceinfo.fi/en/news/adopting-a-new-posture-allows-you-to-embrace-a-new-attitude-break-the-fight-evaluation/>Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR)<http://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/peyr-members> Recent publications: Youth at the Margins. Perspectives on Arab Mediterranean Youth<https://www.routledge.com/Youth-at-the-Margins-Perspectives-on-Ara… Between insecurity and hope. Reflections on youth work with young refugees<https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/between-insecur…