Prepared by: Kais Al‐Momani Nour Dados Marion Maddox Amanda Wise C
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- DESCRI P TIO N O F INIT I A TIVE
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CASE STUDY: YOUNG MUSLIM LEADERSHIP NETWORKINITIATIVE DETAILSOrganisations: Citizenship Foundation Contact: Naqeeb Ahmed 63 Gee Street, London EC1V 3RS Email: info@citizenshipfoundation.org.uk Funding: Citizenship Foundation DESCRIPTION OF INITIATIVEThe Young Muslim Leadership Network (YMLN) is a program targeting young Muslims between 16 and 21years of age that is administered by the Citizenship Foundation UK in collaboration with Muslim Youth Helpline, Three Faiths Forum, British Muslims for a Secular Democracy and Young Muslims Advisory Group. Participants come together to discuss and explore social issues affecting them and their communities, in particular, questions of alienation, discrimination, Islamophobia and the lack of civic participation. The young people are encouraged to investigate the causes of these problems by talking to people in power or influence. They are then given the opportunity to produce media of their own in campaigns for change. The program was launched in October 2009. The discussion sessions have been running since November 2009 with three groups – two based in London and one in Birmingham. The groups meet on a monthly basis with plenary sessions for all three together once every six months. In short, the overall approach of the YLMN can be summarised by its ‘three phase strategy’ of ‘identification, research and production.’ In the ‘identification’ part of the process, it is the young people themselves who are asked to identify social policy issues of concern to them. In the past, this process has brought a wide range of issues to the fore including, discrimination, alienation, Islam's portrayal in the media, Islamophobia, political participation and education. In second ‘research’ phase of the process, group members are given the tools to investigate some of the causes behind the issues while simultaneously exploring ways to improve the situation. Young people are also given the opportunity to discuss the issues raised in phase one with people in power and influence such as politicians, journalists, academics, lawyers and the police. In the final ‘production’ part of the program, participants produce media resources of their own based on information researched and collected in phases one and two. These resources have included video documentaries, information booklets and workshop materials. Although primarily aimed at peers and older members of the Muslim community, it is envisioned that these materials will also be beneficial to teachers, youth workers and policy makers. CRITICAL SUCCESSES FACTORSYMLN was setup to provide young people an opportunity to address the social problems within a democratic framework. Issues that were felt to be of particular concern included: ƒ Widespread misunderstanding of many aspects of Islam by fellow Muslims and by the mainstream society. ƒ Negative portrayal of Muslims and Islam in the media. ƒ Lack of civic participation by Muslims in areas like school and college councils. The program implemented its own evaluation through participant feedback. The feedback forms provided participants the opportunity to answer a set of questions about their experiences of the project. Of the feedback forms that we were able to view, participants were strongly in agreement that the project met its objectives. Overwhelmingly, the most rewarding aspect of the project that participants remarked upon was the opportunity to meet others and establish networks. They nominated: Having been able to meet such enthusiastic, enterprising, outspoken young people and, even more certainly, the wonderfully dedicated, selfless leaders. To be in the stages of creating an unprecedented document, too, feels very promising. The project also enabled and empowered young people to identify and act upon issues of concern in positive ways. Project Officer Naqeeb Ahmed says that this is one of the most valuable aspects of the project: I believe YMLN has given young British Muslims a safe space to express their views and opinions without the fear of ridicule or criticism. Moreover, YMLN has given the young people a chance to explore social problems and to create a media resource for one of the problems. For example, the Birmingham group have decided to tackle the issue of barriers to participation and as part of their research they have spoken to a local senior West Midland’s police officer and Clare Short, a former cabinet Minister in the Labor government. Although the majority of respondents who completed the feedback had prior experience of civic participation, most still felt that the program provided them with the knowledge to think about engagement in new ways. Comments included: It’s upped my personal engagement simply because I got involved… I’ve sat with Clare Short, filmed/interviewed other key political figures. Well it’s definitely made me more keen to want to work with and for the Muslim community‐ not only to improve our image in the eyes of the non‐Muslim public, but also because I feel like I ought to be making my own contribution to the Muslim community itself. The ultimate success of the program, says Ahmed, will be when the three groups produce media resources about a social issue they decide to focus on. CHALLENGESIn providing a forum where young people can tackle issues of concern to them by taking practical steps to find solutions, the program provides a powerful model for empowering youth towards greater participation. However, Ahmed notes that as with any program that encourages greater engagement and participation, it does not always reach those who are most disengaged: I believe YMLN is a powerful engagement program in that it provides a platform for young people to discuss issues of importance to them. Additionally, it allows for a safe like‐minded environment where young people can discuss issues without fear or criticism. However, YMLN has fallen short of engaging with people who would have otherwise not participated. Instead, YMLN has attracted individuals who are already engaged in society. I believe this will exacerbate the dilemma of increasing the gap between those who are engaged (empowered) and disengaged in society. This is a widespread issue amongst many engagement programs and is not solely confined to YMLN. The feedback completed by participants also appears to suggest that many who were involved in the program had prior experience with civic engagement programs and civic engagement. Some of the participants had been very involved in political and civic engagement prior to the initiative: I am active member in Young Muslims, UK. I set up a Politics Environment and Global group with a few others for Bradford Youth Service. I regularly hound my local MP over stuff I don’t like, he even knows my name now. Another mentioned that civic engagement was a requirement for a program of study: A Global Action Plan group called Climate Squad (steering group member). Within the International Baccalaureate diploma for which I study all are obliged to perform at least 200 hrs of engagement activities. Several of the participants had been involved in mentoring programs prior to the initiative: I am a part of the School council and I am also a peer mediator at school. I also go to Manningham Mills, in Bradford every fortnight for a project that is called Mannigham Youth Talks. I am also a part of the SHM Foundation which is based in London, this is a project that involves looking closer into politics. Another participant had previously had some engagement with youth programs and student politics: I used to volunteer weekly at a youth club on a deprived council estate, before I moved to Manchester to begin my degree studies. I also took part in various initiatives whilst President of the Students Association at my sixth form college. Further, Muslim political participation is not simply a matter of whether Muslims are participating in the political arena or not but of how they participate and in which areas. One of the things that the project sought to address was Muslims’ greater interest in international rather than domestic issues. By doing so, it also also challenged, resisted and diminished Islamophobia and anti‐Muslim racism. Another of the issues facing course participants was the lack of political literacy and participation skills that could effectively bring about change. However, project officer Naqeeb Ahmed had not seen any evidence so far to suggest that participation in this program has led to greater political participation, or involvement in the recent UK election. I have no knowledge of YMLN members being involved in the ‘Get Out and Vote’ campaign. We do have a number of participants who are politically active with mainstream parties; there is no evidential correlation between their political participation and YMLN involvement. Another of the issues that the project coordinators have sought to address is the low levels of attendance. Although 40 participants are registered, only about 15 are actively participating on a regular basis. Ahmed attributes the low attendance to various reasons, including travel from outside of London for some of the participants and irregular meeting times. NA: I believe we have experienced low numbers for the following reasons; (1) the meetings are on a monthly basis which may have lead to a lack of motivation. (2) Due to travel, since some members were recruited from outside London and Birmingham. (3) Prioritising other commitments as the group meetings take place on a weekend. Finally, based on the surveys (I’ve had back from the participants) the low attendance could have been due to the slow nature of the project. For example, they meet once a month for three hours, discuss social issues, and then not meet again for a month – this may have de‐motivated them. ORGANISATIONAL AND SUSTAINABILITY ISSUESThis program received funding under the UK government’s ‘Prevent Strategy’. To date there have been no problems with funding but it is not certain whether government funding will continue for this initiative. CONCLUSIONSThis program has the potential to deliver great results by empowering young Muslims to take an active role in identifying and changing issues of concern to them. It also has the potential to be effective in terms of political participation as in addition to policy development aspects of the program, participants have the opportunity to improve their political literacy and participation skills. 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