Short version: Mideast Youth is a student-owned independent network that promotes constructive dialogue and understanding within the Middle East and North Africa.

Arabs, Iranians, Kurds, and Israelis work side by side on a variety of different projects in order to advance towards moderation and interfaith understanding.

Long version: One thing we in the Middle East know is that liberty does not come at the barrel of a gun. It does not just happen when tyrants are deposed or systems overturned. Liberty depends on the support of a network of institutions, many of which we do not have. At Mideast Youth, we target one aspect necessary to the development of liberty and that aspect is free speech.

The mission of Mideast Youth can be summed up simply: human rights and freedom of expression. All of our writers are aware of the limitations on their freedoms. They know what censorship really means. They know what it means to express controversial opinions and to question commonly held opinions.

Mideast Youth is a forum, a kind of internet town square, where we come together to practice debate and free speech. It brings together people from all over the political and religious spectrum. We ask our writers, artists and musicians to do one thing only: Ask Hard Questions.

In a region of the world that lacks institutionalized support for free speech, practice tolerating diverse opinions is hard to come by. Newspapers get closed, journalists are harassed and arrested, bloggers are sometimes imprisoned. Our governments do everything possible to retain control of public opinion and access to information.

The internet is a place that affords the modicum of protection necessary to practice free speech. This is what Mideast Youth does. We provide that forum.

For more information, you may wish to read: FAQ, donate, and a list of staff.