We are young digital natives reaching out across seemingly impenetrable national, social, political, ethnic, and sectarian barriers, employing the freedom created by media platforms to demand and create our own civil discourse.

Culture

Mideast Tunes: All Creativity… All the time!

March 15th, 2010Ahmed Zidan (Egypt)

Mideast Youth has proudly launched Mideast Tunes this morning – in other words, music for social change!
Music is a powerful form of expression and is currently underrated, although it can be used in activism. Meanwhile, Free speech can be magnified through music. And this is exactly what inspired us with Mideast Tunes.
Mideast Tunes, which comes [...]

I want to be famous

March 5th, 2010Alyaa Gad (Egypt/The Netherlands)

If you want to know the plot of this post, you will have to read every word of it.
You know there are sometimes things that you hear or see and you just never forget. Things that immediately make it into your permanent memory and pop out as flying-by thoughts every now and then. They don’t [...]

Book of Law, narrative of an inherent conflict

February 22nd, 2010Mohammad Memarian (Iran)

Book of Law is the latest movie of Maziar Miri, the young, promising Iranian director. The story begins with an Iranian scholar, Rahman Tavana, traveling with his colleagues to Lebanon to meet a group of representatives of Lebanese NGOs. There he meets a young, Christian interpreter, Juliet, who also owns a café in Beirut. He [...]

Love Sells!

February 12th, 2010Shahrazad (Iran)

The day’s coming. Streets are filled with people. Red is the typical color of most shops; Color of Love: Aritificial Hearts, Teddy Bears, Rose flowers, Chocolate boxes. Good days for sellers as well, to fill their pockets with price of ‘LoVe’!
As a multi-million dollar industry, It’s getting just an “opportunity” for companies to take more [...]

Donkeys that have Kinship to London !!!

February 7th, 2010Sami, the beduin.

This story happened more than 70 or 80 years ago, in the Galilee Heights, during the British occupation “Mandate” to Palestine, a long time before we had the “honor” to host our “cousins’ the jews. There, in one of the Galilee villages, there was a Palestinian peasant who had a stubborn donkey. Both, the peasant [...]

VideoThe Taqwacores at Sundance, aka the Love that is Taqwacore

February 3rd, 2010Daniela (Guest/USA)

Some things must be written down, before they are forgotten, so that they are not forgotten, because they cannot be forgotten. Last week, many fans across the United States made a journey that they called their hajj to the Sundance film festival, to see the premiere of Eyad Zahra’s movie, The Taqwacores, and to see [...]

ImageIran’s Clean Air Day

January 20th, 2010Shahrazad (Iran)

Yesterday was celebrated as Iran’s Clean Air, Blue Sky Day. Air pollution is a major issue in mega cities like Tehran. Most days, Tehran is clouded by a thick layer of smog making it difficult to breath especially for children and elderly.
Every year on January 19, they celebrate Clean Air day, encouraging people to use [...]

AudioA new Arabicast episode; an interview with Dr Sahar Al Mougy

January 8th, 2010Ahmed Zidan (Egypt)

We’ve broadcast today a new Arabicast episode on MEYArabic; an interview with Dr Sahar Al Mougy.
The interview was recorded during Ana Al-Hekaya (I’m the Tale) workshop, that has taken place at the AUC from 27 to 29th of December 2009.
The workshop, which is held annually since 1998, focuses on rewriting and renarrating the Egyptian folkloric [...]

AudioPodcast: Interview with Marwan Kamel of Al Thawra, punk Middle Eastern band

January 2nd, 2010Esra'a (Bahrain)

We’re starting off the year with a new podcast, and this time with Marwan Kamel, lead singer of the punk Middle Eastern band “Al Thawra.” I could try my luck writing my own introduction of this awesome band, but I wouldn’t be able to top my friend Daniela who wrote about them on Mideast Youth [...]

First Annual Kurdish Youth Festival in Atlanta, Georgia

December 6th, 2009Nuha

Kurdish Festival is a celebration of Kurdish Heritage in the United States. The festival will stretch a span of three days. During which, Kurds and non-Kurds, from a variety of backgrounds and across the U.S. will gather in Atlanta, Georgia. The festival will take place during the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on [...]