The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty held a workshop for strategies to enhance participation and improve performance of youth organizations in cooperation with the Egyptian Union of Liberal Youth from February 3-6, 2008 in Ismailia. 26 participants from different governorates attended the workshop. They were mainly university students or young graduates interested in deepening their knowledge in strategic planning and organizing youth groups. Mr. Wulf Pabst, a German consultant, who had held a similar session with Egyptian liberal youth in August 2007, facilitated this event.

During his introduction Dr. Ronald Meinardus, the Foundation’s Regional Director, talked about the terms liberalism and democracy and said that liberal values are not exclusively European but can also be found within different cultural contexts. Another guest speaker, TV journalist Mohamed Ibrahim from Ismailia presented his hometown and the region.

At the workshop the participants learned how to develop a strategic plan and how to formulate specific liberal positions for the main challenges of the Egyptian youth, such as education, health and unemployment. Furthermore they formulated a time action plan which will guide their activities in the future.