Social Development

Societies prosper when people can solve conflicts without violence; promote constructive and critical thinking; and where all members of society, including women and children, are protected and valued. Tensions and conflict over the past several decades have resulted in the breakdown of social fabric and marginalisation of large segments of the population in the region. In the wake of the Arab Spring, the demands for greater government accountability and more responsive public service delivery echoed across the MENA. The concern is that without the tools to effectively engage their societies in a peaceful manner, marginalised populations such as youth and refugees could become a source of protracted social instability, threatening human security in all its dimensions.