Chiara Diana

The 25 January 2011 revolution in Egypt was the stage upon which both the people and new political subjectivities made their appearance, under the slogan ‘we, the people’. Regardless of social class, gender, or age, the Egyptian people were affected by the revolutionary events as they experienced a revolution of the self. Using the theoretical framework of childhood studies and adapting a macrostructural approach, this paper explores how the process of memorialization of children killed during the protests and clashes of 2011–2012 ascribes them the status of martyrs of the revolution, like adults. In so doing, the paper intends to demonstrate that the recognized child martyrdom proves that children represent a new political subjectivity group which has emerged in the Egyptian revolutionary context.

The long dismissed notion of the people has recently generated much interest in academic literature. Understood as an “emotional community”, the people has been returned to centre stage physically and symbolically by the emblematic slogan “The people want the fall of the regime”, during the Arab Spring. This themed issue investigates not only the heuristic interest of the notion of the people but also its multifaceted development in the revolutionary Egypt. Specifically, the authors explore the construction of the people’s legitimacy through revolutionary slogans, the emergence of the political subjectivity of child martyrs, and the way in which political actors used this notion during the 2011 elections.

As a part of the global world, the Middle East and North Africa region has also been the stage for wars, conflicts, revolutions and radical political changes which have deeply affected historical paths of the region and its populations from the nineteenth century onwards till the present day. Since the 2010-2011 revolutionary movements and the most recent popular mobilizations in the region, there is an emerging debate about the increasing political subjectivity of children and youth in the urban and marginalized centers of several countries, including Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Algeria, etc. The stereotypical and conservative public discourse, produced by mainstream journalists, politicians, and prosecutors, acknowledges that there are different versions and examples of the children's politicization and that they expressed some form of political agency. In this interpretation, children are portrayed as simply being deceived, manipulated, and exploited by certain politicized adults, since politics is conceived as a sphere in which children have no place. These contemporary opinions are not very different from those of mainstream history-writing, which has failed to add children to its account. Since the last decades, however, historians of children and youth attempt to construct a proper historical identity for children aimed to recognize their agency and political subjectivity, by highlighting children's experiences in political changing contexts, their unconventional forms of political participation, their everyday ways of doing politics and their forms of resistance to political settings constructed by adult people. This panel intends to bring together scholars from different disciplines, specifically from anthropology, history, sociology, political science, who focus on different countries in the Middle East and North Africa region in different historical periods in order to enlarge our understanding of children's agency in present day societies as much as in historical accounts. Here, children's agency is not limited solely to the concept of participation in social, political and revolutionary movements or institutional political processes. Rather, it intends to take into account different individual or collective, rational and affective ways of acting, affecting and impacting politically. We employ an empowering and interdisciplinary approach that recognizes the importance of children's experiences and involvement during critical historical moments, as partakers, as active agents, and as witnesses. Individuals who wish to contribute can send a 300-word abstract with a short bio by 20 June 2019 to: Chiara Diana (Chiara.Diana@ulb.ac.be) and Nazan Maksudyan (maksudyan@gmail.com).
The panel will be sponsored by the Association of Middle East Children and Youth Studies AMECYS (https://amecys.wordpress.com/)

The Education affair in Egypt is a Janus-faced case considered both as ‘local’ and ‘global’. There are local factors specific to this country - the Islamization of the Egyptian society’s mœurs - as well as elements of global and international nature, that insert the Egyptian education case in the larger analytical framework of Globalization.
After highlighting how Egypt got involved in the global system by the application of new economic and neoliberal policies, the paper will focus on the dilemma of the Education affair, on islamized attitudes of the educational staff and on new educational policies aimed at contrasting with the rise of Islamization of all the public education system. By this, two opposing forces are being in action in Egypt today: on the one hand, a ‘local’ inner force which pushes a part of society toward a radicalization of religious references and on the other hand, a ‘global’ international force which supports the Egyptian government to enforce laws, projects, programmes enabling to guarantee an apparent and precarious balance in the country.

"This chapter explores citizenship values and political attitudes of Egyptian children during current revolutionary times. It draws on the new social studies of childhood as the theoretical framework from which to analyse Egyptian children’s status as citizens. It situates children, both pupils and street children, as social actors, and shows how they have participated in revolutionary movements, in street mobilizations, school initiatives, and group actions online. Finally, it speculates on contents of citizenship education, which hold a marginal place in school programs and curricula despite governmental attempts to create an “education for democracy.” Even though educational institutions fail in its mission of teaching citizenship, children nevertheless prove a relevant citizenship awareness and political consciousness.
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"In 1990 the worldwide program Education for All (EFA) is launched by international organizations and agencies (UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank). The program made an urgent appeal to governments to commit for attainment of development goals and to help developing countries achieving international indicators in social, educational and economic domains. The first of the six goals of the EFA aims at expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
As Egypt is strongly involved in the globalization movement, developing a system of early childhood care and education becomes one of the priorities for Mubarak governments and for the First Lady Suzanne Mubarak. Egyptian political decisions for implementation of education reforms as well as social initiatives for strengthening protection of children and mothers, embrace international statements for fulfillment of basic learning, respect of children’s rights and attainment of international development indicators.
How do Mubarak governments formulate child-centered political discourse in relation with that of international experts? Which are the local actions implemented in response of the global appeal? Do they have any concrete social and/or educational impact on children, families and whole society?
In the light of historical events occurred recently in Egypt, I will analyze missing and/or successful national policies and requests for social change and justice that merge both into implementation of an efficient system of protection and education for the Egyptian youngest generations."

1. Situating the topic
The concept of childhood and the place of children’s rights in the Egyptian society are important issues that have been highlighted by national social policies at the end of the 1980s, within Childhood being at the core of the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s policy. His main political action resulted in the declaration of the First Decade of the Egyptian Child 1989-99.
2. The goal of the research
The reflexion I wish to present in this panel deals with the means set up by Mubarak’s policy to guarantee the protection of the child’s rights in his society, and the impact of new reforms concerning childhood care and education on the young generations.
3. The methodology
The use of qualitative social-science methods - such as participatory fieldwork in kindergartens, and free as well as recorded interviews to some political and social actors - to enquire on some of the political initiatives meant at improving Egyptian children’s conditions; also to discover their limitations as well as benefits on nowadays society.
4. Some findings
In spite of international aids, today a quarter of the Egyptian children (seven million) are deprived of one or more of their rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) ratified by Egypt in 1990. Development programmes, including in a global movement framework, appear to be a solution to enhance awareness of the child’s status and rights in nowadays societies, nevertheless they are far from being successful.

The paper focuses on the educational programs –local and international- as well as on the existing collaboration between the International community (IC) and the Egyptian Governement (EG). Its objectives are : 
-to underline the different actors involved in the fulfilment of these new policies (the local agencies, the international organizations, the donors countries)
-to analyse the interaction between these actors
-to determine the nature of their action
I focused my attention on the new reforms concerning the early childhood education, in particular the kindergarten step, which started to be applied in the end of the 90s, when the report First Decade of the Egyptian Child: protection and care (1990-2000) was published. Some of the principles of the report will coincide afterwards with the goals aimed at by the UNESCO project Education for All (EFA) approved during the Dakar’s World Education Forum in 2000.
The main beneficiaries of the new educational policies are children aged from 0 to 6 years old. According to the last census in 2006, this population group represents 14.1%. The group being one of the largest age group in the Egyptian pyramid, the EG and the IC (including agencies and organisations like World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, EU and NGOs) have been investing in developing policies in its favour.
My critical analysis will therefore focus on the nature of the EG and the IC interests: does the EG’s attention towards the social educational affaires arise from a sincere conscientiousness of the Mubarak government (expressed also through the social activities led by Mrs Mubarak)? Might it be triggered by the pressure made by the IC, manifold involved in Egypt on different levels as political, economic or social level.

Since the beginning of XX century, young generations from MENA region have proved to and are still proving to be strongly involved in the struggle against the authoritarianism and the oppression of their governments. In various circumstances and in different countries of the region, whatever political, democratic or religious values, they gathered their forces, developed new strategies to mobilize popular mass and supported political changes in their countries.
Indeed, the modern history of the Muslim and the Arab world offers several examples of young participation to revolutions and insurrections, among others: the young Islamist mobilization and the Palestinian uprisings Intif…ÿah, well-known also as “the uprising of children” because they were the leaders - in the first moment - of the uprising. Concerning the Islamist militant, earlier studies on the first militant groups elaborated an ideal type of the Islamist militant: it was a university student or a young graduate usually studying engineering or medicine; as far as the Intif…ÿah, is concerned, it’s main figure was the so called “stones thrower” which were in fact Palestinian children under 14 and young people 14 to 19 years who defended themselves and their community launching stones against Israeli tanks.
Therefore, as it had already happened in previous historical events, young people today are yet the drive from beneath, protagonist of irremovable political changes in the countries of the region, as in Egypt. Thanks to technological communication tools and social networks, they have been able to organize a large anti-government popular movement and to mobilize half-million people - adults, families and children - for the first mass demonstration on January 25th 2011 in the most historically important square of Cairo: Tahrir Square.
This square revived the meaning of the public forum where the Habermas’ concept of public sphere intended as “a realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed” finds its ideal expression. As it was the case during Habermasian times, all the way through the Egyptian January 25th revolution, the whole of the media as well as all the social networks - Facebook, Twitter - new technological tools of communication - satellite phones, SMS, blogs, YouTube videos - were the media through which the public sphere was given opportunity to shape a public and political opinion even though in so doing they challenged their oppressive and violent regime.
In this revolutionary and changeable context and by these technological medias Egyptian children are developing a deep sense of belonging to their homeland, a high political consciousness and responsible social and environmental commitment: all these elements are useful for instilling citizenship dispositions in young generations of the post-revolutionary Egypt. These notions of political socialisation - expression used by Hyman for the title of his work but firstly by Durkheim in Education et Sociologie - have been revealed by the results of recent and first children’s opinion poll in Egypt conducted on children aged from 6-14 years old in months following the revolution.
Moreover, we know about their implications in current political events by pictures on Facebook pages, journal reports and their messages videos posted on YouTube website. On the web, they talk about their fears for violence in demonstrations, they address messages directly to the President and they also incite by slogans and songs friends and families to participate to demonstrations - as various videos posted on the web show on.
Having taken in consideration the new modern technological communication tools and the current political changes, various questions as to children political dispositions are raised:
- How could Egyptian children develop their univers politique ?
- In which way - and if - could Egyptian education be able to transmit solid values of civic education and prepare children for becoming future citizens?
- Could family group contribute to the development of their children’s political consciousness?
- How could violent and peaceful demonstration experiences shared with adults, affect children’s political behaviour?
- Is it possible for digital tools and technological connections to help improve children’s civic and political commitment for the future of their country?

Dans la boîte à outils méthodologiques dont dispose le chercheur, l’entretien occupe une position particulière entre l’outil banalisé et l’institution sacrée car, s’il a l’inconvénient de s’appuyer a priori exclusivement sur le langage, celui du chercheur et des diverses catégories d’enquêtés, il reste un des instruments privilégiés de la recherche en sciences sociales. Pour quelle raison alors les chercheurs de diverses disciplines l’utilisent encore aujourd’hui et l’adaptent même aux nouvelles technologies pour le rendre toujours actuel ?

An entry on Semitic Languages for the web-documentary "Vous avez dit arabe?", Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris 2018 https://vous-avez-dit-arabe.webdoc.imarabe.org/
Au VIe siècle, l’arabe était parlé par des groupes de population dans la péninsule Arabique et dans les régions avoisinantes. La conquête arabe (632-750) et l’expansion de l’empire islamique (VIIe-XIIIe siècles) ont ensuite permis une expansion géographique très significative de cette langue, qui s’est officiellement imposée dans l’appareil d’État de toutes les régions conquises....

An entry on the Arabic language in the world for the web-documentary "Vous avez dit arabe?", Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris 2018 https://vous-avez-dit-arabe.webdoc.imarabe.org/
Au VIe siècle, l’arabe était parlé par des groupes de population dans la péninsule Arabique et dans les régions avoisinantes. La conquête arabe (632-750) et l’expansion de l’empire islamique (VIIe-XIIIe siècles) ont ensuite permis une expansion géographique très significative de cette langue, qui s’est officiellement imposée dans l’appareil d’État de toutes les régions conquises...

An entry on the family in the Arab world for the web-documentary "Vous avez dit arabe?", Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris 2018 https://vous-avez-dit-arabe.webdoc.imarabe.org/
La famille est la plus petite structure d’une société. De ce fait, elle en reflète toutes les transformations et ne peut évoluer que si la société, de manière globale, change. Le cas du monde arabe est très révélateur à ce point de vue. Même s’il y existe plusieurs sociétés différentes, en fonction de critères géographiques, religieux ou de richesses, et même si les normes sociales ne cessent de se modifier, on peut relever plusieurs tendances communes....

This guide was prepared with the aim to collect and disseminate a selection of parenting approaches and resources relevant for the context of Republic of Serbia. The collection brings together a list of programs that have been implemented in Serbia and the region, other European countries and around the world. The selection of programs and modules strengthening parenting here is by no means exhaustive. The initiatives have been selected based on their relevance to the needs and challenges the main policies supporting early childhood development are facing in Serbia when reaching out vulnerable population, including examples for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) initiatives from Serbia and region.
The guidance note was produced by a core team led by Bojana Naceva (Task Team Leader) and Marijana Jasarevic (Task Team Leader) and Dessislava Kuznetsova (Education Specialist), Chiara Diana (Consultant) and Zdenka Milivojevic (consultant).