Safir

Democratic governance Environment Gender equality

The environmental, cultural and social future will be written by the youth of today. It was with this certainty that the Safir project was launched in 2020 and completed in November 2023, funded by the European Union, steered by the French Institute and implemented by a consortium of which CFI was a member.

To ensure its success, 45 change agents in the North Africa and Middle East region have created an effective regional network (seven incubators, 18 universities and 20 civil society organisations). These intermediary structures, whose capacities have been strengthened by the members of the consortium, have set up activities grouped around two main axes:

• raising young people’s awareness of entrepreneurship with a cultural, social and environmental impact, as well as providing support for specific projects undertaken by young people in the region on these themes;
• Training in youth advocacy, to strengthen dialogue between young people and the public authorities on achieving the SDGs in the area.

CFI supported eight media project leaders from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. The grants paid enabled activities to be carried out, with support and advice from the agency to ensure that the funds were used properly by these young entrepreneurs, who were managing international funding for the first time. Kamel Arzani, project leader, attests to the effectiveness of this support:

“The partnership with CFI exceeded all our expectations from our very first interactions. It has provided our project with unwavering support and commitment”.
Kamel Arzani, SA9SI project leader (Algeria)

The agency then invited project leaders to the Media and Development Forum, to be held in Paris in July 2023, to help them make contact with partners and members of the CFI community. Ehab Zeidan, leader of the Mohajer Voice project, was present:

“The forum has been a great source of inspiration for us. Not only did we organise a networking session with the Qudra2 project team, but we also met a wide range of people from different institutions, to whom we presented our project and who expressed an interest in further cooperation”
Ehab Zeidan, Mohajer Voice project leader (Egypt)

After four years of partnerships and entrepreneurship training, it was time to bring this major project to a close. CFI organised the Safir closing event in Paris in November 2023, bringing together over three days more than 150 beneficiaries, incubator managers, entrepreneurs, representatives of civil society organisations and universities, and young people setting up advocacy actions from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. The programme, rich in exchanges, also encouraged discussions between beneficiaries by involving them in the reflection on the prospects for organising the Safir community after the end of the project. Majed Qrunfuleh, Studio project leader, concludes:

“I would like to express my gratitude to everyone involved in organising and hosting the event. The flawless execution and thoughtful details made this a truly memorable event”
Majed Qrunfuleh, Studio project leader (Jordan)