Young Muslim Leadership Network
Young Muslim Leadership Network (YMLN) is a programme involving young Muslims between 16 and 21 from across the country. The young people are coming together to discuss and explore social issues affecting them and their communities. The kinds of issues they are addressing include; alienation, discrimination, Islamophobia and the lack of civic participation. During the project the young people will investigate the causes of the social problems by talking to people in power or influence before producing media of their own in campaigns for change.
The YMLN is administered by the Citizenship Foundation but works in collaboration with consultants from; Muslim Youth Helpline, Three Faiths Forum, British Muslims for a Secular Democracy and Young MuslimsAdvisoryGroup.
The project
YMLN members meet regularly on a monthly basis, in two groups in London and one in Birmingham. YMLN has a three phase strategy incorporating elements of identification, research and production. Phase one, is allowing the young people to identify social policy issues of concern to them. This is an ongoing process and has brought a wide range of issues to the fore including, discrimination, alienation, Islam's portrayal in the media, Islamophobia, political participation, education and so on. In phase two, group members will attempt to investigate some of the causes behind the issues while simultaneously exploring ways to improve the situation. This process will be enhanced by allowing young people to discuss the issues raised in phase one with people in power and influence such as politicians, journalists, academics, lawyers and the police.
In phase three the participants will produce media resources of their own based on information researched and collected in phases one and two. The resources they produce may include video documentaries, information booklets and workshop materials. These will be primarily targeted at their peers and the older members of the Muslim community however, they will be beneficial to teachers, youth workers and policy makers.
At Citizenship Foundation we believe the best way to achieve a stronger community is by way of active citizenship and civic engagement. Hence, YMLN was setup to provide an opportunity to young people (16-21) to explore social problems, while simultaneously encouraging the idea of addressing the problems within a democratic framework.
Progress to Date
After the first plenary group meeting in October 2009, the three groups have regularly met to pursue social issues of concern to them. They discussed a wide range of issues and commenced phase two of the project aiming to address; barriers to civic participation (Birmingham Group), the negative portrayal of Muslim women dress code (North London Group) and finally, the issues surrounding university Islamic societies (Isocs) (Central London Group).
In phase two, the young people met and interviewed current and former MPs like Clare Short, Khalid Mahmood and senior police officers from West Midlands police. They also took part in a discussion with Hilary Wilce, a journalist from the Independent, resulting in the project being featured in the paper. You may read the article here "Speaking up: Young Muslims take on the extremists".
Currently, the project is in transition between phase two and three. The groups are working towards producing the following resources;
- A video documentary about barriers to civic participation (Birmingham Group).
- A best practice guide for university Isocs (Central London Group).
- A video documentary tackling the stereotypes around the hijab (North London Group).
Get involved!
Are you Muslim? Aged 16 to 21? Want to make an active difference? Join the Young Muslim Leadership Network. You just need to fill in the 'Volunteer application form' below and return it to Naqeeb Ahmed as soon as possible - it's not too late! The next full session, when all groups meet together will take place on November 20th 2010 at Citizenship Foundation. If you would like more information regarding the project, please see below at 'Volunteer specification' or contact us by phone or email.
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