The Taqaddam Project

Taqaddam is a Life Skills programme for young people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Taqaddam, Arabic for ‘moving forward’ supports young people to move forward with confidence into the future with the skills they need to flourish in life, work and society.

Aims

Taqaddam helps develop the character strengths and soft skills they need to flourish in life and work.

We want students to leave the programme with:

  • Increased self-awareness
  • Greater sense of confidence in themselves and their future
  • Increased capacity for creativity, critical thinking and collaboration
  • Greater confidence and capacity for social leadership and action
  • Greater ownership, skills and tools for ongoing personal development

How does it work?

The programme has four main components:

Student workshops – bringing together groups of up to 80 students from across the country, led by facilitators from the UK and the MENA region
Life skills classes – delivered in schools by teachers who are trained and supported by the Taqaddam team
Personal Missions – self-directed missions in the Taqaddam Handbook prompting action, reflection and connection
Team projects – students designing and piloting social action ideas and presenting them at an annual national showcase event, ‘Make It Happen’.

Watch the ‘Taqaddam Journey’

Programme Values

These values underpin the way we work and which we expect all partners, facilitators and participants to adhere to.

  • Youth-centred – Putting the outcomes for students at the heart of the work, and being accountable to them and responding to their needs
  • Respecting and valuing diversity – Building relationships between young people and demonstrating the value of diversity
  • Child rights – A commitment to the Rights of the Child, in particular the right for all young people to have a say and be heard
  • Equity – Actively promoting the equal participation of all students, particularly young women
  • Sustainable development – A commitment to and promotion of the Global Goals and sustainabilityThe project has so far reached over 12,000 young people and been implemented in 10 countries over the last 5 years: Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon and the UK.