Euro-Med Young Artists Network (EMYAN)

Who we are?

We are ordinary young “human beings” living in this “world”. It happened that we ran into each other and found out that we share the same dreams of making this world a bit better. It also happened that we got very lucky to meet some inspiring mature “human beings” who passed the passion to make the world brighter. They gave us all the support, help, experience, knowledge and contacts they possessed.

What EMYAN is

EMYAN is an acronym for Euro-Med Young Artists Network.

Ok, you already know that, don’t you? Let us answer this question in another way in a formal way, excuse us for that but we have to, you know we’re trying to act professional even for just a few minutes.

EM stands for Euro-Mediterranean:
The Euro-Mediterranean region shared a very rich history in the past but recently there were some misunderstanding, some people calls it clash of civilizations but this is not what we think is supposed for the region to be involved it. The region has so much potential that through dialogue and cooperation will achieve solidarity and prosperity. It has many opportunities to make a more peaceful future.

In 2007 the area of coverage was only the countries members of the Euro-Med partnership; 27 EU countries plus 10 Southern Mediterranean countries.
In the beginning of 2008 the Balkan region plus Libya have been added and by July 2008 with the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean the area of coverage has been extended to cover 43 countries.

Y stands for Young:
Being young offers you lots of opportunities to learn, express and share. Being Young makes you the key of change if it's not now, certainly it will be in the future. Seeing the world with your eyes and forging your identity. Being able to communicate and understand with ability to adapt new techniques and methods to widen the horizons for creativity.
Below the age of 30 you are physically young in our book of laws.
We believe that being young is not a matter of age but it is a matter of the heart. Having a heart below the age of 30 is certainly more than welcome to share us their experiences.

A stands for Artists:
Art has been and will be the most understandable and common language between different cultures. Artists are the main beneficiaries and their artistic productions had and will have a noticeable impact on their communities. They are important keys to achieve the welfare of their community once they are given the chance.

N stands for Network:
Networking is an important tool to maintain high efficiency artistic projects, through it; EMYAN is promoting cooperation between organizations/groups of young artists having the Euro-Med region as their space, connecting them with fundraisers and support organizations. By linking between artistic initiatives, it increases the impact of the outcomes for the greater good.
It is network of organizations, associations, foundations, universities, institutes and every groups operating in the cultural and artistic field within the Euro-Med region.

To sum up everything we mentioned above:
EMYAN:  Euro-Med Young Artists Network is a youth initiative established in January 2007 to provide its members operating in the Euro-Mediterranean cultural field with a vehicle for communication, and a clear and distinct voice with the purpose to support the young artists' creativity. And also is considered as the first initiative coming from the south to promote Euro-Med cooperation.
EMYAN was just an idea that got flared in November 2006; the first real step was taken in January 2007. And with only a 10$ annual budget we have succeeded to establish that was thought to be hard. With of course the help and support from many organizations and individuals who offered us contributions in kind, advices and gave us the opportunity of present emyan visions to others.
The idea behind EMYAN is to facilitate/promote/encourage communications between young artists/culture institutes of Europe and the Mediterranean countries in order to have a great impact on the communities of these countries, so it's all about the relation between art and community and the link is the young artists.
EMYAN is mainly based on the cooperation (ties) between its members (nodes). It is not centralized but rather harmonic.

Our aims & objectives

The general objective of the network is to provide valuable networking opportunities within the field of young artists' empowerment, promote the value of artist-driven initiatives, and serve as a voice for the young artists in forums that debate issues of cultural policy. However, its objective is also oriented to:

• Promote Art as a tool for social and economic development.
• Enhance the Capacity of Young Artists to feature the issue of dialogue between cultures and mutual respect and the importance of art as a message of peace.
• Raise public awareness of Adopt thematic-subject campaigns through art like Peace, Gender Equality, Youth Empowerment, Fighting Poverty etc.
• Become the voice of the young artists in the Euro-Med area.
• Promote and support youth exchanges related to ART: Euro-Med Youth Programme projects.
• Promote academic cooperation between art institutes and schools to exchange art students on local, national and international levels.
• Organize an international exhibition periodically for the young artists to show their creations.
• Create a cyber space for young artists to show their talents and gain recognition.
• Promote the mobility of young artists.
• Support young artists' team initiatives which aim to encourage increased communication, exchange of expertise, and joint creation among Euro-Mediterranean artists.

Contact Information:

Email: info [at] emyan [dot] org

Website: EMYAN