Philosophy and Methodology
Etijah adopts “Asset Based Community Development’ (ABCD) and Community Youth Development Approach (CYD). These two approaches enable the institute to create and improve development methodologies to serve Egyptian and Arab youth.
While Etijah recognizes the significance of the “Needs Based” approach, it reached the conclusion that a more pragmatic approach is needed to address the root cause of problems. This is why looking at both the needs and the given assets is necessary to structure more constructive solutions which pave the way for sustainable development.
Community Youth Development creates synergy between two important pillars of development: youth and community development. This is where Etijah derives its main concern from; which is to engage youth in the process of reform by strengthening youth activism and volunteerism as an asset based approach.
Etijah follows a “Participatory Approach” when designing and implementing projects; meaning it encourages youth to be a part of every stage of each project. It also applies its methodologies and approaches in direct collaboration with governmental and non-governmental youth serving organizations. This does not only serve youth in a direct way, but it also empowers Etijah’s partner organizations and enables them to reach the peak of their abilities while ensuring the sustainability of their projects.