So its official, I finished off the largest chunk of my 2 year Masters at the LSE... the exams. I sincerely hope that I wont have to do another exam for a VERY long time, if ever. It's been a really good experience, a little on the long side, but definitely worth spent. Thanks to everyone who has given me those encouraging words when I needed to hear them and to all those who made me see the bright side and made me laugh when things got tough!

I will still be based in London, working at the Civility Programme on Middle East reform, and I am definitely looking forward to a new beginning, though my passion and interests remain as always on youth in the Arab World. If you have not had the chance, then be sure to check out some of the latest statistics from the UN that only serve to prove how pressing this issue is. Needless to say, the debate is not new, yet the statistics show how the situation in the Arab region has in fact worsened post- the declaration of the UN MDGs. Reform will not be possible in the region unless we involve young people in the policy debate, but we first ought to inspire them to get involved as the level of apathy has risen tremendously alongside the levels of unemployment and brain drain.

The 2012 Olympics (that will be held in London) logo was revealed yesterday and I must say, with all the hype around it, it was surprisingly disappointing! And to think that it cost about £400,000. I have been trying to find out who actually designed it, but cant seem to find any information on that, but I am pretty sure that it was not a young person - who incidentally is in the group that the organizers are claiming to be targetting with the logo.

To me, one of the issues at stake here is how the Olympics committee, and one could argue, society at large defines young people. If you read the coverage that this logo has received, it becomes evident that they define young people as children/kids, not as an independent group who has creative ideas and a range of talents. Why didnt we run some sort of competition encouraging young artists to submit their logo ideas and then encorporate the best ones into a logo? Now that would have been a neat idea. Instead, what we have is a logo that apparently resembles one from the children's programme 'Tiswas' of the 70s and 80s. Young people will undoubtedly see right through the logo concept, and it may actually be seen as patronising. The committee could have also taken advantage of the diversity within young people in the UK - the LSE alone prides itself on having over 150 nationalities present on campus. I dont see how the pink and yellow represents any of London's diversity, something that most large cities would dream to have.

Its high time that young people are treated not just an ambivalent group of kids, but a group that can actually make a useful, if not powerful, contribution in the societies around them. Revamping the 2012 Olympics Logo would be a start.