‍VICE explains how young people in the Middle East now define themselves less by demographic than by the sum of factors such as family, personality, education, friends, age, where they’re from, gender and sexuality. Bottom line: they identify by how they put themselves out into the world over predetermined labels.

There has been a significant shift: that the youth share a creative and ambitious drive is palpable. VICE surmises the Arab Youth: ‘to live our best lives, we need resources that enable growth and wellbeing’. Wild Media have been, and continue to be, an arbiter of these essential resources. It is as much about framing the Middle East’s rich cultural currency in a way that is visible to themselves as it is about showcasing the Middle East’s offerings to the world.

The tone is very hopeful. ‘2 in 3 Arab youth believe positive change in society will come from people or citizens’. The report finds The Arab Youth recognise they are ‘setting trends for the rest of the world’, and that ‘connectivity is creating a universe of influence’. The region has ‘other ways of tackling problems that the international community would benefit from’. ‘The State of Arab Youth’ distinguishes this in young peoples’ minds. For us, this value has always been at the core, and cultural content is our means of connection between borders of the Middle East and beyond.

‘The New Muslim Consumer’ doubles-down, agreeing that a new (commercial) energy is pulsing across the region with plenty of opportunity for brands and services. But with this rush to serve, there are many questioned raised such as ‘is the service provider just trying to ride the wave [of halal] to sell more?’. The survey covered 1,000 adult Muslims, finding that often ‘something that is different is no longer taboo’. The takeaways are that with new generations comes greater flexibility: definitions of tradition are evolving all the time.

With shifting patterns comes new culture waves, and we’re excited to see where it takes us.

‍