Series of Informal Policy Discussions by Youth, for Youth
Chill-Chat
An informal dialogue series bringing together young people from across North Africa to discuss pressing policy issues in a relaxed, accessible format. Sessions are streamed live and archived.
Developed during an internship at NAPI, Chill-Chat takes the form of regular informal coffee talks, usually held once or twice a month. Each session brings together around 15–20 young people from different disciplines, backgrounds, age groups, and countries of origin to discuss policy and social issues that matter to them.
Rather than following a traditional panel or conference format, Chill-Chat is designed around conversation, participation, and peer learning. Participants are encouraged to share experiences, question assumptions, listen to different perspectives, and move beyond identifying challenges by proposing ideas and practical solutions.
At the heart of the initiative is its youth-led and peer-led approach. Young participants who demonstrate strong knowledge, engagement, or facilitation skills are often encouraged to lead future sessions themselves, allowing participants to gradually become facilitators and contributors to the growth of the community.
Objectives
What Each Session Aims For
- •Challenge representations, stigma, and stereotypes.
- •Encourage democratic dialogue through the exchange of experiences and perspectives.
- •Promote tolerance, openness, and pluralism.
- •Strengthen critical thinking and freedom of thought.
- •Develop listening, dialogue, and mutual respect.
- •Build connections between young people from different backgrounds and sectors.
- •Encourage active citizenship and reduce dogmatism.
- •Create space for young people to propose solutions to challenges affecting their communities.
Topics Explored
Across 28 Sessions
The topics are shaped by the interests and concerns of young people themselves, allowing Chill-Chat to remain flexible, relevant, and responsive to its community.
A Community-Based Approach
More Than a Conversation
Over the years, Chill-Chat has collaborated with and been hosted by a variety of universities, cultural spaces, institutions, guesthouses, and civil society organizations, including Université Centrale, Espace Carmen, Theatro Piccolo, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Dar Ben Gacem, and Jamaity.
From 2023 to the end of 2024, NAPI also partnered with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Libya around a programme of 15 Chill-Chat events, building on previous collaborations initiated in 2022.
Chill-Chat is built around voluntary participation, flexibility, co-creation, and youth leadership. Young people are not simply invited to attend — they can propose topics, contribute to the development of sessions and workshops, share their expertise and experiences, and eventually take on facilitation roles themselves.
Related Youth Dialogue
Watch a NAPI-MEI Roundtable on Youth Participation in Public Life
Recorded as part of the NAPI-MEI Roundtables series, shared here for its closely related theme.
Want to Lead a Chill-Chat?
Have a topic, policy issue, area of expertise, or lived experience that you would like to bring into a conversation? Chill-Chat welcomes young people interested in leading and co-creating future discussions. We provide the space and support to help turn your idea into an inclusive and participatory session.
Get in touch