Young Arabs express the same concern over the rise of the Islamic State (IS) as young people do elsewhere, the annual Arab Youth Survey reveals. For the second year in a row, the “rise of” IS militants is perceived as the main problem facing the region, with four in every five young people interviewed saying they were more concerned about it than other problems. Its public appeal may have also decreased slightly, findings in the survey suggest.

About 50% of the 3,500 Arab men and women questioned in the 18 to 24 year age group from 16 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) considered the rise of IS to be today’s biggest obstacle, an increase from last year’s 37% of people who thought it was the region’s main problem. Their other main concerns were the broader threat of terrorism, unemployment, civil unrest, and the rising cost of living. The survey was carried out in about six weeks during the first two months of this year.

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A true capital of culture, Athens is strewn with reminders of the gifts the gods left in their wake: theatre, poetry and sculpture. Yet modern Greece has faced financial ruin, crippling austerity measures and record rates of unemployment in recent years. The country is also dealing with a refugee crisis, with tens of thousands of people seeking asylum on its shores. So how do artists continue creating amid these economic and social crises? Street artist Spike 69, film director Thanos Anastopoulos and members of the Skrow Theater group tell us about making art against all odds.

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