Young surfers on the beaches of Gaza, war in Gaza, media censorship in Tunisia, a Libyan boxer and an Algerian painter, youth unemployment, startups in the Emirates, Lebanese pop stars, food crisis in Yemen and solar energy in Saudi. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is one of contradictions, beauty, challenges and opportunities. This app – or digital book – aims to portray that complexity, providing you with a nuanced, approachable and thought-provoking selection of stories from Your Middle East’s 2012.

The next 100 pages or so invites you to a world of over 200 journalists, bloggers, photographers and activists who all decided to be part of changing the way news is reported from the MENA region. Our work is based on three pillars; independence, unbias and balance, which in practice means that we never take sides but always remain open to the free exchange of ideas between people of all backgrounds and faiths.

For this, we continue to garner attention across the globe – in the international press, from high-profile commentators on the region as well as a large and growing number of followers. Your Middle East has become an invaluable source of information for hundreds of thousands people who want to get a different – more complete – story from the MENA region.

By purchasing this app, you support the development of an independent media that challenges mainstream outlets in their one-sided reporting from regions like the Middle East.