Wider geographical and qualitative scope

The strategy of Youth Leadership Development Foundation expanded to begin in 2008 with development and educational activities outside the capital, Sana’a, for the first time after its activity during the previous years remained confined within the scope of the capital, and largely built partnerships with civil society organizations. The Foundation is one of the most prominent civil society organizations, targeting young men and women from the age of 18 to 30 years old.

After years of experience for the Youth Leadership Development Foundation (YLDF) in training women activists in the field of human rights since 2003, and qualifying them with sufficient knowledge and skills to become trainers, it became clear to the Foundation that there is a shortage of activists and human rights activists who can be hired as trainers. Therefore, the Foundation began in 2008 by transferring the experience from Sana’a to a number of governorates, engaging young men and women in human rights education programs, training civil society organizations and building partnerships with them. That is with the aim of raising awareness of human rights teachings in all governorates, developing human rights communication skills, giving young men and women the opportunity to participate in discussions and exchanging information and experiences on a large scale, strengthening and enhancing monitoring in the field of human rights in Yemen, raising the level of information of activists in the field of human rights, and strengthening networking with other activists, in Yemeni cities, Arab countries, and the world, in order to create a global culture of human rights.

Youth Leadership Development Foundation has raised awareness of civil society organizations in a number of governorates in the field of reproductive health, explaining the role of youth civil society organizations in educating young people about population and reproductive health issues. The Foundation has also participated in many networks to combat violence against women and discuss a number of sensitive issues such as early marriage and violence against women.

In the process of informing YLDF about the percentage of young people in Yemen, it found that they represent more than seventy percent of the population, and they are expected to contribute to major changes in the future labor market in terms of economic and development and social change, but they faced many challenges that hindered their participation in achieving development in general, as well as the development of their local communities. Poverty rates, poor education, high dropout of schools rates, economic weakness and unemployment, in addition to customs and traditions, limit the participation of young people in general, especially females. From this standpoint, the Youth Leadership Development Foundation, through the Youth Economic Development Center, continued to create economic opportunities and educating young people to eliminate the unemployment disaster and empower them economically, targeting young people from several governorates, including Marib and Shabwa, and qualifying them to engage in community work and to form community initiatives and organizations. The Foundation has launched a number of workshops to distract the largest number of young people from the cycle of negative habits such as chewing "Qat", and to use the time for their own benefit.

 Youth Leadership Development Foundation has a long history of building the creative capacities of young men and women in global communication tools, which include English and computer, and in providing more lively, cognitive and academic skills. During the year 2008, it enhanced  children's abilities and refined their skills with training materials that they do not receive in schools, in addition to occupying children during the summer vacation in a way that benefits and entertains them, as well as activates their ideas, talents and abilities.

 Youth Leadership Development Foundation honored 30 young men and women from the programs for preparing young leaders during the year 2008, which came under the slogan "We work with youth and for youth". During the ceremony, the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the Youth Sector Ahmed Al-Ashari called on local partners and donors to support youth institutions in Yemen so that young people can open special projects that help them stabilize their living standers and raise their economic and social level, noting that the institution’s training and educating programs develop the creative capacities of young men and women in various scientifical and technical fields, and that the knowledge and life skills acquired by the graduates during two years will contribute to the process of construction and national development. Also, two speeches were delivered at the ceremony, to the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Youth Leadership Development Foundation, Dr. Antelaq Al-Mutawakel, and for the young graduates, Ahmed Naji. The two speeches emphasized the importance of involving young people in civil society and qualifying young women leaders, as well as developing the skills of young people with low incomes in line with the requirements of the labor market. After that, the distinguished young men and women in the various programs of the Foundation and the contributors and supporters of the success of its programs and scientific activities were honored. The Foundation, represented by the Youth Advisory Council and the people of the Sawan region in the capital’s secretariat, “Al Mahwa” revived the International Youth Day, and the event included chanting, words and poems, in addition to an awareness play about early marriage and AIDS, in which the youth of Al Mahwa performed a joint samba dance with the youth of the Foundation, along with Cultural competitions in which many prizes were distributed by the Youth Forum for Culture and Media. Suleiman Jaber, one of Sawan's youth, delivered a speech in which he urged the people to learn to transcend the way of dealing with them and to change their situation. The head of the Youth Advisory Council, Osama Ghamdhan, explained that choosing Sawan to be a venue for the annual celebration of the International Youth Day comes to achieve the goal of integrating the people of Sawan into society, and communicating between the youth of the institution and the youth of "Al Mahwa". Ghamdhan added that the event is a dedication to the culture of equality and anti-discrimination in all its forms, praising the interaction of the "Al Mahwa" youth since the preparation period - who were worried that it was political, stressing their rejection of this in advance - and Ghamdhan confirmed that they participated with the youth of the Foundation in drawing and formulating the objectives of the celebration, whose priorities were identified by the youth of Al Mahwa themselves, after consultative meetings that brought them together with the youth of the Foundation, and that they chose the issues of ignorance and equity as the main issues to be addressed in the ceremony through a panel discussion between the youth of the Foundation and Al Mahwa. The most important issues that the event aimed to address, according to Marwan Ghaleb, a member of the Youth Advisory Council, were issues of equity, unemployment and education, in addition to issues of reproductive health, and early marriage through an open discussion panel for young people and through various plays and celebrating parts.