Integrating youth into civic life

YLDF has contributed to integrate youth into civil life, strengthening regional youth networks, promoting human rights and democratic participation in the Middle East and North Africa, and helping youth to participate more in using human rights standards and mechanisms to spread the principles of equity , diversity, non-discrimination and access to justice for youth; targeting young people aged 15-29 years, civil society organizations, governments, policy makers, legislators, and religious leaders.

It launched - with partners - the Youth Human Rights Portal, an online platform that provides a common space with Arabic language, with the aim of inspiring and engaging young human rights defenders from across the region. It also strengthened the leadership role of youth in national and regional networking, and sought to increase youth knowledge about human rights principles and mechanisms (related to the Universal Periodic Review), building their skills for holding human rights projects in order to mobilize the energies of youth, and building capacity by using the participatory and human rights approach in their human rights projects.

 

 YLDF used its accumulated experiences in working with youth of both genders, throughout Yemen, to build the capacities of youth and civil society organizations, by implementing advocacy campaigns focusing on human rights and citizenship issues, also highlighting the promotion of rights for marginalized communities, such as the education rights of marginalized children, the rights to employ street cleaners, defending the rights of students with special needs, as well as the rights of prisoners, and confronting school violence. Promoting gender equity in Yemen, consolidating awareness-raising concepts about gender, and protecting women.

 

 Young Leadership Development Foundation worked to intervene in ending the conflict in Yemeni society by building civil society capacities on conflict resolution, as well as improving the role of women and youth in governance, which leads to increased legitimacy and improved economic opportunities for women and youth. It highlighted a number of critical issues, Such as the positive and active participation of youth, development and conflict sensitivity, and participation in dialogue with decision-makers to meet the needs of young people.

 

The Foundation targeted civil society organizations and youth initiatives to enhance their participation and build their capacities to play a positive role in facilitating and supporting the success of the national dialogue, discussing the vision of the civil society organizations’ role , youth initiatives in the democratic process and building a modern civil state, and proposing mechanisms and visions on how they could contribute to push the implementation of the national dialogue process. A team of youth organizations and initiatives submitted a proposed vision to the Dialogue Committee.

The Foundation has strengthened political awareness among young people in Yemeni society, to remove the misconception that politics is confined to the elites only and does not concern society as a whole, through the education of young political leaders, and the promotion of everything related to political awareness also enlightening them  regarding transitional and federal justice, good governance and combating corruption, human rights, peaceful coexistence, equal citizenship, the constitution, peaceful struggle, democracy and women's quotas. The Foundation was able to form among the trainees' positive attitudes towards the need to contribute to raising societal awareness, especially the youth category, in political development. Perhaps one of the most important outcomes that indicates the occurrence of positive change among the participants is the formation of the "Supreme Council for Youth", which expands the circle of political participation for young people, and builds the capacities of young people in the political and human rights field and strengthens them in reality.

 

The Foundation brought about a change towards equal citizenship among Yemeni youth through the use of films and dialogues to depict citizenship issues, the use of interactive learning methods and cooperative learning strategies, and a focus on critical thinking skills, problem solving and decision-making, and the role of youth in confronting violence and racial discrimination. It disseminated the principles and concepts of citizenship by involving young people (school students) in implementing their school project with their teachers, based mainly on the Yemeni citizenship guide and implementing many projects related to real issues to address them.

 

The Foundation also had a role in contributing (through economic empowerment and from a sustainable livelihoods perspective) to efforts to consolidate peace and stability, creating economic and job opportunities capable of supporting young people to build their future in a sustainable way and providing vulnerable youth with opportunities to maintain their livelihoods, through savings and creation small business, “cash-for-work” interventions (quick job creation) which provides a direct source of income to beneficiaries, and enhances their economic capabilities.

The Entrepreneurs Forum implemented an initiative - the first of its kind in Yemen - in cooperation with  Young Leaders Development Foundation, which is the global event for children and youth finance, to spread the culture of money and business among children and youth in an attempt to develop the financial and banking concept, and encourage them to have a positive financial culture, to ensure community development in financial and economic concepts, and push them towards acquiring administrative and financial skills at an early age, in order to reduce future financial risks for them.

 

In coordination with the International Child and Youth Finance Organization, the first activities of the event were launched, which took place from 16-21 March 2013, in an event that was the first of its kind in Yemen. At that time, March 16 was dedicated to financial development for children under the age of eighteen and was called "Children's Finance Day".

 

Similar to the countries that host this event at such a time, the forum prepared for this day, by selecting a group of school children and taking them to the relevant authorities such as the Central Bank of Yemen, the Arab Bank, and the International Bank of Yemen, for the purpose of providing them with the basic financial banking concepts that enable them to organize Improving their financial and administrative capabilities, and guaranteeing their rights to real economic citizenship.

 

At the same pace, the forum continues its activities in the financial education of the community, targeting a group of interested young people from various academic bodies and institutions, and some leading youth associations and initiatives in this field. Where the youth visited a group of banking and economic development agencies, both governmental and private, which in turn reinforce the goal for which this event was held.