Providing humanitarian aid on a large scale

 Young Leaders Development Foundation continued to work within the emergency strategies, responding to the humanitarian situation that Yemen is going through, by raising and improving access to emergency food aid, and providing food aid in the form of food bags that support the standards of the Food and Agricultural Security Cluster, for thousands of vulnerable and war-affected families in food-insecure areas.

 

The Foundation also continued to strengthen the Yemeni economy and help actors, especially young people, to recover from crises quickly and sustainably, and to create a supportive environment for trade, investments and business development, and conducted a study of the labor market to determine the private sector needs for new projects, employment gaps / vacancies, and sectors that need expansion to meet demand. It also worked to raise the level of qualified employment professionally and technically, enhance informal apprenticeships, and enable young men and women to start their own businesses. The Foundation distributed trainees in organizations, companies and schools, and worked to increase market activity as a result of promoting youth projects.

 

 YLDF worked with the media departments of major political parties, local organizations, radio stations, and youth initiatives to strengthen Yemeni women leaders in political participation, and create strong links between them, which enhances the transfer of experiences among them with regard to women’s participation, and capacity building regarding gender sensitivity in peacebuilding, advocacy, and the development of radio programs concerned with the role of women in peacebuilding, aiming to reduce common negative ideas about women in politics, promote gender equity, involve women in political processes, and local decision makers’ awareness of the importance of responding to the peacebuilding agenda presented by women and girls .

 

The Foundation targeted a number of government officials to increase their awareness of the issue of gender, Security Council Resolution 1325, peace building and advocacy, with the aim of providing assistance in involving women, spreading peace and security in their workplaces, or demonstrating it in their future policies. It produced policy papers on the economic and port blockades, human rights, and the participation of women, and it was presented to government officials in several meetings held to gain support and advocacy and at the international level, a policy document entitled “Women’s Participation in Political Negotiations” was presented at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2018. The trainees of the Foundation established the "Bilqis Granddaughters Network" and achieved societal recognition through the activities they carried out. Then, it soon became an initiative that proved its presence in the community, and received the support of various members of the society and decision makers, as it was hosted on a number of radio stations and TV channels. What makes Balqis’ granddaughters unique among other initiatives is that it includes ambitious women coming from various levels of popularity from different governorates and backgrounds, and they have united under an umbrella with a common goal of addressing Yemeni women’s issues, and they have been able to achieve them from the traditional tools that Yemeni society and tribal areas use and value for the purpose of solving conflicts, especially those tools used by local women to resolve conflict.

 

On March 8, 2018, the Young Leaders Development Foundation celebrated the International Women’s Day under the slogan (The Active Participation of Women is a Guarantee of a Better Future) in partnership with UN Women, CARE and Oxfam, and with the support of the Dutch Foreign Ministry, where it highlights examples of pioneering women working on women's issues, and the men who support them.