Yemen Peace Project spotlights Saferworld’s work on youth advocacy

In the latest podcast by the Yemen Peace Project, Saferworld’s Head of Middle East and North Africa Programme Kate Nevens talks to Will Picard and Dana Moss about our work with youth leaders across the country.

The podcast focuses on the efforts of the international community in Yemen and features an interview with the UK’s ambassador to Yemen, Mr. Nicholas Hopton, who discusses the UK’s role in the country. It also includes an excerpt from an interview with Yemeni writer and activist Farea al-Muslimi, who shares a personal perspective on US-Yemeni relations.

Kate discusses Saferworld’s ‘Amplifying Youth Voices’ project where, in partnership with Resonate! Yemen and the Tamkeen Development Foundation, we are supporting young women and men to ensure their voices are heard by policymakers during the transition period. A key success of the project Kate highlights is the engagement with youth from 17 of the 20 governates within Yemen, a very broad range of the country’s youth. Youth advocacy leaders who have received training in facilitation and advocacy skills by Saferworld and partners have conducted successful campaigns raising awareness of a range of local safety and security issues that youth face, including around small arms proliferation and the lack of youth involvement in political processes.

The interview also focuses on the difficulties NGO’s face when working within Yemen, which Kate notes includes a major challenge to ensure political parties reform internally to include marginalised groups such as youth and women.  The podcast also reflects on the role of foreign aid within Yemen and on the differences between working in Yemen, Libya and Egypt where Saferworld is running a regional programmes that aims to strengthen women’s voices and inclusion in political programmes.

Kate Nevens joined Saferworld in December 2012. She previously managed the MENA programme at Chatham House, an international affairs think tank based in London, with a particular focus on youth and political inclusions issues.

Yemen Peace Project is an international network of activists dedicated to increasing education and understanding about Yemen in the USA.

Watch a documentary on Saferworld’s Amplifying Youth Voices project.

Read more about Saferworld’s work in Yemen.