New Hope - Balda Taybah
Aim
To reduce/limit and ultimately prevent the growth of radicalised Yemeni youth by training preachers & youth leaders in anti-extremist narratives and activities that utilise mass media and local projects.
Why?
Youth in Yemen are face great danger of being influence by extremist and fundamentalist ideologies which encourage them to partake in destructive behaviour and attitude. Not only does fundamentalism sprout extremist b
ehaviour and destruction, but it also bares great separation and intolerance among the various ideologies.
Promoting a culture of tolerance and co-existence amongst Yemeni youth and building
resilience to destructive communal narratives through education campaigns are vital efforts at this moment. At the same time, it is important to found and implement pan Yemeni development projects for beneficiaries from al
l social segments of Yemeni society. It is a priority to develop a generation of young people with a positive and constructive attitude that supports the greater goal of building Yemen's unity and tolerance.
What and Where?
The project trains Yemeni preachers and youth with a comprehensive understanding of both
the extremist narratives used to radicalize young people and the most effective counter arguments. The training courses are designed from scratch to specifically target and resonate with Yemeni culture, world view and way of thinking.
The second stage of the project is aimed at putting to use the concepts that the youth have gained during the training sessions. The youth are guided to successfully deliver 15 national projects/30 local projects all dealing with intolerance and extremism and denouncing violence. These projects are co-designed and co-implemented by the project participants. Projects are campaign-based targeting inter alia, youth centres, universities, community centres and mosques. At the same time, a website for the project, http://www.baldataybah.org, helps integrate the innovative ideas and creative means required to effectively counter intolerance and denounce violence. This website includes a range of platforms for mutual exchange between the project participants to share experiences and resources.
How?
RSFI is working in partnership with several credible associations that enjoy the unlimited support of all State institutions in Yemen including: “Al Saleh” Institution, the National Organization of Awareness, the Ministry of Awkaf, the Life Makers Union International; and Higher Institute of Guidance and Counselling. The first training sessions have been completed successfully and the youth leaders are now embarking on implementing the development projects on a local and national level.
The first phase of the project includes identifying candidates for the project implementation, designing the training programme and selecting 75 youth. The second phase is the project launch and implementation of the trainings and developmental projects.
