Youth Leadership Development Foundation

Youth Leadership Development Foundation
Future Leaders’ Gate
Youth Leadership Development Foundation (YLDF) is a non-governmental non-profit organization, located in Sana'a capital city of Yemen . YLDF was founded to support youth in voicing their opinions and needs, and participating in Yemen 's development, especially underprivileged and female youth. Youth represent a wide base in the demographic pyramid of Yemen , yet they play a small role in decision making processes and have a minor contribution to the economy. Our vision is a Yemen in which skilled, well qualified and active young women and men play leadership roles in all domains of society and enable Yemenis to contribute to a better world. Our mission is “ to increase youth participation in social, political and economic aspects of society through education in vocational, communication, leadership and life skills in response to the needs of the community and labor market.”.

YLDF programs and projects serve the following objectives:

Improved skills of youth in different fields, especially for women and the underprivileged. Improved ability of youth - particularly young women and the underprivileged - to take a leadership role. Increased access of youth - particularly young women and the underprivileged -to opportunities for participation. Improved and accessible information and data related to the situation of youth. Activated networking of Yemeni youth - locally, regionally and internationally. Increased level of awareness on youth situation and needs among society and decision makers of and measures are taken leading to a better situation for youth.

YLDF's strategies to meet these objectives include skills and knowledge training, empowering fledgling youth groups through consultations and technical assistance, promoting exchange of information by youth, carrying out research on youth, providing training scholarships for low income and exceptional students, awareness raising, and establishing youth centers according to geographic/gender need and organizational objectives

YLDF currently servesmore than 1200 young males and female mainly from the capital city Sana'a.

Youth Economic Development Center (YEDC) initially was launched in 2005 in partnership between CHF international organization and YLDF with support from MEPI. The program aimed to improve skills and build capacities of 500 male and female young people to make them competitive in the labor market and enable them to face economic challenges. In view of tremendous success of this program, YLDF decided to continue this program and expand its activities through establishing Youth Economic Development Center in 2006 with support from MEPI and Canadian Development Program. Members of Business Advisory Board including experts, businessmen and academicians, participated in setting up the Center.

The center mainly serves Yemeni young males and females to become economically secure and socially established and thus able to participate in all domains of economic life in which merit and attitude transcend social status and gender.

History:

The predecessor of YLDF, Girls World Communication Center (GWCC) , was established in 1998 as the first language Center in Yemen catering exclusively to girls. In 2001, it was registered officially with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education. The center is the first institute in Yemen specialized in girls' training that offers currently a comprehensive development program, which includes language and computer courses, in addition to training in leadership, management, human rights, democracy, methods of scientific research, Training of trainers and others.

The Center succeeded in establishing itself within the community as a learning center that provides an encouraging and safe environment for young girls. It continues to offer both fee-paying and scholarship girls the opportunity to learn in a safe and stimulating environment and to participate in all domains of the public sphere equally with males regardless of their social class or economic status. The GWCC also offers opportunities for students to gain valuable work experience within the business community of Sana'a.

In 2005, the Center was incorporated into the Youth Leadership Development Foundation along with Youth Economic Development Center .

Meeting the Needs of Youth:

YLDF(represented by its two centers GWCC & YEDC) targtes youth within the age group of 18 and 30 years of age as well as future youth between 8 and 17 years of age. The YLDF definition of youth takes into account Yemeni law, the Yemeni National Youth Strategy, the Arab League, and International (UN) definitions, all of which differ from each other somewhat. It agrees with the Arab reasoning that there is delayed independence of youth in Yemen and in Arab countries in general, and acknowledges that poor education makes it difficult for youth to identify their goals and to begin to be effective until they are 24 years old or older, and after they have graduated from university.

This target group faces many challanges namely illiteracy, and unemployement. These challenges form a heavier burden on women as female population suffers of higher rates of illiteracy and drop out from formal education. In addition very low percent of young females are represented in the paid labor force and their participation rate in the economy is quite low. Female participation is at 8%, whereas male participation reaches 30%. In Yemen , young females face obstacles that hinder their development and empowerment. Customs and financial problems and family restrictions are major barriers preventing young Yemeni females from development and decision-making. Most young females in Yemen are unable to support themselves financially due to either a lack of education or a lack of experience and skill that would enable them to become independent and secure their own future. Lack of resources and skills, mixed sex schools, and need for financial support all contribute to the poor participation of females and the scarce presence of female leadership in the Yemeni community.

For youth of both sexes, it is compulsory to take a year off after graduation from high school. During this year, girls and boys are not allowed to enroll for higher studies in a public university, and seeking employment is not feasible. The government provides no alternatives during this period. The result is that many girls become confined to their homes while they are in age that they could, increase their skills and self-confidence, particularly if they plan to attend the university or enter the job market in the future.

Despite governmental commitment and donors to the educational sector and all the efforts to reduce gender inequalities, lack of proper education and training is the most significant barrier to female participation not only due to cultural attitudes, but more due to the lack of appropriate facilities, low number of female teachers and economic circumstances.

Design of early long-term training programs targeting young girls was based on a survey conducted in public and private schools to study Yemeni girls' perceptions of their future, their needs during the gap year, and problems that may prevent them from achieving these needs. The results of the survey led GWCC to develop this one-year program for the girls of Sana'a on their gap year. In general, design of training programs in both GWCC and YEDC is influenced by the present day labor market needs as well cultural restraints, social limitations that span across both the privileged and under privileged classes of the Yemeni society. Regardless of financial status many young women are discouraged from continuing their education or gaining extra skills such as language, computers, and Internet because universities, institutes that teach languages, and computer/Internet cafes are not exclusively for girls. Co-education is not an option for many Yemeni parents.

YLDF aims to allow these girls the same opportunities as students attending private schools by offering them partial or full scholarships. GWCC is also committed to encouraging participation by those young women who are from backgrounds with traditionally less access to education and opportunity, such as the Akhdam.

The YLDF is committed to participatory an creative methods and approaches in providing quality and sustainable skill development programs to its target groups with a focus on increasing opportunities of women and the poor based on the principle of non-discrimination and respect of human rights.

Current Activities/ Programs: Young leadership Program Young Women Leadership Program Human Rights Program Democracy Program Public Administration Program Young Business Professional Program Youth Civic Engagement Program

Programs include short term and long term English courses, computer/internet, marketing and sales, business English, basic and business management, business planning and development, and accounting. Long term programs in YLDF such as the Youth Civic Engagement Project provide an innovative year-long curriculum with a focus on experiential learning, networking, leadership and skill building, all focused on preparing young women and men for their next endeavors mainly as agents of change in the civil society.

Future Plans:
Youth Leadership Development Foundation plans to expand and deepen these already existing and successful initiatives to include youth of both sexes in a continuous process of learning and engagement. The foundation will continue to foster development and leadership programs in its premises for youth in different fields in conformation with the 10-year Strategy for Youth and Children. We expect to increase the number of youth involved, particularly females, broaden the geographic reach to other cities and cover marginalized and underprivileged youth. Through its programs, YLDF will tackle current youth issues such as unemployment, extremism and conflict, political and economical participation, and other current critical youth issues. YLDF leadership and staff feel that there is a current need to:
Expand the program to cover additional cities and to broaden their working network to include other Arab countries. Facilitate networking, mentoring and exchange of information between Yemeni youth and youth in other countries in the region and the world. Upgrade training materials, books and video resources for YLDF. Design joint programs with other local youth NGOs that do programming for young women and youth in general and develop and expand international networks dealing with the status of women ring in subject area specialists for areas of human rights, health, water and the environment.

YLDF, through YEDC, is planning to establish Career Development Centers (CDC) in the YLDF premises. The CDC will be the focal point for both males and female trainees as well as the business community. Career counseling will also be provided through the CDC staff members or vie a Career Consultation Hotline. To support the activities of YEDC, a Business Advisory Council (BAC) will be comprised of leading business owners, young professionals, women's and youth organizations, community leaders and local government bodies was established to provide advice concerning the skill development needs of businesses in Yemen, ensure demand-driven and responsive services that meet the needs of all In addition, YLDF will benefit from the agreements made with several leading Yemeni businesses to participate in the internship program that will be set by YLDF. Prospective interns will undergo a skills evaluation process and be entered into a database at CDC.

YLDF will encourage the formation of an alumni network of graduates and selected members will form a Youth Advisory Council. This council will include outstanding graduates of YLDF programs who will be responsible to support the YLDF management with information on youth needs and expectations of project. They can also aid in out reach for potential trainees, and potential employers, as well as follow up with training graduates to perform alumni network activities.

Our policy is to work for youth and with youth and create democratic environment conducive for participation. We build bridges of trust, respect and friendship and offer advice and constant follow-up to our trainees and graduates. We try our best to ensure Quality. Uniqueness. Diversity. Constant innovation and long-term focus. We also focus on practical application is one of the most important training methods, monitoring and evaluation and constant development, as well as continuity and sustainability of our programs.

Structure, Partners, Donors, and Fund:

YLDF has an administrative board of five members chaired by one of the founders of the foundation, Ms. Antelak Al-Mutawakel. The administrative board provides guidance and support to the strategic direction of YLDF programs and activities.

The foundation has a general director who supervises two executive directors of GWCC and YEDC. The total number of staff are 21 and 14 in GWCC and YEDC respectively in addition to volunteers who are available on temporary basis in both centers.

The resource mobilization unit works to establish good links with donors in Yemen . YLDF has gained the trust of several donors who supported various programs and projects. These donors include,
British Embassy, National Endowment for Democracy, MEPI, Canada fund for development of local initiatives, UNIFEM, British Council, and Private companies such as TOTAL and Shell, Inc.

YLDF has maintained excellent relations with the government represented by Ministries of Education and Youth, and with the academia represented by universities and other training and education agencies. YLDF is a member in several local and regional youth and human rights networks.

Sustainability:

YLDF takes into consideration that all its projects should have an element of sustainability to its activities. This is achieved by the paid-for training programs that are offered to the general public. This sector of YLDF generates income that can cover some of the running costs of YLDF, and parts of the staff salaries.

From the early stages of program developement, follow up phases of training and education activities are planned for so that skills and knowledge acquired by youth are put into practice.

There is great reliance on training of trainers activities that ensures a pool of young trainers is created and utilized in YLDF programs. In addition, volunteerism is highly encouraged in YLDF and different trainings are provided to youth to increase their sense of responsibility and ownership of program targeting their fellow young persons.

To increase youth participation in social , political and economic aspects of society especially through education in vocational , communication, leadership and life skills in response to the needs of the community and the labor market locally , regionally and internationally.

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