Youth Debate over Foreign Aid in Yemen

This is an interesting event that included many of the rising Yemeni activists debating whether humanitarian, development and military aid is beneficial to the country. On the pro-foreign aid side, there are three activists; Rafat Al-Akhali, Rana Jarhum, Ala'a Jarban. On the opposite side is Atiaf Al Wazir and Ibrahim Mothana. They both raise good points, while some foreign aid creates a dependency, other projects wouldn't see the light of day without support. Judge for yourself as you watch:









Rafat Al Akhali: (from NDI)
Mr. Al Akhali is a youth activist who returned to Yemen from Canada to participate in the revolution. He is a leader (Co-founder) in Resonate!Yemen, an organization that promotes youth engagement on policy initiatives. About Resonate! Yemen: To have sustainable policies in Yemen that take into consideration the input of Yemeni youth as major stakeholders in policy design and implementation. To bring the voices and ideas of young Yemenis (aged 18 to 35) to Yemen's public policy discourse and support youth action on issues of national and international significance.

Rana Jarhum: (From Linkedin)
Rana is the current Gender and Youth Officer at RTI international. She graduated from University of Science and Technology (Sana'a) with a BA in Management Information System and earned her MA from University of York in Comparative and International Social Policy. Furthermore, Jarhum has extensive work experience with NGOs like the Danish Refugee Council and UNDP. She has also worked with the Women National Committee.

Ala'a Jabran: (from Awesome Yemeni Blog)
Ala'a is a Sana'a University Graduate and is a Yemeni Activist who writes a blog.

Atiaf Al Wazir: (from Woman from Yemen)
An activist and researcher turned citizen journalist since the start of the Yemeni Revolution. This blog started in 2008 with random thoughts and expressions. Then at the end of January 2011, the blog's focus concentrated on the revolution in Yemen, with commentaries, short pieces, videos, and photos to document the revolution and raise awareness on current issues. Hope you enjoy the blog, and I welcome any comments and/or suggestions. Love, peace & solidarity, Atiaf

Ibrahim Mothana: (from waq-al-waq)23-year-old activist, writer and Yemen's 2011 Arab Thought Foundation Ambassador. Co-founder of Watan Party & Yemen Enlightenment Debate. You can also follow him on twitter @imothanaYemen