More than 25 Yemeni organizations participated in an online workshop on July 11 focused on providing local feedback to a proposed overhaul of the humanitarian, development, and peace approach in Yemen.
The workshop – organized under the Sana’a Center’s Yemen Peace Forum (YPF), a track II youth and civil society platform – gave an opportunity for local organizations to contribute insights, experiences, and recommendations for the UN-led Humanitarian, Development, and Peace (HDP) nexus, which seeks to link humanitarian interventions in conflict-affected countries more closely with development goals and peace initiatives.
Participants were also briefed on aid, development, and peace interventions in other countries, with the goal of exploring commonalities and opportunities for replicating successful initiatives in the Yemeni context.
Osamah al-Rawhani, Co-Executive Director for Policy and Partnerships at the Sana’a Center, said the workshop was undertaken as part of a recognition that international humanitarian and development processes in Yemen are often top-down and need to incorporate local views and experiences in ways that can support the shift from humanitarian aid to development, promote Yemen’s economic recovery, and ensure that interventions are more sustainable and sensitive to local contexts.
Participants produced recommendations to better incorporate local organizations within the HDP nexus, which will be presented during a series of upcoming international meetings..
“Local civil society organizations are central to humanitarian and development work in Yemen, and their increased engagement ensures that the aspirations and needs of Yemenis are better reflected in future interventions,” said Al-Rawhani.
The Yemen Peace Forum, as part of the Sana’a Center’s core goal of producing knowledge through local voices, seeks to invest in building and empowering the next generation of Yemeni youth and civil society actors and engage them in critical national issues.
