Culture, Heritage and Youth Nexus in Yemen
An awareness-raising event under the UNESCO-EU project “Cash for Work: Promoting Livelihood Opportunities for Urban Youth in Yemen”
“Culture is a driver for development and peace – this is equally true in times of conflict”, emphasized Mohammed Jumeh, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Yemen to UNESCO, during the awareness-raising event Culture, Heritage and Youth Nexus in Yemen in Brussels. The ongoing conflict in Yemen has been heavily affecting the country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage. At the same time, the conflict exacerbates the existing socio-economic issues faced by many young Yemenis, leaving them in a state of extreme vulnerability.
Preserving and promoting culture is not only about stones and artefacts, it is first and foremost about improving people’s lives
The event, held at BOZAR’s Rotonde Bertouille, was jointly organized by UNESCO and the European Union and underlined the importance of the actions taken under the EU-funded project implemented by UNESCO - Cash for Work: Promoting Livelihood Opportunities for Urban Youth in Yemen. Bringing together key stakeholders, implementation partners and young Yemenis, the evening was a moment to share and discuss preliminary results of the project, lessons learnt and good practices and laying the way forward to the protection of Yemen’s cultural heritage and the livelihoods of the country’s young generation – now and in the future.
Raffaella Iodice, Head of Unit for the Middle East at the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), pointed towards the project’s long-term impact, beyond the immediate actions taken now: “With a collective look to the future, we need to focus on longer term development and draw the attention to the conflict in Yemen and remind ourselves that cultural heritage is for all of us”.
UNESCO, the Social Fund for Development in Yemen and the European Union are creating 500,000 cash-for-work working hours for 4,000 young women and men to rehabilitate urban heritage environments in the cities of Sana’a, Shibam, Zabid and Aden.
500,000
working hours4,000
young women and men4
historic citiesIn a true spirit of partnership, the organizations are working together on what is in many ways a pioneering project to implement a unique combination of actions, linking job creation in the cultural sector with the preservation and restoration of urban architecture, while keeping the Yemeni people at the centre of all actions: “The partnership between the European Union and UNESCO is putting the human dimension at the core of the cultural discourse and development efforts in Yemen”, highlighted Anna Paolini, Director of the UNESCO Office in Doha.
The project makes use of culture as a vehicle to restore sense of identity and social cohesion. Within the actions of heritage preservation, restoration and protection, the human dimension is always at the heart of the Cash for Work project. As Louise Haxthausen, UNESCO Representative to the European Union and Director of the UNESCO Office in Brussels underlined: “Preserving and promoting culture is not only about stones and artefacts, it is first and foremost about improving people’s lives”.
To experience this human dimension of the project, the Culture, Heritage and Youth Nexus in Yemen event concluded with a traditional music performance, a photo exhibition and the presentation of virtual reality movies that allowed visitors to immerse themselves into Yemeni cultural heritage, the outstanding scenery of the Old Cities and youth engagement in cultural heritage rehabilitation. It offered rare insights into a country that is home to a rich and diverse cultural heritage that is not only seen in the four cities targeted in the project, but throughout the whole country.
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