Yemen

Arabia Felix – Peace Process Support for Yemen

The project “Peace Process Support for Yemen”, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU), is improving capacities for non-violent conflict resolution in Yemen.

Within this project, Madiba and its partners are commissioned with two projects under the brand of “Arabia Felix”.

Arabia Felix Online Promotion Campaign - Promoting the activities of „Arabia Felix” and spreading messages of peace

Social media platforms have become the only means of information and communication that have not been affected by the conflict and conflicting parties in Yemen. Yemenis use social media to access news or to share their situation in Yemen in light of the conflict, air strikes, suffering, and the daily life and struggle. Facebook is the most commonly used platform among internet users in Yemen, as the number of Facebook users has reached more than 2.2 million users, followed by Twitter with more than 998,500 users and Instagram with more than 400,000 users. 

Under the brand “Arabia Felix” the Online Promotion Campaign aims at improving the capacities for non-violent conflict resolution in Yemen by promoting various Arabia Felix activities and engaging Yemeni youth in exchanges and conversations on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Madiba is, together with its Yemeni partner dotnotion and on behalf of the „Peace Process Support for Yemen” project, responsible for the design and implementation of the public relations/social media campaign, in close collaboration with local experts in Yemen.

Arabia Felix Short Film Competition - Supporting young talented filmmakers in Yemen

Yemen once boasted a vibrant cinematic culture, having gone through many phases since the early 1900s. In 1910, moviegoers flocked to mobile cinema shows in Aden. By the 1950s, there were almost 50 cinemas in the region and going to the movies was a widely enjoyed family pastime. But since the 1990s, Yemen gradually lost its theatres and cinemas to negligence, poverty and war. Yemen’s film industry has, however, been experiencing a revival. Currently, there are a handful of well-known Yemeni films and filmmakers. The Yemeni community is full of creative talents who have big visions, dreams, and a great love for art. However, cultural activities have been decreasing throughout the past few decades, leaving the Yemeni youth today with extremely limited choices to pursue an artistic or cinematographic career. 

The Short Film Competition under the brand of “Arabia Felix” intends to change this and aims at giving young Yemeni filmmakers a creative outlet to contribute to the peace process and, hence, improve the capacities for non-violent conflict resolution in Yemen. Madiba and their local partner Youth of the World Together (YWT) are responsible for the design, conceptualization and implementation of a short film competition, also including the provision of technical and financial support to the winning teams for film production as well as the organisation of film premiers.