The GDRSC announces the start of Appling in following academic programs:
- PHD in International Development and Gender (Batch 2 En, Batch 2 AR)
- MA in International Development and Gender ( Batch 8 EN , Batch 4 AR )
- The complementary Program (Batch 2)
Dr.. Saleh Hamid
Dr. Al-Qassim, the head of Sana’a University , visited Gender development Research and Studies Center on Monday 17 th June 2019. He met the Center’s leadership represented by Dr. Halima Jahaf, Director of the Center, Dr. Saleh Hameed the Deputy Director of the Center, teaching Staff in addition to the administrative staff of the center.
During the meeting, Dr. Jahaf, Director of the Center, welcomed Dr. Al-Qasim, thanked him for his tangible efforts which resulted in his success within a short period of his tenure as president of Sana’a University. The most prominent of this success are the field visits to colleges, scientific and research centers, working on solving the academic and administrative problems.
In the meeting also, they discussed the obstacles and problems that face the Center in the current period as a result of preceded accumulations, like the academic problems that accompanied the students in the stages of supervision since 9 years ago and the excessive centralization, which represented an obstacle to the streamlined decisions, especially that the Center signed agreements and protocols with counterpart universities and centers in the training and academic field and its commitments to implement several projects.
After hearing ,the president of the University for most of the problems raised by the center’s academics and administrators, he noted that the center is one of the most important centers that will support the university through the funded projects that will be implemented under the supervision of the university leadership, considering that the visions, provided by the leadership of the Center will be welcomed and activated and he will be instrumental in supporting the Center in all its international academic programs and development that aim to create development in the society represented by the international development programs and gender in both Arabic and English languages, because it is considered a new academic pillar in a qualitative field the country needs it.
He stressed the necessity on correcting the situation of the development program by taking care of the academic contenst of the academic sections , in which its contents must reflect the development aspect of the country and our needs from the vision, mission and goals of the university, considering academics as the cornerstone in this regard.
Then the Al,Qasim toured the building, noting the most important achievements under the new leadership. The most important of which are the installation of conference and discussion rooms and symposia provided by audio cutters and audio-visual screens. In addition to protecting the building with an iron curtain from the outside, the contents of the new Master’s Program for International Development were also reviewed in Arabic, which was described by specialists in the field of gender in accordance with the legal requirements for the opening of academic programs. He was shown the contents of the Center’s library which is considered as academic extension for all visitors from different faculties of the university, as well as visitors from different Yemeni universities because of their association with international universities and its excellent content of knowledge
At the end of the meeting, Al-Qasim thanked the leadership of the Center, which worked according to strategic planning in a short period and began to address the imbalance radically.
It is worthy to mention that this visit represents a distinguished academic gesture by the head of the University and motivates the academic and administrative staff of the center to exert more efforts in implementing development projects within the community.
Dr. Halima Abdullah Jahaf, the director of Gender Development Research and Studies Center, participated in the conference which was held from 29-27 March 2019 in the Jordanian capital of Amman under the title ” Yemeni Women are Peace Mediators ” sponsored by United Nation and UN women.
The center’s director stressed, via the sound intervention on internet, the important role of Yemeni women in peace process, especially at this phase where Yemeni women suffer negative effects on all levels (political, social, economic and security) due to the unjust aggression against Yemen.
She stressed that women’s right to live in safety is above the political, economic, cultural and other rights
“The aggression and blockade imposed on Yemeni people and the closure of the airport are reasons for their lack of participation and other women. This reflects the real situation of Yemeni women that cannot obtain their most basic rights in playing their real role in the peacemaking process.
With the support of UNWomen, the Gender Development Research and Studies Center is announcing the availability of 6 scholarships for graduate students of the Master’s Program in International Development and Gender. The scholarship will provide technical and financial support through a) covering tuition fees of 4th semester; b) registering proposals at the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Sana’a University; c) cover graduation certificate fees; d) cover the cost of 8 copies of thesis for the different libraries of SU ( 1 extra copy per student for UN WOMEN). To apply following terms should be fulfilled:
Terms of submission:
1- Applicants should be in the stage of preparing their Master’s thesis (the fourth semester of the program).
2- Applicants should academically be distinguished.
3- Applicants should submit a research proposal on a topic preferably related to gender and urgent humanitarian response.
4-Applicants should finalize their thesis till the end of December 2018.
5- Applicants should attend the training courses the center offers through the UNWOMEN project to further develop their academic skills.
6- Applications must be submitted within 10 days from the date of this announcement to the Center’s administration – Department of Graduate Studies. Fill the required fields of the template provided in English and Arabic.
Available until Tuesday 24 Septamper 2018
New books have arrived at the GDRSC library on April 2018. The books revolve mainly on the different approaches of peacebuilding planning, post- conflict reconstruction and the complications that lie behind the crisis Yemen is currently undergoing.
The following are reviews on some of the new arrivals:
YEMEN IN CRISIS: Autocracy, Neo- Liberalism and the Disintegration of a State
HELEN LACKNER
The book begins with a very concise and commendable summary of the difficult and ultimately failed political transition process that began in spring 2011 and ended with the launch of the Saudi-led bombing campaign in 2015. The nine following chapters explore the historical roots of the current crisis in Yemen by addressing very different but closely related aspects of its recent history: the influence of foreign states on Yemen’s development and politics, the history of the two Yemeni republics (YAR and PDRY) from their establishment in the 1960s to their unification in 1990, the role of political Islam, the emergence of the Houthi movement in the country’s north and the secessionist movement in its south, the changing role of tribalism in Yemeni society and politics, the deficient economy, and the country’s rural-urban nexus. In doing so, Lackner presents the many complex historical, political, economic and social problems whose synergy led to the current situation in Yemen.
Making Peace with Faith: The Challenges of Religion and Peacebuilding
Michelle Garred
In this book, practitioners from different faiths relate and explore the many challenges they face in their peacebuilding work, which their secular partners may be unaware of. The contributors are all practitioners whose faith or religious experience motivates their work for peace and justice in such a way that it influences their actions. Their roles are diverse, as some work for faith-based institutions, while others engage in secular contexts. The multiple perspectives featured represent multiple faiths (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish), diverse scopes of practice, different geographic regions.
Each chapter follows a similar template to address specific challenges, such as dealing with extremist views, addressing negative stereotypes about one’s faith, endorsing violence, developing relations with other faith-based or secular groups, confronting gender-based violence, and working with people who hold different beliefs. The text provides a comprehensive view of the practice of peacebuilding in its many challenging aspects, for both professionals and those studying religion and peacebuilding alike.
Youth in Conflict and Peacebuilding: Mobilization, Reintegration and Reconciliation
Alpaslan Özerdem, S. Podder
Youth in Conflict and Peacebuilding gives weight to the role of youth in peacebuilding, with specific reference to the processes of mobilisation, reintegration and reconciliation. The main objective of Özerdem and Podder in this study is to provide a new conceptualisation of youth as a harbinger of peace, whether at an international or local level. The failure to recognise youths as political actors can result in their contribution to peacebuilding being ignored, wasted and, at best, under-utilised. In recognising their agency as legitimate political actors, Özerdem and Podder address the need for a comprehensive understanding of their valuable contribution to peacebuilding.
In the framework of the academic collaborative project between the GDRSC and the University of Bonn on “Academic Approaches to Peacebuilding and State- Building in Yemen,” academics and master’s students of the GDRSC will be attending a summer school in Amman in July, 2018.
The summer school – an intensive six-day course – offers the opportunity to engage with the conundrums of combining short-term relief with longer-term reconstruction and peace-building efforts from a multitude of perspectives.
The students’ delegation will include: FADHILAH GUBARI, HUDA AL-AMMARI, GHADEER AL-SHAMI, ABDULWAHAB ALI, OSAMA Al-ANSI and SAFWAN DHABAAN.
The delegation will be accompanied by: DR. BILKIS ZABARA, DR. SUHAIR ATEF, and DR. EISSA ABOHULAIKA.
The German MA students delegation attending the summer school: LOUISA HOFMANN, SARAH SEIDEL, STEPHANIE KNOLL, FELIX BRÖNNE, THOMAS-LARS EISSLER, MARKUS SATTLER accompanied by their academics, DR. ANDREA WARNECKE, Dr. HAMIDA BEHR and the student assistant THOMAS PIETZSCH.
The course objective is to be achieved by strengthening ties between researchers, academic staff, students and – subordinately – to experts in the policy and development community in order to develop ideas and find new ways of academic support to respective endeavors. A particular focus is placed on the promotion and support of young academics and women.
On the seventh annual anniversary of the departure of Dr. Raoufah Hassan Al-Sharqi, a seminar titled “Samatat Shahrazad W Lam Taskot: Shahrazad Paused and was Not Hushed” was conducted at the GDSRC hall on May 6th of the year 2018. The seminar was attended by the Vice President of Centers’ Affairs, Secretary General – Mr. Abdul Kaher Al Asli , and a couple of academics at Sana’a University. Dr. Al Sharqi’s mother, brother and some of her relatives were also among the attendees.
At the seminar, relatives of the late Dr. Raoufah received an honorary shield from the GDRSC in recognition of her prominent role in establishing the center. The honorary shield was handed over by Dr. Abdul wahab al-Washli, Vice President of Centers Affairs, Sana’a University.
During a period of three weeks June/ July 2018, researchers from YLDF will visit the center’s library. The researchers both young women and men – from different educational back grounds; high school diploma, BA and MA – are working on a “Creativity for Social Justice” project are in need of the relevant information resources available at the center’s library. Part of their project is to conduct studies on, for example Social Justice, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Country Assessment on VAW.
The library staff seeks to provide the researchers with the required services to assist in making their project a successful one.
Aida Bazara is the first student who has earned a master’s degree in International Development and Gender with a degree of ‘Very Good’ from the Gender Development Research and Studies Center (GDRSC) at Sana’a University on March the 10th 2018. Her MA thesis was on the ‘The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Yemeni Multinational Companies: a Tool for Community Development’.
The research brought insights about the relation between CSR and community development in a poor country like Yemen, and what constitute their features and drivers by taking two multinational corporations operating in Yemen as a case study. The thesis also discussed different approaches of integrating CSR in community development by going beyond the prevalent paradigm of CSR in poor countries.
The study supports the claim that companies who are shifting away from philanthropy towards more development-focused strategic CSR initiatives can contribute better to the well-being of their immediate community. The research prevails limits of CSR practices in Yemen in term of embracing broader perspective of sustainable development, being accountable for their social and environmental impact, and integrating wider aspects of CSR.
The CSR aiming at improving local communities should ensure sustainability, capacity building and partnership with NGOs. CSR performs in underdeveloped economics and limited resources, should seek broader avenues to contribute to the community.
It is noteworthy, that the Master’s Program in International Development and Gender (launched in April 2011) is the first program of this kind at the level of Sana’a University and Yemen’s universities in this field and the first program at the regional level which focuses on development studies from gender perspectives.
Women led organisations and women leaders sign an open letter in solidarity with Jerusalem and condemning the US administrations actions to relocate the embassy.
The letter can be downloaded from here
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