The first culture and awareness training session [Archives:2004/743/Local News]

Wednesday, 24 May, Aden- A four-day training session began last Sunday at Al-Shamy Hotel, Aden. It is organized by Yemen Studies and Human Rights Center, in cooperation with the UNDP. 30 participants, representing Shabwah, Abyan, Lahj, Al-Dhala, Taiz, and Ibb in addition to Aden governorates, both male and female, are participating in it.
The opening speech, delivered by Mr. Omr Ba Wazeer, Executive Director of the Center, alluded to the importance of such training session in creating more awareness in favor of enhancing respect of human rights and strengthening Yemen's emerging democracy, and development of civil society organizations. It also emphasized that the involvement and participation of civil society organizations, forums and political parties, at the senior levels, would assist in improving human rights and enhancing democracy, and enable them to introduce new specialized departments in their establishments and organizations dedicated to these two issues, either in the field of awareness and learning and spreading human-rights values, or in enhancing and defending democracy. Civil society organizations must effectively and seriously contribute in reforming and developing the democracy experiment towards achieving the ultimate goal, a more contemporary and developed new Yemen, where human rights are interconnected with every aspect of life.
The speech confirmed that embedding and disseminating the human-rights culture could not be done independently from the roles of schools, universities, curriculums and the adaptation of political life. The achievement of development, advancement and prosperity in the country could not happen also without a genuinely complete democracy, in parallel with the respect of human rights, including women's rights.
The session's agenda consisted of, during the first two days, 3 lectures; on civic and political rights; woman and child rights; and economic, social and cultural rights in international laws and conventions, delivered by Dr. Abdul Wahab Shamsan, a law professor at Aden University, Ms. Radheah Shamseer, an activist on society and women's issues, and by Dr. Jafar Al-Khamery, respectively. The third day witnessed a lecture by Dr. Mohamed Abdul Malik, tilted, “Human Rights in Islamic Teachings”, followed by a lecture on the role of civil society organizations in enhancing democracy by Dr. Hussein Ba Salamah.
The training session concludes today in the afternoon with a lecture by Mr. Mohamed Qassem, President of the Center, about the importance of teaching and spreading the human rights culture, followed by a discussion ring on two working papers, regarding the situation of Yemeni woman, the first on the experiment of Yemen woman in education and political life, and the second on the reality of the situation of Yemeni woman today, submitted by Dr. Esmhan Al-Alasy, Professor of Arts and Letters, Aden University, and by Ms. Khawlah Sharaf, a women's rights activist and former member of parliament, respectively.
It is expected that certificates will handed out to the participants. The opening ceremony was attended by social dignitaries, politicians and university professors in Aden, and the Consuls of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Libya in Aden.
——
[archive-e:743-v:13-y:2004-d:2004-06-03-p:ln]