Young Yemenis and Canadians working together for a better future:Yemeni-Canadian relations take on a new dimension! [Archives:2003/649/Culture]

The relations between Yemen and Canada were first established in 1976. Since then, Yemen and Canada have been working steadily towards increasing and reinforcing these relations in various areas. One of the major areas in which Yemen and Canada have been cooperating is trade relations. Yemen imports machinery, cereals, paper board, dairy products, and motor vehicles from Canada, while Canada imports coffee, mineral fuel, raw oil, precious stones and metals, and inorganic compounds from Yemen.
Today however, the Yemeni-Canadian relations are taking on a new dimension with the introduction of the Yemeni-Canadian Relations Council (YCRC).
Established in Calgary, Canada, YCRC (members.shaw.ca/ycrc) is a non-governmental and non-profit youth organization. It is a group of young, enthusiastic, and result-oriented individuals from the two countries with the aim of enhancing the bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Yemen and Canada while promoting cultural awareness and understanding between both the Yemeni and Canadian societies.
To achieve this, the YCRC aims at enhancing these relations in two main areas specifically the business and socio-economic development aspects of society. To this affect, the YCRC seeks to involve stakeholders from both nations in various initiatives that meet the needs of the Yemeni and the Canadian societies.
One of these initiatives is the YCRC Youth Conference which will take place in Yemen during the summer of 2004. In line with the mission of the organization, the YCRC Youth Conference 2004 aims to develop the skills of young Yemeni youth and equip them with the potential to contribute to the development of Yemen benefiting from the Western experiences in this field in general and from the Canadian experiences in specific.
“Today's youth has a critical role to play in creating a better world in the future, especially for us in Yemen. The synergies of combining practical real life skills with the technical skills acquired from standard education will dramatically enhance the abilities of our youth to meet tomorrows' challenges and create a more prosperous Yemen for all of us.” YCRC president, Ahmed Al-Awah said. “Our youth must be equipped with the necessary skills tomorrow's world will demand and the numerous professional opportunities it has to offer.”
“It is apparent that our future requires education and innovation to develop and maintain an efficient, competitive and successful workforce.” commented the YCRC vice president Rafat Al-Akhali, who is currently in Yemen and working on establishing the organization's presence in Yemen. “The YCRC in its Youth Conference 2004 will run various activities and sessions that will aim at developing the entrepreneurial and leadership skills within the Yemeni youth.”
The YCRC hopes that the skills that the youth will acquire, would assist in overcoming the challenges existing today in our society and serve as a kick-off for creating a synergy of efforts between the youth, government and businesses operating in Yemen.
Today the YCRC consists of more than 20 members and a Board of Advisors consisting of various business and community leaders from both countries. The YCRC aims at actively involving all stakeholders in the promotion of Yemeni-Canadian Relations.
——
[archive-e:649-v:13-y:2003-d:2003-07-10-p:culture]