Rethinking Yemen’s Economy
The Rethinking Yemen’s Economy (RYE) initiative aims to contribute to and support the advancement towards inclusive and sustainable development and peace by seeking to achieve the following:
- a) the enabled inclusive engagement of Yemenis in economic peacebuilding;
- b) an improved understanding of crucial policy areas related to economic peacebuilding and development in Yemen.
We conceptualize ‘Rethinking Yemen’s Economy’ as a Yemeni-led process, based on a combination of local knowledge and experience of what has/hasn’t worked in Yemen in the past, and evidence from rigorous research and international experiences. Rethinking Yemen’s Economy contributes to and supports the advancement towards inclusive, sustainable, and equitable social and economic development through evidence-based advocacy and consensus-building.
Under the current ongoing conflict situation in Yemen, RYE also prioritizes Economic Peacebuilding, defined as the undertaking to support multi-stakeholder, interconnected formal and informal processes of consensus-building on critical economic issues to contribute to the end goal of achieving positive peace while ensuring social and economic justice for Yemeni citizens.
The RYE initiative is implemented by DeepRoot Consulting, the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies and CARPO – Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient. It is funded by the European Union and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Yemen (until May 2022).
Pillars of Engagement
- Focusing on localization and bottom-up approaches, engaging and supporting the empowerment of citizens, civil society and local authorities to define and own their priorities, while striving for equitable access to the economy and socio-economic justice;
- Supporting decentralization efforts regarding delivery of basic services, revenue mobilization, and leading the development process while enhancing good governance practices;
- Opening the space for the private sector to play an active role in socially responsible economic development;
- Supporting national-level policymakers in developing policies and mechanisms that will address current bottlenecks and contribute to just, equitable and inclusive socio-economic development;
- Advising international policymakers in developing their strategies and programs in Yemen;
- Advocating for economic peacebuilding efforts and efforts to safeguard the economy and private sector operations from the impact of the conflict.
Streams of Engagement
- Development Champions Forums: Senior Yemeni experts and professionals from various backgrounds and with established expertise in development, economy and governance will convene in physical and virtual meetings to build consensus on priorities for intervention and issue respective recommendations.
- Other Workshops: These workshops will complement the meetings of the Development Champions by either engaging more local actors, particularly women and youth, and/or by focusing on a specific thematic issue that requires specific expertise.
- Content production: The results of streams 1-2 will be published in the form of policy briefs, bolstered by research and analysis of Yemeni researchers. The research and policy team will liaise closely with the Development Champions to ensure their expertise is included.
- Communication & Outreach: National, regional and international stakeholders will be briefed on the results of streams 1-3 and the outputs will be made accessible to the public through the project website (devchampions.org) as well as social media (Twitter: @DevChampionsYe; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DevChampionsYE/).
- Economic De-escalation: The Development Champions and the RYE consortium will continue to engage with the UN Special Envoy’s Office and other key actors by providing technical expertise relevant to viable economic policies, de-escalation and peacebuilding and by supporting mediation efforts where feasible.
Partners
The Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies
The Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies is an independent think-tank that seeks to foster change through knowledge production with a focus on Yemen and the surrounding region. The Center’s publications and programs, offered in both Arabic and English, cover political, social, economic and security related developments, aiming to impact policy locally, regionally, and internationally.
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DeepRoot Consulting
DeepRoot Consulting is a dynamic social enterprise passionate about Yemen’s development. DeepRoot aims to help international development actors, the private sector, local civil society organizations and the Yemeni Government anchor their interventions in a deep understanding of Yemen’s national and local contexts, and international best practices. DeepRoot’s leadership team and advisory board has decades of combined experience working in Yemen and internationally in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
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The Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO)
The Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO) is a Germany-based organization whose work is situated at the nexus of research, consultancy and exchange with a focus on implementing projects in close cooperation and partnership with stakeholders in the Middle East. The CARPO team has long-standing experience in the implementation of projects in cooperation with partners from the region and a deep understanding of the Yemeni context.
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The European Union
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Yemen