The Free Political Forum 2004-2011
The “Political Development Forum” is formed and created through this forum, which is a weekly “Qat session” in the home of the forum’s president, attended and participated in by many Yemeni political, diplomatic, civil, media, academic, research, and societal figures, in addition to personalities Residents and visitors to Yemen of various nationalities
The Free Forum discussed all issues of public and private interest at all Yemeni, Arab and international levels in a free and open manner, without any preconditions or obligations other than ethical and professional obligations, with an average of 40 sessions per year during the period from 2004 to 2011 AD.
The Free Political Forum was closed due to the political, security and military tension that Yemen has been experiencing from 2011 until now, since then participation at the Free Political Forum has been limited to a few specific number of pre-invited attendance to discuss different paths on the Yemeni scene.
Annual reports on Yemeni political development
Through this program, annual reports were prepared on political development in Yemen within the framework of Arab Human Development Reports, by projecting the dimension related to political development in Arab Human Development Reports onto the Yemeni reality, publishing these reports, educating Yemeni public opinion about their content, and working to educate and persuade community leaders about the importance of adopting the proposals and solutions contained in these reports.
Democracy Assessment Program 2005
During the year 2005, the implementation of the “Democracy Assessment”program began in cooperation with the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation. In this context, the Democracy Assessment Guide, the Democracy Program – Training Phase, was prepared. The translation was undertaken by Dr. Sawsan Al-Rifai
Seminar (Challenges that will face Yemen during the next presidential period)
On Sunday and Monday, September 3-4, 2006, at the Taj Sheba Hotel, Sana’a, during which four studies were presented on the social and cultural challenges, economic challenges, challenges of completing state building, foreign policy challenges, and regional integration, prepared respectively by: Dr. Fouad Al-Salahi, Dr. Khaled Qasim Al-Adini, and Dr. Mohamed Maghram and Professor Abdo Salem, which was enriched with meaningful interventions and discussions by the participants, as the symposium was characterized by very broad participation by political party leaders, academic leaders, media and business men, and interested parties and activists.
Symposium (Donors Conference… Reading and Extrapolation)
Which was held on November 26, 2006 at the Taj Sheba Hotel, Sana’a, with the broad participation of leaders of political parties and organizations, parliamentarians, university professors, researchers, media professionals, and senior leadership of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. The symposium was held on the sidelines of the donors’ conference in London in November, through which our country obtained grants amounting to 5.7 billion dollars. In the symposium, all the participants agreed on the importance of expanding the national partnership in development, and the visions on the issue of partnership varied. During the symposium, a valuable working paper was presented by Mr. Saleh Abdullah Muthanna, the former Minister of Transport, which spoke about the importance of developing the port of Aden and the future directions of the port.
Seminar (International Human Rights Conventions and Yemeni Legislation – A Comparative Study)
It was implemented on July 26, 2007 at the Taj Sheba Hotel, Sana’a, during which an important paper prepared by Professor Dr. Mohamed Abd al-Malik al-Mutawakkil was discussed, entitled (International Legal Norms, Yemeni Laws, and Human Rights). Five comments on the paper were presented from legal, religious, and parliamentary figures…as well as enriching it with broad and purposeful discussion by attendees who crowded the hall
Seminar (The Mauritanian Experience: Responsibility and Will)
Thursday, April 19, 2007, at a Sheba hotel, with special funding from the forum, which discussed the Mauritanian experience after an elected civilian president (Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdallah) took power, succeeding the head of the military council (Colonel Alaa Ould Mohamed Vall). These elections witnessed integrity from Arab and international regimes, with the participation of a number of politicians. And party general secretaries, intellectuals and diplomats, led by the Charged Affaires of the Mauritanian Embassy in Sana’a
Symposium (Women’s right to guardianship and their right to guardianship)
Sunday, May 27, 2007, at Sheba hotel in Sana’a, was organised by PDF in cooperation with the Women Journalists Without Chains organization. It was characterized by a unique characteristic in almost all countries of the region. This symposium represented a qualitative shift in the nature of the PDF’s symposia, as it was closer to a debate between three distinguished Islamic researchers in this field, two of whom were graduates of Al-Iman University, and two distinguished professors from Al-Iman University.
Breakfast talk show
On June 24, 2007, with funding, it brought together the leaders of the political parties represented in Parliament, and the European Union ambassadors accredited to Sana’a, within the framework of presenting the positive aspect of the political project for Yemen in order to exchange views on developments in political reform in Yemen and political dialogues, as well as the stances of and political and economic support of the European Union for Yemen. It was attended by the General Secretary of GPC, Abdul Qadir Bajamal, the Assistant Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Akwa, Mohamed Abu Lahoum, Ahmed Ubaid bin Daghr, and Tariq Al-Shami, and from the Joint Meeting Parties (JMPs), Dr. Yassin Saeed Noman, Secretary-General of the Yemeni Socialist Party, Abdul-Wahab Al-Ansi, Assistant Secretary-General of the Islah Party, and Abdul Al-Wahab Mahmoud, Secretary-General of the Arab Baath Party, Ahmed Al-Yazidi, Secretary-General of the Nasserite Unionist Organization, and Mohamed Al-Sabri, spokesman of JMPs.
A panel discussion entitled (Activating the official media)
On July 26, 2007, at the Sheba Hotel in Sana’a, which aimed to achieve the following results: filling the current media vacuum – providing national media stability and security – reducing the intensity of the current media quarrels and clashes and confining them to a limited and safe space. The symposium was characterized by a wide and rare presence of all heads of official media institutions and editors-in-chief of many political party mouthpieces and civil newspapers, they all engaged in a meaningful and constructive discussion on the topics of the symposium
Seminar (Postponing the elections: goals and justifications)
It was held on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, in the hall of the Sheba Hotel, with funding from the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Sana’a. It included the participation of senior leaders of political parties and all parties of the political system, media professionals, activists, and human rights activists. They all worked to enrich the issues raised with serious and purposeful discussion and provide a clear reading of the upcoming Yemeni political scene.
Seminar (Proportional list system in elections: Cognitive Dialogue)
It was held on Thursday, August 13, 2009, at the Taj Sheba Hotel, Sana’a, during which Mr. Mohamed Qahtan, a member of the Supreme Authority of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah), presented an informative discussion paper on the proportional list system, reviewing several experiences, including the German experience. Professor Abdullah Ahmed Ghanem, Head of the Political Department of the General People’s Congress, commented on this paper, the symposium was distinguished by the presence of a wide crowd of politicians, parliamentary, human rights and media leaders from various governorates. Professor Mohamed Qahtan had called in his paper to reconsider the Yemeni electoral experience with all its components and the circumstances that surrounded it, in a way that allows rebuilding on correct and sound foundations through which errors and flaws are averted and the electoral experience is pushed forward by opening horizons of development, progress and growth.
Symposium (Electoral Alternatives and Their Political Impacts)
It was held on Monday, December 21, 2009, at the Sheba Hotel, with funding from the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Sana’a, in which a study presented by researcher Abdel Nasser Al-Muda’ was reviewed, in the form of a book, entitled (Electoral Issues) as the main title, while it included a subtitle (Supposed applications of some electoral systems, and their impact on Politics in Yemen). The study focused on discussing the problems related to electoral affairs, especially the disputes over the formation of the Supreme Elections Committee , changing the form of the electoral system, and the mechanism for representing women. The symposium was attended by politicians, political party members, media figures, and representatives of the Supreme Elections Committee
A project to enhance women’s political participation
The PDF, in cooperation with the Yemeni Women’s Union and in partnership with the Club Madrid, participated in implementing the project to enhance women’s political participation in Yemen, supported by the United Nations Democracy through Dialogue Fund. In this context, a symposium was held on February 18 and 19, 2009, at the Movenpick Hotel, Sana’a, for political party leaders and women leaders to discuss the challenges and available opportunities to strengthen women’s political participation prior to the elections that were supposed to be held in April 2009. This symposium was attended by the former President of the State of Mauritius, Mr. Cassam and Tim, a member of the Club Madrid.
Also, a workshop was held on the effective political participation of women, at the Movenpick Hotel in Sana’a on May 31 – June 1, 2009. The training and lecture process was led by Mrs. Jennifer Chelsea, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and member of the Club Madrid. The workshop called for empowering women and appointing them to decision-making positions, with an emphasis on the necessity of the presence of women in the Supreme Elections Committee
It recommended creating a system that includes all women as a whole and creating a legal material to empower women. It also called in its recommendations to harmonize Yemeni laws with the international agreements to which Yemen has signed, strengthen religious messages to support and empower women, and the need for political parties to support them. Within the framework of this project, the PDF and the Club Madrid sponsored the publication of a page to raise awareness of women’s issues and women’s rights in the Al-Nida newspaper, which was published over a period of several months.
National Dialogue Support Program (NDSP)
Based on the initiative of the Political Development Forum in Yemen and a response from the German Berghof Foundation in 2011, preparations began to provide technical and other support related to the national dialogue process in Yemen, where two high-level consultative meetings were organized and conducted, the first meeting in Germany (Potsdam meeting) and the second was in Jordan, in addition to holding a number of informal meetings in the city of Sana’a. In response to repeated calls from concerned Yemenis for our continued support for the national dialogue process, a project was established between the Political Development Forum in Yemen and the Berghof Foundation in Germany, with the support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The National Dialogue Support Program combines a deep local knowledge base with regional and international expertise in negotiation and national dialogue. The program is committed to serving the national interests of all Yemeni citizens during the political transition process by helping to find common ground and consensus on key aspects related to the reform process in Yemen. The overall goal of the program is to contribute to helping Yemen achieve an inclusive and successful dialogue process that provides the necessary framework for a complete political transitional process in Yemen for a secure, democratic and stable Yemen. The National Dialogue Support Program seeks to provide technical support, support aspects related to the stages of the dialogue, and provide advice to the bodies concerned with the national dialogue. Promoting a common understanding among the relevant Yemeni parties about the principles and mechanisms of consensus building and national dialogue processes, in addition to providing advice and support to overcome blockages and problems.
To learn more about the Political Dialogue Support Program, please visit the program’s website
Many projects were implemented during the previous years and in conjunction with the implementation of the program to support political dialogue, we mention some of them that are concerned with the field of development and political stability including
Local dialogues
In partnership with the European Commission and the Berghof Foundation, the Local Dialogue Series project aims to promote an inclusive political transition in Yemen. The goal is to support the political participation of Yemeni citizens and key stakeholders (such as political parties, women, youth, civil society, and businesses) at the governorate level. The current focus is on supporting democratic dialogue mechanisms and conflict prevention, as well as improving the quality and sustainability of the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference (NDC) and follow-up mechanisms at the local level
International Diplomatic Initiative for Peace in Yemen
This project aims to assist the peace process in Yemen by supporting a new international diplomatic initiative, in close coordination with EU Member States, the United Nations and the US Special Envoy to Yemen, which can provide all relevant Yemeni parties with an acceptable way into Yemen. In the long term, to end the conflict peacefully and give the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Yemen greater flexibility to pursue practical steps to end the war. Most importantly, the project explores how this initiative can be supported by regional actors, who are participating in a comprehensive series of Track II dialogues to help develop realistic options and ways to revitalize the currently stagnant peace process
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