The Voice of Sana’a: a musical concert to promote young talents and peace

The musical compositions represented a diverse and rich repertoire representing various Yemeni governorates. The concert offered a modern musical format that combines traditional and contemporary expressions via innovative mixing and articulation of several instruments.

The video concert was released on the occasion of the second Yemeni Youth Culture Diaspora Forum organized by UNESCO and the European Union on 16 December 2020, which aimed at promoting the use of the arts for peace-building and community reconciliation.

The Yemeni House for Music and Arts is a Sana’a based organization founded in 2007 and working on the preservation and promotion of the Yemeni traditional music, spreading musical awareness, and teaching musical instruments. The Yemeni House for Music has strong experience in documenting music and audio-visual artistic programs for youth. The organization is currently benefitting from a small grant programme managed by UNESCO with funding from the EU, aiming at supporting music and vocational trainings amongst youth. Those activities included so far 53 beneficiaries where 34 of the trainees are being hired as actors in a series broadcast nationwide, generating 1034 cash working days.

The UNESCO/EU Project “Cash for Work: Promoting Livelihood Opportunities for Urban Youth in Yemen” aims at supporting cultural development initiatives that build the capacities of associations and enhance professional development opportunities for young artists and culture professionals. The project has already enrolled 500 youth in cash-based cultural programming and eased their access to income generation opportunities.