Student leadership and community service are not common concepts in Yemen. Until recently‚ students and parents had little‚ if any‚ say in the decisions made at their local school. That is changing now‚ as a result of AED’s Student Councils project. For nearly two years‚ AED has worked with 100 schools to provide training and guidance for their students’ elections and resulting service projects.

To ensure gender equity‚ boys and girls alike are elected to the councils. And they are making major improvements. For example‚ one council repaired a nearby road‚ and another had sanitation facilities built.

“Our goal is to promote youth leadership and community participation in schools‚ while also exposing students to the fundamentals of democracy through classroom elections‚” said Renu Jain‚ project director in the AED Center for Gender Equity. “Boys and girls are now becoming leaders and working with school administrators and councils for mothers and fathers to improve their communities. This type of collaboration is unprecedented in Yemen‚” she added.

Because of the project’s success‚ the Minister of Education decreed that all of the country’s more than 14‚000 schools form similar councils.

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Success of Student Councils in Yemen

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