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Yemen's Higher Education Crisis


Yemen's Higher Education Crisis: An IIE-SRF Dialogues Webinar

Join us on Thursday, March 25 for a discussion hosted by IIE-SRF and the Association for Yemeni Academics & Professionals

Yemen faces the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis and higher education emergency. The country’s university system has been decimated by six years of armed conflict, making education and scientific research practically unattainable. Scores of university buildings have been destroyed or seriously damaged, and many scientific centers have ceased operations. Throughout the country, violations of academic freedom and personal rights are commonplace. Yemeni professors risk dismissal, imprisonment, or violence for speaking out against corrupt practices on university campuses, and many face persecution simply based on their identities or family names. The employees of public universities in many regions have not received their salaries for several years. In 2020, nearly half of all requests for support to IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) came from Yemeni scholars.


Yemen’s Higher Education Crisis” – the second webinar of the IIE-SRF Dialoguesseries – will focus on Yemen’s higher education emergency and its impact on university professionals. Scholars from Yemen who have directly experienced the crisis will share their stories and offer insights on the unique challenges facing Yemeni women academics. The webinar will be co-hosted by IIE-SRF and the Association for Yemeni Academics & Professionals (AYAP), a newly formed non-profit that brings together Yemeni academics and professionals from around the world to create and support opportunities for Yemen’s development, growth, and sustainability. The discussion will take place on Thursday, March 25 from 10-11 am Eastern Time (UTC-04:00). It will feature:

  • James Robin King: IIE-SRF's Director

  • Dr. Shaker Lashuel: AYAP board member

  • Dr. Mohammed Almahfali: IIE-SRF alumnus from Yemen and AYAP board member;currently based at Lund University's Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies

  • Dr. Arwa Aleryani: formerly of Saba University in Sana'a, Yemen, currently an independent researcher in Canada

  • A Q&A session for participants

We hope to see you there!

About IIE-SRF Dialogues: “Yemen’s Higher Education Crisis” is the second session of IIE-SRF’s 2021 webinar series IIE-SRF Dialogues. Webinars in this series explore the threats facing academics globally as well as the ongoing efforts to help these scholars resume their work and rebuild their lives and careers. These hour-long discussions feature IIE-SRF fellows and alumni, IIE-SRF partners, and other experts discussing the world’s most urgent higher education emergencies, key topics related to academic freedom, and best practices in assisting threatened and displaced scholars as identified by IIE-SRF and our Alliance partners. The first webinar, “Attacks on Higher Education,” was co-hosted by the Global Coalition to Prevent Education from Attack (GCPEA) and featured IIE-SRF alumnus Dr. Hasan Maridi of Yemen. A recording can be viewed here.About IIE-SRF: The Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) is the only global program that arranges and funds fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at partnering higher education institutions worldwide. IIE-SRF is committed to supporting Yemeni academics facing threats to their lives and careers and has awarded 100 academic fellowships to more than 70 of the country's professors and researchers. In 2020, Yemeni scholars undertook IIE-SRF fellowships at host universities in 11 countries. Nearly two-thirds of these fellowships were undertaken within the Arab region.

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