history of the British Yemeni Society

The idea of forming a British-Yemeni bilateral friendship society was first conceived during a visit to the UK in February 1992 by Dr ‘Abd al-Karim al-Eryani, then Foreign Minister of the nascent Republic of Yemen. By August of that year an interim committee was formed that undertook the tast of forming the Society. Its five members were Bill Heber-Percy, later to become the first Chairman, Julian Lush, Julian Paxton, Mike Whittall and Charles Leslie. On 11 February 1993, a year after the idea was first mooted, the British Yemeni Society came into being with 120 individual, and 15 corporate members. The Society’s logo, a fine bit of calligraphy, was conceived by Dr Venetia Porter.

[excerpt from Julian Lush (2013) “The Birth of the British Yemeni Society”, BYS Journal vol. 21, pp. 10-12]

Charitable Mission

The Society raises funds for good causes in Yemen. The Society is committed to delivering support directly to organisations in Yemen whose objectives and values align with its own. 

Currently, the British Yemeni Society supports four projects across Yemen, using funds raised through the Society’s Yemen Appeal, which remains open for donations. 

• Ras Morbat Eye Clinic. The British Yemeni Society has long supported the Ras Morbat Eye Clinic in Aden which provides essential services and has managed to continue working despite ongoing insecurity.
• Al-Rahma Co-operative Hospital. The Society has supported the hospital in Mukalla for more than two years, making contributions towards the purchase of equipment.
• Yemen Education and Relief Organisation (YERO). Based in Sana’a, YERO is managed by Nouria Nagi OBE. It supports orphaned and abandoned Yemeni children, who have dramatically increased in number during the war. The Society has supported YERO for more than two years. 
• Action for Child Trauma (ACT). ACT has recently begun work in Yemen, providing expert training to address the traumatisation of children during the conflict. The Society made its first donation to ACT in 2021.

In the past, the Society has supported the medical studies of three female Soqotri students at the University of Hadhramawt, supplied equipment for the Zubaid Health Unit laboratory in al-Dhala, and contributed towards the purchase of neonatal equipment for a health unit in Aden together with many other initiatives. 

Educational Mission

The Society aims to raise awareness and increase knowledge of Yemen in the UK. The Society achieves this in a variety of ways. First, the Society offers an Academic Grant, worth £1,000, each year to a postgraduate student conducting research on Yemen. Further information regarding the grant, and previous awardees and their achievements, can be found here. 

The Society also convenes regular events throughout the year: talks, lectures, panels, and conferences. These take place both in person in the UK and online, and many are available to the public. Recently, the Society has organised events on conservation in Soqotra, Adeni music in the 1960s, local peacebuilding in Yemen, and the COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen. Further information about past and upcoming events, and available recordings, can be found here. 

In the past, in collaboration with the London Middle East Institute at SOAS, the Society organised the first conference to be solely focused on Yemen for more than a decade. Held in 2013, the conference brought together more than 350 academics, policymakers, diplomats, and journalists – many of whom were Yemeni – to consider the challenges facing Yemen. The conference produced an edited volume, Why Yemen Matters: A Society in Transition, which was published in 2014.