A photo exhibition highlighting the partnership between the European Union (EU), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Yemen opened today at the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels.

Entitled “Yemeni Livelihoods: Resilience at Work,” the exhibition features powerful images and stories of hope from the ground. It showcases EU-funded initiatives, implemented by UNDP and UNESCO, that are restoring livelihoods, strengthening local institutions, and preserving cultural heritage, creating tangible opportunities that respond to the aspirations of Yemenis nationwide.

“For more than a decade, Yemen has endured a protracted crisis—one that has disrupted communities, weakened public services, and strained economic and social cohesion,” said Camilla Brückner, Director of the UN/UNDP Office in Brussels. “Our partnership with the EU and the strong cooperation with local authorities have been vital to restoring essential services and rebuilding the country, paving the way for long-term development.”

Working closely with local authorities and the private sector, UNDP’s recovery and resilience building initiatives have successfully delivered public services to over 9 million people across the country.

The Institutional and Economic Resilience in Yemen (SIERY) initiative helped local authorities restore or build 177 public services while creating or sustaining nearly 6,600 jobs and supporting 580 small and medium enterprises. Meanwhile, the Enhanced Rural Resilience in Yemen (ERRY) Joint Programme —co-funded with Sweden and implemented alongside ILO, FAO, and WFP—provided start-up grants, tools, and coaching to roughly 11,000 microbusinesses. ERRY also delivered assistance to over 47,000 vulnerable households through cash-for-work and community asset creation. Complementing these efforts, the UN Peace Support Facility’s Small Grant Mechanism - funded with others - supported 12 local peacebuilding initiatives across five governorates, helping 20 small businesses and generating employment.

Safeguarding cultural heritage can build trust and dialogue across communities, contributing to longer-term peacebuilding.

“UNESCO’s European Union-funded initiative in Yemen demonstrates how culture can drive recovery, create opportunities, and strengthen communities,” said Salah Khaled, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Doha and UNESCO Representative for the Gulf States and Yemen. “By combining UNESCO and the European Union’s commitment to cultural heritage conservation with an innovative economic recovery and resilience approach, the initiative has helped safeguard Yemen’s rich heritage while creating livelihoods, empowering youth, supporting local communities, and fostering social cohesion across the country.”

Since 2018, UNESCO’s partnership with the European Union created employment opportunities for more than 11,000 vulnerable young women and men, which benefited nearly 80,000 people, provided technical and vocational (TVET) training to more than 350 youth and engineers, rehabilitated over 921 historic residential buildings, delivered critical emergency flood stabilization in three World Heritage Sites and the historic city of Aden, and restored more than 25 landmark public spaces, monuments and museums across the country.

More so, the initiative significantly strengthened Yemen's institutional governance by implementing three key UNESCO conventions and helping the government add and update 35 submissions to its World Heritage Tentative List.

It also supported the creative economy by providing training and funding grants to 41 small cultural enterprises, 65 civil society organizations, and 250 cultural managers. Complementing these structural achievements, the project established seven Cultural Creative Spaces across Taiz, Aden, Hadramout, and Socotra to engage 2,000 artists, culture operators and citizens through culture, income generation/entrepreneurs and social cohesion workshops. The initiative fostered the role of culture as a catalyst for social cohesion and peacebuilding through the engagement of content creators and journalists reaching more than 13 million people through different forms of advocacy.