Amal Yemen: Inspiring Hope Through Coffee
By GEOFF WATTS
On April 9th, 2021, people worldwide will come together to learn about Yemen’s extraordinary history and modern culture alongside leading coffee personalities, internationally acclaimed scholars, scientists, and Yemeni artists. We’ll get an insightful and knowledgeable perspective on the humanitarian crisis from BBC journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi along with a deep dive into Yemen’s coffee landscape. This event will broaden our collective understanding of Yemen while raising funds for immediate humanitarian relief and inspiring people to embrace coffee’s role in delivering hope to millions of Yemenis.
We believe that by immersing a global audience in Yemen’s arts, culture, history, and coffee, we can create connections that humanize the country and the crisis and enable opportunity for millions of Yemeni people. The hope is that this work will lead to lasting benefit for the country’s population tomorrow while helping alleviate the acute suffering and existential threats they face today.
Amal Yemen is a unique collaboration between the global specialty coffee community, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and Mercy Corps supporting Yemeni people. Intelligentsia Coffee, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Square Mile Coffee, and Qima coffee are working with dozens of coffee industry participants to sponsor and promote this event.
We seek the help of individuals with large platforms who understand the urgency and are willing to assist us in reaching a larger audience. Assistance can take many forms. Below is a list of suggested ways to help, from the quickest and least active to more involved:
Amplification via Social Media: Share/repost from Amal Yemen social channels to increase awareness of the project.
Record a short video: 15-60 second video message to explain the event or draw attention to the crisis.
Casual cameo appearance in the April 9th event: Participate in a 5-10 minute live-stream coffee tasting of Yemeni coffee with Geoff Watts (from ACE/Intelligentsia).
Host the main stage presentation during the April 9th event: Deliver a 2 to 5-minute welcome and introduce acclaimed BBC journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi who will be giving a presentation on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
Please contact me directly at amalyemenevent@gmail.com for more information and visit the website amalyemen.com or @amalyemen on Instagram to get more detail about the project. Event, program, and ticketing info can be found on the Amal Yemen Eventbrite Page.
To better understand the urgency of the crisis or learn more about Yemen's situation today, check these links: Reliefweb, UNHCR on Yemen, and UNICEF on Yemen.
In solidarity,
Geoff