In September 2021, Ahmed Yousef joined the first cohort of ACT, EduRise for Development’s youth leadership and community participation programme. Selected as one of 12 participants from 261 applicants, he joined a six-month pilot that brought together young people from seven governorates across Yemen for training, mentoring and practical learning. At that point, Ahmed had already begun building his professional career, and ACT became one of the learning experiences that accompanied him during its early development.
Five years later, Ahmed’s professional journey has developed across several sectors. He has worked in administration, technical education, development and humanitarian programming, spent more than three years with the World Health Organization, and in July 2026 moved into aviation as International Affairs & GSA Manager at Fly Aden. His progression reflects years of professional experience, continued learning and a willingness to take on responsibilities in different working environments.
Building experience across different sectors
Ahmed’s professional foundations were shaped by both education and early work experience. He studied Business Administration at Osmania University in India, specialising in Human Resources Management and graduating with an A grade. During his years in India, he also worked as a freelance interpreter and translator, gaining professional experience alongside his studies.
After returning to Yemen, Ahmed continued building his career in Aden. He worked in administration with TELPower Contracting before moving into technical education and vocational training with Mharaty Aden, where his responsibilities included media and communications as well as project coordination. These roles gave him practical exposure to administration, communication and project work before he moved further into the development sector.
Ahmed joined ACT during this period, in September 2021. The programme combined capacity building with mentoring and practical assignments, providing participants with opportunities to strengthen leadership, communication and professional skills while learning alongside other young people. The pilot included approximately 16 live training sessions, 24 mentorship meetings and five practical assignments, with 10 fellows completing the programme.
For Ahmed, this experience formed part of a professional journey that was already taking shape. His career continued to develop while he participated in ACT, and in December 2021 he joined the Small and Micro Enterprise Promotion Service, SMEPS, as a Project Assistant. He remained there for just over a year, gaining further experience in project support and development work and building on skills acquired through his previous professional roles and learning experiences.
A significant next step came in April 2023, when Ahmed joined the World Health Organization in Aden as a Programme Assistant. Over the following three years and four months, he gained sustained experience within an international organisation working in Yemen’s humanitarian and development context. This period allowed him to deepen his exposure to programme support, coordination and institutional processes while working in an environment that required consistency, attention to detail and collaboration.
Joining EduRise’s ACT Fellowship was an important part of my professional development. The programme helped me strengthen my skills, expand my knowledge and build greater confidence in applying what I had learned in professional settings. The practical and experiential approach was particularly valuable because it encouraged me to learn through participation rather than theory alone. After the programme, I continued developing my career, including working with SMEPS and later joining the World Health Organization as a Programme Assistant. ACT contributed to my growth at an important stage of my journey, both professionally and personally, and I remain grateful for the learning, mentorship and support I received through the programme.
Ahmed also continued investing in his professional development alongside his work. In December 2024, he completed the McKinsey Forward Program, which develops practical workplace capabilities including problem-solving and communication. In 2026, he completed Individual First Aid Kit training through the United Nations Department of Safety and Security. These experiences complemented the knowledge he was developing through his day-to-day professional responsibilities.
Moving into international affairs
In July 2026, Ahmed left WHO and joined Fly Aden as International Affairs & GSA Manager, opening a new chapter in his career. The move brought him into the aviation sector after several years in development and humanitarian work, while allowing him to draw on experience accumulated across administration, communication, project support and international organisational settings.
His career has therefore developed through a series of connected experiences rather than a single predetermined route. Translation and administration provided an early foundation, technical education introduced further communication and project responsibilities, SMEPS strengthened his development sector experience, and more than three years at WHO gave him sustained exposure to an international institutional environment. His current position at Fly Aden brings those experiences into a different sector and a role with broader international responsibilities.
Seen across five years, Ahmed’s progression also illustrates why professional development is rarely the result of one programme, qualification or opportunity. Careers are built gradually through education, work, relationships, learning and individual decisions. ACT belongs within Ahmed’s story in that context. It provided a structured opportunity for learning and mentorship at one stage of his development, while the professional achievements that followed reflect his own work, choices and continued investment in his career.
From an early ACT pilot to a wider mission
Ahmed’s story also connects two stages in the development of ACT itself. The programme he joined in 2021 was EduRise’s first six-month pilot in Yemen. It generated practical learning about mentorship, accessibility, participant engagement and supporting young people who face barriers to opportunities and professional networks. Those lessons now contribute to a strengthened ACT model centred on a simple journey: Learn. Connect. Participate. Act.
Today, EduRise for Development is taking the next phase of this work forward from Wales, with a wider ambition to support young people and communities across the United Kingdom and internationally, particularly where disadvantage, underrepresentation or limited access to opportunities can restrict participation and progression. This does not mean replicating the Yemen pilot in different places. Young people in Wales, elsewhere in the UK and in communities internationally live in different circumstances and have different priorities. ACT is therefore being developed as a locally responsive programme, shaped by young people, community needs and partnerships in each context.
Ahmed joined ACT when both his professional journey and the programme itself were at earlier stages. Five years later, his career has taken him through SMEPS and the World Health Organization and into international affairs at Fly Aden. For EduRise, seeing that journey continue reinforces a principle that remains central to ACT: meaningful youth development is not about determining a young person’s future, but about widening access to learning, relationships and practical opportunities that they can draw on as they build that future for themselves.