Youth Visionaries Association Helping Emiratis ‘Come Home And Make A Difference’

Zaineh Abed Alhameed at King’s College London has set up a club to help improve the credentials of other young Arabs at some of the world’s top universities.

The Emirati student is using her connections and skills to provide a space for students from the region to build networks, discuss topical issues and enhance their career prospects.

The Youth Visionaries Association particularly seeks to empower those looking to work in education, healthcare, finance, technology and the arts.

YVA Only Accepting Students From Elite Universities

Alhameed hopes graduates returning to their native countries will have the tools to propel economies forward. “We want them to come back and make a difference.”

The economics undergrad added that her organisation was looking for “well-rounded Arabs” who have a “natural curiosity”, only accepting students from elite universities.

Since its creation in 2022, the group has attracted about 100 members studying at places such as King’s, Imperial and London School of Economics in the UK and Colombia and NYU in the US.

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YVA Seeking To Leave A Lasting Impact

Sima Sinno, a YVA co-founder from Lebanon, said the club’s members share a common vision to return home where they can make a lasting effect in their respective fields.

Alhameed wants her fellow Arab students to have the opportunity to be inspired by the journeys of figures who are “exceptionally renowned in their fields”.

Speakers who have addressed members and offered advice include Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, founder and president of the Arab International’s Women’s Forum.

UAE Leading The Arab Renaissance

To apply to join the club, a student must be from an Arab country, be enrolled in a course at one of the top 35 universities in the world, and be referred by a current YVA member.

“The UAE is only 50 years old and we are economically competing with countries that have been established for much longer,” Alhameed noted.

“I am lucky to be from a country that is leading the Arab renaissance,” the student highlighted, underscoring the staggering number of opportunities the UAE has been giving its youth.