One thing everyone in the YES family has in common is a strong motivation to improve their communities. But it can be really hard to take all the great ideas the YES alumni have and turn them into successful projects in real life. It's no different for the small YES alumni group on the island of Bahrain - so many great ideas that need a boost to come to life!

On August 16th, 14 of these inspiring alumni came together at the Brinc co-working space in Manama for a half-day workshop on Project Management facilitated AMIDEAST Program Manager, Rachel Markowitz. The training focused on the project management cycle, proposal writing, risk management, monitoring and evaluation, and more! The alumni participants worked individually and together to take several of their ideas and take the first steps towards making them into feasible project plans.

The alumni came from many different cohorts and backgrounds, like Masooma Bushehri, a brand new Bahrain alumna who says, "As a fresh member of the YES alumni I was unfamiliar with how projects and events etc. are conducted. I feel like this highly informative workshop came in a pleasant time early enough to help us lay a foundation and impression on how to successfully plan out and execute a vision. Thanks to this workshop I feel more diplomatic and confident when it comes to projects and events and that is a valuable tool that will be taken into appropriate use."

Reem Muraikhi, the new President of the YES Alumni Club in Bahrain, helped organize the workshop and also attended as a participant. Reem notes, "I liked listening to the proposal other groups created and discussing different ways we can improve them. I think we all learned something new." For the future, Reem says, "This workshop taught me that setting a plan, revising it, improving it, and assigning responsibilities to people will help us manage our projects and lead to their success."

Besides the content of the training, the alumni also benefited from this structured time together. Abrar Abdulla frames it well: "The workshop was a great opportunity for us, the alumni, to exchange thoughts and ideas regarding projects of our interested, and theoretically building on these projects in groups. This is a good way to practice our communication and team building skills."  

Now it's time to put those new skills and connections to work! Masooma learned skills that are useful inside and out of the YES community as well. "Although the workshop was highly targeting project management, it also managed to lay out several points that are beneficial for anyone to use in various situations like in school, the work place, and general communication with people. What we all collectively learned will be a catalyst to our performance in the YES club and a helping hand in our decision making techniques generally. This workshop was very refreshing and eye opening and I think it will help us develop our team and vision as YES students."

Be on the lookout for many new projects in Bahrain in the future, and for YES alumni who are putting their project management skills to use in their personal and professional lives as well!

Masooma Bushehri (YES 2018 - 2019, Bahrain, hosted by Ayusa in Austin, TX)

Reem Muraikhi (YES 2011 - 2012, Bahrain, hosted by PAX in Cheboygan, MI)

Abrar Abdulla (YES 2012-2013, Bahrain, hosted by ACES in Aledo, IL)