Mourad Y.
Pronouns: He/him
Organisation: Algerian Youth Voices (AYV)
Country of Orgin: Algeria
Profile
Mourad Yazli is the co-founder of Algerian Youth Voices (AYV), an organisation that empowers young Algerians by giving them a platform to express their ideas through radio podcasts and digital tools. This initiative strives to break down communication barriers within Algerian society.
Mourad holds a research master’s degree in Neuroscience from the University of Science and Technology Houari Boumediene, Algeria and a master’s degree in Marketing from Clemson University, U.S. Mourad said it is his background in science that served as the starting point for his activism. Mourad joined AIESEC in 2012. He said that the organisation helped him build his current skills. ‘AIESEC taught me how to organise everything and how to present a business plan, to get sponsors, to pitch my idea and then just to go out there and make the impact a little bit bigger.’ Utilising his science expertise, Mourad led the Health Awareness for Youth project within AIESEC, focusing on educating young people about health issues. In 2016, he participated in the Algerian Youth Leadership Program, where he mentored Algerian youth visiting the U.S. The following year, he applied to the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund, from which he received a multi-thousand-dollar sponsorship for AYV. Mourad was also active in the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations, which allowed him to receive additional training in project management and helped him bring further engagement to AYV.
Story
‘People are communicating, but they are communicating ineffectively, they are not talking about what matters,’ said Mourad Yazli, the co-founder of Algerian Youth Voices (AYV). He said he grew up in a densely populated area with frequent conflicts, so he recognised the need to bridge the divide among different communities within Algeria. And while he was fortunate to have a supportive family, many people – even in his own circle – did not enjoy the same open-minded environment. AYV aims to tackle these communication barriers by empowering young people to express themselves through radio podcasts and digital tools with the goal of opening dialogue about various social issues in Algeria.
Mourad said his social work began in high school with simple acts of kindness like visiting children in hospitals and bringing them modest toys. Mourad said about his activism, ‘And that was, I think, the drive from the beginning, just to help others and to feel this – this sort of fulfilment when we were students’. He said, over time his dedication grew, leading him to collaborate with organisations like AIESEC. Through projects like Health Awareness for Youth, Mourad used his background in science to tackle topics otherwise deemed sensitive in Algeria’s context. To encourage engagement from the participants, he brought in recent graduates from various fields to speak on the topics of their expertise. Mourad said that he wanted the initiative to be ‘for students, by students’, recognising that young participants would feel more comfortable discussing difficult topics with their peers.
Mourad co-founded AYV in 2014 after receiving radio training from journalists working for National Public Radio, a leading radio station in the U.S. As a radio journalist, reporter and trainer, he challenged societal norms and emphasised the importance of communication in conflict resolution. AYV started as four people travelling around Algeria, training 20 to 30 people at a time. They eventually received significant grants from the U.S. State Department, which allowed them to train more than 300 young Algerians in radio production. This expanded their reach and increased community engagement. Mourad said his work goes beyond simple communication, however; it is about peacebuilding. He said he believes that dialogue is the first step towards resolving conflict. It is a way of getting people together, encouraging communities to speak to each other and having them recognise their similarities, rather than focusing on their differences. He said that in this spirit, AYV fosters discussions among young people, empowering them to use their voices to break the silos and open communication channels between the various communities in Algeria.
Mourad said that while funding remains a challenge for many organisations in Algeria, AYV continues to grow by focusing on both amplifying voices and fostering understanding among diverse groups. Mourad currently resides in Europe and balances his activism with a career in the health sector. He continues to advocate for communication, empowerment and positive change.
