The Minister of Culture, Dr. Mohammed al-Muflahi,honoring Raghda Gamal.

She represents the one and only coverage for the current Yemeni cultural scenery from a Yemeni English-language newspaper. Naturally, honoring her –for the second time- came as no surprise. This event demonstrates her passion for culture that tirelessly enriches the Yemeni cultural scenery with her non-stop coverage for the most distinguished cultural events in the country.

She expressed her delight with being honored for the second time and being honored four times by five ministers so far. In addition, she emphasized the importance of the feedback she consciously receives from readers in and outside of Yemen. “The readers’ feedback is what keeps me going,” said Gamal.

“This event is an assurance that a hard-working, committed and ambitious person will eventually receive appreciation. I take this chance to tell the Yemeni youth that success comes from hard work, not from shortcuts based on who you know,” adding, “I lament the lack of attention the current Yemeni cultural compass gets, as there are many talented intellectual and cultural people who are trying to have their space and continue enriching Yemen’s culture.”

Through her page, she aims at using it as a medium between the youth and Yemen’s rich cultural capacity that everybody should be proud of.

“I’d like to salute the foundation for honoring me. Particularly, I’m very proud of being honored by such an outstanding foundation like al-Afif and being honored by the Minister of Culture, Dr. Mohammed al-Muflahi,” Gamal concluded.