Don’t we all

deserve better?The team has produced a total of 13 videos, and all have

been well accepted by the Omani public, with most of them getting over 30,000 views. The team is divided

neatly into three groups: the production group has the task of collecting and sorting all data relevant to the

issue to be raised

February 11, 20166

Weekend Special

Fifteen is an odd number, says mathematics. However, for the 15 odd Omani youngsters who hail from different parts of the Sultanate, taking

a plunge into the myriad social issues and giving voice to the concerns of the ordinary people never felt like an odd pastime. For them it’s a commitment, and a social responsibility, because they strongly believe that people deserve a better life. Wallahnestahal — which means ‘We

deserve better’ – is a socially committed brigade comprising 15 enlightened youngsters, including women, aged 18-28. Wallahnestahal zooms in on the many issues and challenges that nag the Omani society, analyses them with a clear, unbiased mind, and empowers the public to intellectually tackle those problems, through carefully produced short videos that are posted on various social media channels including YouTube.The team throws a lot of questions onto

the public domain, time and again, to which thousands respond with suggestions and remarks, making Wallahnestahal a mass movement with a constructive approach.The team deconstructs the myth that the

public - the common man and woman - are perennially destined to be passive onlookers even as their living spaces experience unprecedented turbulence caused by seemingly incomprehensible permutations and combinations of “external” factors. Wallahnestahal encourages people to know, think and respond.Most of the Wallahnestahal team

members are students pursuing various disciplines at the Sultan Qaboos University and Higher Colleges of Technology), while others are employed

or searching for suitable jobs.The three female members of the group

— Anwaar al Khanbashi from Musanah, Anwaar al Rawahi from Samael, and Zahra al Nabhani from Nizwa — represent the bold face of the educated young Omani women who have the desire and means to actively take part in national development.

Sarnga Dharan Nambiar

February 11, 2016

Weekend Special

7

Elaborating on the Wallahnestahal philosophy, they say: “Wallahnestahal aims to offer a comfortable and effective platform for the Omani youth to share their concerns, views and suggestions in a way that is creative and constructive. It’s not our idea to disrupt and disintegrate development, rather we work to strengthen nation building efforts by facilitating an inclusive development framework, where every individual is well informed of —and capable of analyzing — the roadblocks to progress. We, the public, have every right to know the facts.” The others Wallahnestahal members are

Almutasim al Mamari from Saham, Mohammed al Ghafri from Rustaq, Qais al Muqrishi from Ibri, Obaid al Kalbani from Buraimi, Ahmed al Jadidi from Ibri, Tariq al Roshdi from Sohar, Mohammed al Suzawi from Sohar, Mohammed al Subhi from Hamra, Abdullah al Bahri from Nakal, Sulaiman al Riyami from Muscat, Dawood al Othobi from Ibra, and Muntasir al Bimani from Seeb. All have the courage

issues that could undermine progress, and demystify them.The Weekend caught up with some of the

members.How it all started?Says Qais al Muqrishi who studied mechanical

engineering and worked at the SQU for a while,

“A few of us, while we were at SQU, wanted to highlight the issues faced by students. It was in 2014. We thought of making a video that talked about the need for an effective SQU Student Advisory Council. The myriad problems faced by the student community prompted us to make videos on various issues. We really felt that we deserve better, thus we named our project Wallahnestahal.”

“SQU students deserve an active Student Advisory Council to discuss their needs and problems, and present them effectively before the SQU management.” Initially the wallahnestahal team consisted of only

6 members, all from SQU. “And in due course,” Qais continued, “we realized the potential of the medium and thought we could expand the project to include a raft of social issues, and welcomed likeminded people from outside SQU. Most of our topics are related to the youth and community. We strive to be a group of responsible youngsters who work towards promoting a culture of constructive dialogue and criticism in the Sultanate of Oman. In the process we want to gain the trust of the government and private institutions in the Sultanate. More importantly we want Wallahnestahal to be recognized as a partner in nation building.”In fact Qais is a young man with a clear vision on a

8 February 11, 2016

Weekend Special

variety of social, economic and cultural issues. He represented Oman at the One Young World Summit 2015 at Bangkok, where young leaders from 196 countries recorded video messages calling on their country's leaders to deliver a legally binding agreement on climate change at COP21 - The Paris Climate Conference. In the video, Qais invites the attention of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said and the government of Oman to the effects of climate change in Oman including changes in rainfall levels, increased possibility of droughts and

rise, and requests His Majesty to take further actions including

centre to study the climate, engaging the private sector in sustainable development and launching a media campaign on environment.The team has produced a total of 13 videos,

and all have been well accepted by the Omani public, with most of them getting over 30,000 views. The team is divided neatly into three groups: the production group has the task of collecting and sorting all data relevant to the issue to be raised. It also analyzes the data and decides on the best ways to presents it in an appealing manner. The technical

episodes and conversion of the data into visual presentations that are easily understood by the viewers. The marketing group meanwhile manages

various social media, publishes the episodes at the appropriate time and deals with viewers’ comments and suggestions.And no topic is too intimidating. Academic

standards, corruption, oil and economy, job market, optimal use of natural resources, elections, infrastructure …you name it and they have it. The video on the decline in the academic assessment grade of institutions of higher education in Oman analyses the academic environment in the Sultanate and explore the reasons behind the worrisome decline in academic standards. Going further the episode takes an incisive look at the sorry state of research, and the lack of genuine innovations and inventions across Omani universities compared with excellence in academic research and development

all the videos, the team doesn’t just point blaming

this intellectual crisis by identifying strategies to enhance opportunities for quality research and support young innovators in the Sultanate.Another episode has Planning in Oman as its focus.

It takes up for discussion how far the Sultanate has succeeded or failed in the optimal exploitation of its natural resources. It takes the viewer on a guided tour of the various barriers that prevent policymakers from formulating “the best planning” across the vital sectors. Employment is the theme in yet another video.

With the number of young Omani job seekers on the rise, the video analyses the issue of expatriate labor in the Sultanate and offers a peep into who actually “control” the nation’s key economic sectors. The episode also turns its focus on the need for

and real-time job skills that the employers look for.“What, after oil?” asks another episode, raising the

inevitable but uneasy question against the backdrop

As thhee aauudddiiieeennnccceeeeis priimmaarriillyyy OOOOmmmmaaaannniiii

nnaattiioonnaallss,, aallll tthhheee vvviiiddddeeeoooss haavvvee bbeeeenn mmaadddeee iiinnn AAArrraaaabbbiicc,

and oonnllyy oonnee vvviiiddddeeeoooo hhhhaaadddd Engglishh ssuubbbtttiiitttlleesss..

9February 11, 2016

Weekend Special

of plunging oil prices and oil reserves as well as the weakening sovereign funds, and offers a comparative study of the situation in neighboring GCC countries. The impact of oil crash on the economic situation in the Sultanate is discussed threadbare in the video. The team strongly argues

income by taking advantage of the nation’s rich natural resources as a means to overcome the crisis.Wallahnestshal team did another riveting

video on the Shura elections, urging young people to utilize their voting power to ensure better governance. It calls on viewers to vote for the best candidates who can deliver, and think beyond narrow considerations of tribe, gender and social status of the candidates in the fray.A recent episode discussed the

telecommunication infrastructure in Oman, offering a candid exposure of the poor telecommunication coverage in some parts of the Sultanate and the generally high cost of communication services compared with some other Gulf countries. “Who is responsible for the poor communication service in certain areas and how much does this impact various services such as education and tourism, e-facilities, investments and other sectors,” the team asks, giving a strong message that communication is not a leisure tool and nations can’t move forward without the existence of a sophisticated and extensive communications network.Wallahnestahal has a strong presence on

various social media platforms. Admirers and followers of Wallahnestahal in fact wait in anticipation of the next episode for an intellectually satisfying debate. Viewers not only give their feedback and comments but also offer a deluge of suggestions on the potential topics worthy of coverage in the coming episodes. “We never run out of ideas… We make a list of the top 10 subjects that the audience wants us to discuss and then according to its importance and effect on people’s lives, zero in on the most important one and start working on it,” explained Qais about the team’s operations.Who writes the script? Who shoots the

10 February 11, 2016

Weekend Special

video? Who edits it? “Everything is done completely by the Wallahnestahal team. Very rarely, we collaborate with people from outside the team to act in some shots. Luckily none of us is trained in

hearty laugh, adding, “However our technical group members are professionals to the core.”“We are happy that our videos have generated

amazing response from youngsters, and this is what keeps us motivated to press ahead with new and challenging topics. The way we present the various topics and issues has been appreciated well,” he said. As the audience is primarily Omani nationals, all

the videos have been made in Arabic, and only one video had English subtitles. Recognizing the commendable efforts at facilitating

social empowerment, the Wallahnestahal team has been felicitated by various Ministries and government agencies and featured on television and radio channels. The team works on a shoe-string budget. “We

upload our videos on free channels such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Recently we started advertising about our videos on YouTube and Facebook. Promotions usually costs us around USD 30 on each social media channel,” Qais said.As the videos speak about topics that have high

debate quotient, the team takes extra effort to ensure that the episodes present only plain facts that are strictly based on trusted references and

evidences. “Negative response comes when people use fake information and deliberately distort facts,” Qais stressed, adding: “We have total freedom to choose the themes for our videos, and also to conceptualise and present them as per our discretion. At the same time we dutifully respect and abide by the Sultanate’s media and publication rules and regulations.”The New Year is upon us and Wallahnestahal has

big plans envisaged for 2016. They aim to make Wallahnestahal an interactive information- and-reference project that people can bank on to get trusted information on various topics, and also share their concerns with. For the current year, the team has set a tentative target on the number of video productions. Wallahnestahal will also be participating in a few local and global events to reach a wider audience. A few youth workshops on the team and its projects are also planned. While Wallahnestahal takes up a raft of challenging

topics, the team itself faces a lot of challenges in the production of videos. “Getting reliable information is the greatest hurdle. Information is a rare commodity,

all the team members in one place, as they are from different parts of Oman and engaged in various activities. Identifying and setting up the most appropriate locations for shooting is also time-consuming,” Qais said. But these issues can in no way douse their

enthusiasm even a bit. They are committed, and persistent. We all well deserve a better future, why not?

11February 11, 2016

Weekend Special