Yasmine Youssef El Rawi

Iraq

When Yasmine El Rawi talks about determination and hope, she can draw the attention of a room full of thousands of people.

Despite her young age, Yasmine talks at great length about the two unique stages of her life – the before and after, the past and the future, and the despair turned to hope of the heart, mind and soul.

Years ago, before Yasmine’s days were filled leading workshops held in cooperation with Dubai governmental institutions, hopelessness was the master and blockade of any bright future she could see for herself. Now she stands empowering students to rely on artificial intelligence solutions and anticipate the future.

After suffering from family crises and being isolated from the world, hope infiltrated Yasmine’s soul again when she watched a success story video about a young man in a wheelchair. The headline at the top of the page read: One Million Arab Coders Initiative.

She joined the initiative, pursued the lessons and took her first steps on the road of hard work and persistence.

Yasmine looks into her daughter’s eyes as a gift for all that she has achieved. Then, she looks at the schedule of her day, which is full of lectures and workshops. Yasmine’s age hides between the past and the present. She feels young again after committing to learning. She drew the future as she wanted it – in the wide world of coding where anyone who applies themselves can be accommodated.