1. 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

2. F
ifteen 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

3. 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

4. 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
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nnaattiioonnaallss,, aallll tthhheee vvviiiddddeeeoooss
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and oonnllyy oonnee vvviiiddddeeeoooo hhhhaaadddd
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9February 11, 2016
Weekend Special

5. 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

6. 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