YemenPortal.net is a website that aggregates online content about Yemen, including news, opinions, blogs, forums and videos. It has indexed over 800,000 items since 2007. In January 2008, the Yemeni government blocked access to the site in Yemen. In response, the site founder implemented various strategies to resist the blockade and ensure Yemenis could still access the content. These included using new domain names, a web-based proxy, a Firefox plug-in, and encryption. However, the government continued blocking each new method. The founder plans to expand YemenPortal's outreach and services while advocating for freedom of access to information in Yemen and the Arab world.

1. Yemen Portal : A gateway to online content on Yemen Walid AL-SAQAF Arab Techies Workshop Cairo – 24 Dec 2008

3. How Yemen Portal works

5. Analysis of the database content of YemenPortal.net

6. Things were going well, until... YemenPortal.net was blocked in Yemen On January 19 th , 2008   A spike! 

7. What happened on January 13, 2008?

8. What happened on January 13, 2008?

9. Most coverage on the demonstration was on the web & very little was reported in mainstream media

10. Following the ban, there were only three choices: 1) Surrender to government pressure and close down the website, 2) Filter out sources the government does not improve, OR 3) Resistance! 

13. and it was named...

14. Government meets expectations... and the second domain was also banned... 

15. And it just went on...  There must be another way!

17. Result... 

18. but less than 24 hours after that...

20. Contact information: Walid Al-Saqaf Founder, Administrator YemenPortal.net [email_address] Tel: +46 076233 9737