Media coverage
Sawa News Agency · 2017-02-04
This week, Omar Shaban Ismail, Director of PalThink for Strategic Studies, signed several cooperation memoranda with grassroots civil society organizations in the Gaza governorates to implement community initiatives in partnership with Palestinian institutions in the West Bank governorates, with the aim of strengthening national reconciliation and social unity. The partner institutions presented diverse initiatives in sports, mediation and conflict resolution, support for women cancer patients, media, culture, and youth, as part of a project to enhance the contribution of grassroots civil society organizations in both parts of the homeland under the auspices of PalThink and the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies at Birzeit University, with funding from the Swiss government.
This week, Omar Shaban Ismail, Director of PalThink for Strategic Studies, signed several cooperation memoranda with grassroots civil society organizations in the Gaza governorates to implement community initiatives in partnership with Palestinian institutions in the West Bank governorates, with th…
Gaza /Sawa/ This week, Mr. Omar Shaaban Ismail, Director of PalThink for Strategic Studies, signed a number of cooperation memoranda with several grassroots civil society institutions in the governorates of Gaza. These institutions had submitted initiatives to implement activities and events at the community level, in partnership with Palestinian institutions in the governorates of the West Bank, in a manner that enhances cooperation among grassroots civil society institutions in the governorates of Gaza and the North.
These initiatives stem from the belief that Palestinian national and societal reconciliation is an eminently national task, requiring the concentration of all efforts within Palestinian society and the strengthening of people’s participation at all levels and across all segments in the process of achieving tolerance and unity. They also come as a continuation of the work of PalThink for Strategic Studies in the ongoing efforts toward national reconciliation since June 2007.
During the signing ceremony, Shaaban stressed the importance of creative community initiatives in promoting the values and concepts of reconciliation as a societal culture in all Palestinian governorates, as well as the importance of joint work between the governorates of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which has been reflected in most of the initiatives already implemented or currently under implementation. The partner institutions reviewed the community initiatives and their objectives in achieving societal unity and national reconciliation, noting that these initiatives were marked by a high degree of seriousness and creativity, and that they are initiatives carried out with the people, the victims of the division, and at the national level.
Mr. Saed Al-Aqqad of Bunyan Association for Training, Evaluation and Studies emphasized the importance of their proposed initiative, in partnership with Al-Tadamun Charitable Society in Rafah, to strengthen societal unity in the sports sector through organizing a football match featuring slogans calling for enhanced societal unity. Meanwhile, Hazem Naeem of Knights of Tomorrow Association affirmed that their initiative aims to establish a Mediation and Conflict Resolution Club, which seeks to hold meetings at the national level to promote civil peace, reconciliation, mediation, and conflict resolution.
Ms. Iman Shanan, Director of the Aid and Hope Program for the Care of Cancer Patients, reviewed the initiative “Our Cause Will Be Resolved Once We Unite Our Word,” which aims to activate solidarity with women’s institutions in the governorates of the West Bank in a way that helps female cancer patients receive the necessary care away from political division. Likewise, Mr. Tareq Abu Zakri of Al-Aqsa Club stressed the initiative “Why Are You Fanatical?” with the aim of reducing the phenomenon of tribal fanaticism and spreading the values of reconciliation and tolerance.
For his part, Mr. Ayman Abu Rok of Youth Without Borders Foundation spoke about the initiative “The Mountain and the Sea,” which comes in partnership with Reform Foundation from Ramallah. Through it, a short film will be produced and filmed addressing the state of alienation among Palestinian youth, and at the end of the video, the costs of the division to the Palestinian people will be illustrated through figures.
Hatim Abu Taha of the United Cultural and Social Association spoke about the importance of dialogue debates and the implementation of the debate “Palestinian Youth See Themselves as an Effective Partner in Reconciliation.” He stressed the importance of raising new ideas that support the concept of constructive dialogue in Palestinian society, the importance of empowering youth in various fields of life, and increasing spaces of hope before Palestinian youth in all arenas and at all levels.
Journalist Amer Abu Shabab also reviewed the media role in strengthening the role of organizations and the local community in achieving societal reconciliation through an initiative by Raya FM Radio in the West Bank and Al-Shaab Radio in Gaza, through broadcasting a radio program consisting of several episodes on the impact of the division and the participation of citizens with their opinions in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem, targeting youth, academics, businessmen and traders, and women.
Mahmoud Al-Shaer spoke about the initiative of 28 Magazine entitled “Poetry Unites Us,” noting that this initiative brings together many poets from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Palestinian interior in a poetry evening featuring numerous cultural performances and poetic texts from all over the homeland. Dar Khuta for Publishing and Distribution also reviewed the initiative “Palestinian Testimonies on Ten Years of Division,” which is based on collecting testimonies from 40 Palestinian writers and intellectuals of both genders from Gaza, the West Bank, the Palestinian interior, and the diaspora about the years of Palestinian division and its political and social effects on Palestinian society. These testimonies will be printed in a booklet and distributed to public libraries, universities, and research centers.
It is worth noting that support for these initiatives comes within the project of strengthening the contribution of the grassroots civil society sector in the two parts of the homeland to achieving societal unity at the national level, under the auspices of PalThink for Strategic Studies and the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies at Birzeit University, and with funding from the Swiss government. It is also worth mentioning that the selection process was carried out through a neutral committee composed of representatives of some partner institutions. The opportunity to apply to benefit from these initiatives was opened to everyone, and a public announcement was published to solicit initiatives. In the coming days, a similar ceremony will be organized to sign a number of cooperation memoranda with grassroots institutions in the northern governorates, and a workshop will be held in March bringing together all partner institutions from the two parts of the homeland to strengthen cooperation, evaluate the initiatives implemented, and develop plans for future cooperation.
Text © Sawa News Agency — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source