In the beginning of 2016, the Mossawa Center started a new youth project called “Let’s Make a Difference.”The projectwas created and carefully designed to help Palestinian high school students increase their knowledge about Israeli politics, the socio-economic situation of Palestinians in Israel, and Arab civil society.
The sessions take place on a weekly basis., This year’s training hosts 15 students that attendArab High schools in Haifa (10th -12th graders). The project is running as a pilot for future educational and capacity building programs.
This new educational program originated against the backdrop of discriminatory budget allocations due to which the Arab schools in Israel are seriously lacking the resources to teach students about political and socio-economic processes.
As a consequence of this educational gap, the Arab political leadership, Arabic media, and Arab civil-society organisations in Israel are not able to recruit potential leaders, journalists and activists from a large number of qualifiedand well educated candidates.
To remedy this issuethe idea of creating a sustainable, well-connected group of youth that will be trained in understanding the ongoing debates and discussions and to follow-up the political process in Israel was formed in our new capacity building project. “Let’s make a difference”
The participating studentshave already attended discussions with the Head of the Joint-List Ayman Odeh, a legal advisor to the Mossawa Center and member of the Tira city council Sameh Iraqi and the coordinator of the culture rights project at the Mossawa Center and member of the Haifa city council Areen Abdi. In March, the group also visited the “Mussawa TV” station in Nazareth as well as the honouring of MK Ahmed Tibi and different CSO’s for their achievements in increasing funds allocated for Palestinian Culture.
Future sessions of the 6 month long project will include discussions with Joint-List MK Aida Touma who also heads the Knesset's Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, the director of the Coalition against Racism,Nidal Othman, Labour MK and academic Yossi Yona, Mossawa Director and former journalist Jafar Farah, free lance journalist covering the oPt Amira Hass and the Head of the Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens, Mohammad Barakeh.
Furthermore, fieldtrips to the Knesset and the Supreme Court in Jerusalem to attend committee meetings, plenary sessions and hearings are planned for the project.
If you would like to know more about our project, please contact: [email protected] or call 04-855-5901.
