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Youth engagement

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Youth local councils for civic engagement and social change in Palestine

At the time of the evaluation, seven months after project completion, the Youth Local Councils (YLC) in Palestine were still functioning and most were scheduling new elections for the coming months. This was most likely due to the grantee’s approach, which bridged the gap between acquisition of knowledge (in this case of democracy, governance and leadership) and practical action in service to the community (here through the medium of the YLCs).

 

 
Project Partner
Almawrid Teacher Development Centre
Project Description
The project focused on the creation of Youth Local Councils (YLC) in six villages in the West Bank – two in the north, two in the central area and two further south. All the young people in these villages were mobilized to register to vote in the YLC elections and underwent training in citizenship, democracy and electoral processes. Families, municipal councils, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community members were involved in the campaign meetings or in overseeing the elections. The YLCs then received further training in the skills they would need in order to ‘govern’ effectively: negotiation, leadership, conducting meetings, fundraising, strategic planning and community action. They consulted with their youth constituents, the municipal council and community members, to devise a plan of action to contribute to their communities’ needs, and subsequently undertook a wide range of cultural and social activities, ranging from computer classes for other young people to the painting and renovation of school buildings.
Evaluation Date
December 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Youth local councils for civic engagement and social change in Palestine

The young participants not only learned about democratic processes and the roles and responsibilities deriving from them, they were able to put these into practice. From drawing up roles and responsibilities of the Youth Local Council to participating in elections, campaigning and then representing their constituents, the young people knew that they were creating something new and important in their lives and in the lives of their communities in Palestine.
Project Partner
Almawrid Teacher Development Centre
Project Description
The project focused on the creation of Youth Local Councils (YLC) in six villages in the West Bank – two in the north, two in the central area and two further south. All the young people in these villages were mobilized to register to vote in the YLC elections and underwent training in citizenship, democracy and electoral processes. Families, municipal councils, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community members were involved in the campaign meetings or in overseeing the elections. The YLCs then received further training in the skills they would need in order to ‘govern’ effectively: negotiation, leadership, conducting meetings, fundraising, strategic planning and community action. They consulted with their youth constituents, the municipal council and community members, to devise a plan of action to contribute to their communities’ needs, and subsequently undertook a wide range of cultural and social activities, ranging from computer classes for other young people to the painting and renovation of school buildings.
Evaluation Date
December 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Youth local councils for civic engagement and social change in Palestine

The Youth Local Councils (YLC) in Palestine became very active on social networks; all opened a Facebook page and a common page was created to exchange best practices. The bringing-together of the YLCs in networking meetings and training and promoting a mentoring system to support new participants and retain the experience and expertise of young participants reaching the age limit of 22 were mentioned by a number of beneficiaries.
Project Partner
Almawrid Teacher Development Centre
Project Description
The project focused on the creation of Youth Local Councils (YLC) in six villages in the West Bank – two in the north, two in the central area and two further south. All the young people in these villages were mobilized to register to vote in the YLC elections and underwent training in citizenship, democracy and electoral processes. Families, municipal councils, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community members were involved in the campaign meetings or in overseeing the elections. The YLCs then received further training in the skills they would need in order to ‘govern’ effectively: negotiation, leadership, conducting meetings, fundraising, strategic planning and community action. They consulted with their youth constituents, the municipal council and community members, to devise a plan of action to contribute to their communities’ needs, and subsequently undertook a wide range of cultural and social activities, ranging from computer classes for other young people to the painting and renovation of school buildings.
Evaluation Date
December 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance

Participants confirmed the usefulness of the training and in particular the access they were given to decision makers in Palestine. The students particularly enjoyed the small group discussions involved. Both facilitators and decision makers commented on the enthusiasm of the students and their willingness to participate.
Project Partner
The Ramallah Centre for Human Rights Studies
Project Description
The project aimed to build the capacity of young people in Palestine – primarily students at university in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – to contribute to understanding of tolerance and difference, with a view to bridging socio-political gaps within Palestinian communities, and between the public and the three main authorities in Palestine - the legislative, judiciary and unions. The project design was underpinned by the growing problem of division among young people in Palestinian society. Project stakeholders also repeatedly mentioned the broader political reality of life in the Palestine territories that impose restrictions that undermine the human rights for young Palestinians and influence their perception of human rights and justice.
Evaluation Date
February 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance

The impact of the project was significant at an individual level, with a number of participants putting their training into action within their communities in Palestine – through training, organization of meetings, campaigns and on-line exchange.
Project Partner
The Ramallah Centre for Human Rights Studies
Project Description
The project aimed to build the capacity of young people in Palestine – primarily students at university in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – to contribute to understanding of tolerance and difference, with a view to bridging socio-political gaps within Palestinian communities, and between the public and the three main authorities in Palestine - the legislative, judiciary and unions. The project design was underpinned by the growing problem of division among young people in Palestinian society. Project stakeholders also repeatedly mentioned the broader political reality of life in the Palestine territories that impose restrictions that undermine the human rights for young Palestinians and influence their perception of human rights and justice.
Evaluation Date
February 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance

The students themselves are active as a Facebook group. This, however, is the only real link between the West Bank and Gaza participants, and the evaluators noted that maintaining links between the two areas of Palestine is a continuing challenge.
Project Partner
The Ramallah Centre for Human Rights Studies
Project Description
The project aimed to build the capacity of young people in Palestine – primarily students at university in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – to contribute to understanding of tolerance and difference, with a view to bridging socio-political gaps within Palestinian communities, and between the public and the three main authorities in Palestine - the legislative, judiciary and unions. The project design was underpinned by the growing problem of division among young people in Palestinian society. Project stakeholders also repeatedly mentioned the broader political reality of life in the Palestine territories that impose restrictions that undermine the human rights for young Palestinians and influence their perception of human rights and justice.
Evaluation Date
February 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance

The grantee had set indicators for sustainability that related to individual follow-up, and these were largely met. There were many examples of participants following up the project with individual initiatives, and additionally the grantee continues to engage with the participants through a monthly discussion group, on-line forum and informal contacts in Palestine.
Project Partner
The Ramallah Centre for Human Rights Studies
Project Description
The project aimed to build the capacity of young people in Palestine – primarily students at university in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – to contribute to understanding of tolerance and difference, with a view to bridging socio-political gaps within Palestinian communities, and between the public and the three main authorities in Palestine - the legislative, judiciary and unions. The project design was underpinned by the growing problem of division among young people in Palestinian society. Project stakeholders also repeatedly mentioned the broader political reality of life in the Palestine territories that impose restrictions that undermine the human rights for young Palestinians and influence their perception of human rights and justice.
Evaluation Date
February 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance

The students emerged from the training eager to act. The major criticism of the project from participants was that they were not given enough concrete guidance on what form this action might take or how they should go about organizing. The training focused on improving understanding of theoretical concepts – tolerance, human rights, discrimination – and did not cover practical skills such as project design and management, fundraising and reporting, and evaluation and monitoring, which would have better equipped students to put their newly established knowledge into practice in their communities in Palestine.
Project Partner
The Ramallah Centre for Human Rights Studies
Project Description
The project aimed to build the capacity of young people in Palestine – primarily students at university in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – to contribute to understanding of tolerance and difference, with a view to bridging socio-political gaps within Palestinian communities, and between the public and the three main authorities in Palestine - the legislative, judiciary and unions. The project design was underpinned by the growing problem of division among young people in Palestinian society. Project stakeholders also repeatedly mentioned the broader political reality of life in the Palestine territories that impose restrictions that undermine the human rights for young Palestinians and influence their perception of human rights and justice.
Evaluation Date
February 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance

Although there was media coverage of the project and some of its events, it was left up to individual journalists based on their own interest to cover the issues involved. The grantee might have considered using short-term media expertise, as necessary, to develop a comprehensive media and communications strategy improving outreach of future projects in Palestine.
Project Partner
The Ramallah Centre for Human Rights Studies
Project Description
The project aimed to build the capacity of young people in Palestine – primarily students at university in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – to contribute to understanding of tolerance and difference, with a view to bridging socio-political gaps within Palestinian communities, and between the public and the three main authorities in Palestine - the legislative, judiciary and unions. The project design was underpinned by the growing problem of division among young people in Palestinian society. Project stakeholders also repeatedly mentioned the broader political reality of life in the Palestine territories that impose restrictions that undermine the human rights for young Palestinians and influence their perception of human rights and justice.
Evaluation Date
February 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance

Restrictions on movement in Palestine were taken into account in project implementation as far as possible, however they are a significant hurdle to full implementation and effectiveness as well as to impact.
Project Partner
The Ramallah Centre for Human Rights Studies
Project Description
The project aimed to build the capacity of young people in Palestine – primarily students at university in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – to contribute to understanding of tolerance and difference, with a view to bridging socio-political gaps within Palestinian communities, and between the public and the three main authorities in Palestine - the legislative, judiciary and unions. The project design was underpinned by the growing problem of division among young people in Palestinian society. Project stakeholders also repeatedly mentioned the broader political reality of life in the Palestine territories that impose restrictions that undermine the human rights for young Palestinians and influence their perception of human rights and justice.
Evaluation Date
February 2013
Country