Through this project, we will train at least 160 young Palestinians in democratic participation and policy development. After the training, a group of ten young Palestinians will be formed in each governorate. The small groups will meet regularly to discuss the different areas of policy that they wish to intervene in. Several regional meetings will be attended from representatives from each group to form a support network that will allow for efficient communication between the groups.
Due to the lack of citizenship in Palestinian history, bonds of common citizenship have regularly been eclipsed by family and political allegiances, leaving the society fragmented along these fault lines. Young Palestinians often have to bear the burden of these fragmentation, as they represent the majority of the population and will be the next generation of leaders in Palestine. To ensure a viable and democratic transition to statehood, new bonds based on common citizenship should be formed.
By creating and training a network of 16 small groups throughout Palestine, we hope to empower the young generation to effectively influence their society. The small groups will develop and promote policies in their local governments and will be supported by each other. The network will allow for the efficient transfer of ideas and information throughout Palestine and should begin the process of overcoming fault lines that have been drawn because of political and familial polarization.
This project will train and give hands on policy development and advocacy experience to 160 young individuals throughout the Palestinian territories. This network should be a step in a new trend of public participation in Palestinian society that is concerned with the common good and the development of strong democratic communities.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
