By Nasser | Fundraising Consultant
Over the past months, Mada al-Carmel has continued to thrive as a rare and vital academic home for Palestinian scholars - despite the war on Gaza and increasing repression across the region. Through resilience, creativity, and community, we have sustained our mission to nurture independent Palestinian thought and critical scholarship.
A major milestone this period was the tenth cycle of our Graduate Student Seminar, which concluded with an inspiring two-day meeting in Ramallah. Graduate students from across historical Palestine gathered to present their research, share ideas, and connect with senior academics. The sessions offered intensive training and mentorship, strengthening participants’ methodological and theoretical skills while reinforcing a collective sense of purpose in a time of fear and fragmentation.
In response to the Gaza genocide, we launched a new initiative - the Research Agendas Workshop - to rethink how Palestinian scholars interpret their reality. The workshops drew wide interest, leading us to broadcast sessions featuring international scholars Ilan Pappé and Lorenzo Veracini. This program showed our ability to respond quickly and meaningfully to urgent political and intellectual challenges.
At the undergraduate level, our Academic Camp, organized in partnership with the Madar Center for Israeli Studies, brought together 15 students and 15 academics in Ramallah and Birzeit. Many of the lecturers were graduates of Mada’s earlier programs, reflecting our growing network of alumni who now mentor the next generation of researchers.
Among our participants, Sujoud M's oral history project on the uprooted village of Lajoun and Balqees A's study on social media’s mental health impacts highlight the depth and relevance of Palestinian-led research nurtured through Mada’s spaces.
We are proud of new collaborations - with Birzeit University, the Institute for Palestine Studies, and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha - that strengthen our reach and sustainability. Internally, we have enhanced transparency and risk management to meet emerging challenges.
Through all of this, Mada remains steadfast in its commitment to Palestinian knowledge and liberation. We also appreciate the kind support of our generous institutional donors, as well as individual donors, that make all of this work possible, enabling us to continue building spaces of learning, resilience, and hope in the most difficult of times.
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