Empowering Palestinian youth to become Palestine’s future leaders and to transform them from spectators to actors

Bethlehem  – On September 26 and 27, the Diyer Civic Engagement Network Program associated to the International center of Bethlehem concluded its first structuring conference which included approving its bylaws and presenting several cultural activities from the members’ production work which had been created during the past four years.

As stated by Mrs. Rana Khoury, the Vice-President of Diyer, “The importance for such a network in Palestine Is to create a space for hope plus to create a new reality for Palestine’s youth.

Through the initial efforts begun five years ago, we have focused on the issues of society and the empowerment of young people through art and culture. Today we are very proud for these achievements as a local Palestinian organization that cares about the youth sector and the demonstration that our efforts have been successful”.

We have learned that the Diyer Civic Cultural Network was nominated for the 2014 Nelson Mandela-Graca Machel Innovation Award in South Africa. This award, now in its 10th year, is granted by Civicus: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, which is one of the largest and most prestigious international network of civil society organizations, where currently it has more than 1100 organizations from all over the world. There are at least 500 nominations from different countries who all have very worthy causes ( including some of which are from Palestine and have been in operation for many years).

Lubna Bandak, Project Manager of the Civic Cultural Network Project, stated in her opening remarks the mission of the Project is to increase the awareness of democracy and engagement through civic and cultural acts. She then concluded by saying, “We know from our social, cultural and historical context that change will not be achieved with a “magic wand”, but only through a pure process which is not misunderstood, nor borrowed from western-exported ideas. Change must come through our own non-violent and social struggle.

The Civic Engagement Program-Diyar consortium group in Bethlehem (the internationals center of Bethlehem) seeks to empower Palestinian youth to become Palestine’s future leaders and to transform them from spectators to actors by identifying, motivating and developing their potential through unique and holistic approaches that employ culture as the tool of training. With its civic engagement initiatives and projects, the program helps youth to articulate significant civic issues and become engaged in their society.

In 2013, the OLOF Palme International Center contributed significantly to this program by supporting two major initiatives, which are respectively, The Palestinian Youth Leadership Training Project-Phase II and the Civic Cultural Network. We thank our partners for their continued generous support and for the confidence they have placed in us to carry out this important work.