«Young Pens», episode two: freedom of expression and youth political participation

Within its radio programme “Young Pens”, Pal-Think for Strategic Studies carried out the second episode, on “Freedom of expression through the media and youth political participation”, within the project “Preparing a Civic Intellectual (2)”, implemented by Pal-Think with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) — aimed at strengthening democratic values and human-rights concepts among young people in the Gaza Strip, creating young leaders able to spread these values in their society, and enabling them to play their part in decision-making.

The episode presented and discussed policy papers the young people produced during their time in the project, after receiving a training programme on rights and democratic concepts and on the scientific methodology of writing policy papers. These papers come within the programme to discuss and present proposals on issues concerning youth and Palestinian society as a whole — foremost the media's role in political change, the development of political practice among Palestinian youth, the work of civil-society institutions and the division's reflections, poverty in the Gaza Strip, and the absence of gender justice.

The episode hosted the two young women Hind Miqdad and Nour Abed, members of the civic-education body within the project. Miqdad began by presenting the principal axes of her paper, titled “Freedom of expression in the Gaza Strip between the legal guarantees and the patchiness of application”, in which she addressed the legal guarantees of freedom of expression, the reasons for their disregard, what has followed from that disregard and from the restriction of freedoms. She continued on the political prosecutions arising from the restriction of freedom of expression, and on the space available to journalists and writers to express their views on political and societal issues. She also spoke of the obstacles limiting the expression of opinion, and civil-society institutions' interventions to widen this space.

Nour Abed, in her paper on “Youth political participation through social-media platforms”, addressed the reasons young people turn to social media to express their political positions, and the reality of Palestinian youth political participation amid the multiplicity of political parties. Abed spoke of the campaigns young people lead to express their positions, and the tools they use through the media to discuss their positions on the many issues facing Palestinian society. She touched on the obstacles facing youth political participation through the platforms, and the division's effect on their participation, concluding with the alternatives and proposals for strengthening youth political participation.

The second episode of the “Young Pens” programme: freedom of expression and youth political participation

Within its radio programme “Young Pens”, Pal-Think for Strategic Studies carried out the second episode, on “Freedom of expression through the media and youth political participation”, within the project “Preparing a Civic Intellectual (2)”, implemented by Pal-Think with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) — aimed at strengthening democratic values and human-rights concepts among young people in the Gaza Strip, creating young leaders able to spread these values in their society, and enabling them to play their part in decision-making.

The episode presented and discussed policy papers the young people produced during their time in the project, after receiving a training programme on rights and democratic concepts and on the scientific methodology of writing policy papers. These papers come within the programme to discuss and present proposals on issues concerning youth and Palestinian society as a whole — foremost the media's role in political change, the development of political practice among Palestinian youth, the work of civil-society institutions and the division's reflections, poverty in the Gaza Strip, and the absence of gender justice.

The episode hosted the two young women Hind Miqdad and Nour Abed, members of the civic-education body within the project. Miqdad began by presenting the principal axes of her paper, titled “Freedom of expression in the Gaza Strip between the legal guarantees and the patchiness of application”, in which she addressed the legal guarantees of freedom of expression, the reasons for their disregard, what has followed from that disregard and from the restriction of freedoms. She continued on the political prosecutions arising from the restriction of freedom of expression, and on the space available to journalists and writers to express their views on political and societal issues. She also spoke of the obstacles limiting the expression of opinion, and civil-society institutions' interventions to widen this space.

Nour Abed, in her paper on “Youth political participation through social-media platforms”, addressed the reasons young people turn to social media to express their political positions, and the reality of Palestinian youth political participation amid the multiplicity of political parties. Abed spoke of the campaigns young people lead to express their positions, and the tools they use through the media to discuss their positions on the many issues facing Palestinian society. She touched on the obstacles facing youth political participation through the platforms, and the division's effect on their participation, concluding with the alternatives and proposals for strengthening youth political participation.