Pal-Think runs a digital training programme for Palestinian civil society organisations

Pal-Think for Strategic Studies began organising the second stage of the project “Strengthening the role of civil society organisations in sustainable development”, with the effective participation of 15 participants from the Palestinian civil institutions from Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. The programme takes place in cooperation with the international consulting institution Dialectiq and with funding from the French Consulate in Jerusalem. The programme aims to build the analysis and planning capacities of the Palestinian civil-society organisations, in a way that enables them to propose scientific interventions springing from society's true needs. The programme, which continues five days, focuses on improving coordination and cooperation between civil-society institutions and with the other bodies, especially the official among them — in a way that helps set strategies to support the civil sector's efforts coordinated with the official and private efforts to achieve sustainable development.

The programme includes the use and deployment of the mechanisms of scientific analysis of the complicated context in which Palestinian civil society works, and the exploration of the fields of improvement and influence — leading to the development of its capacities for strategic thinking and the scientific determination of its fields of intervention. This training is distinguished from many other training programmes in that an interactive digital tool was used, comprising a series of the necessary participatory analytical workshops over the internet, with the goal of designing smart interventions springing from the needs of the Palestinian context and not imposed upon it,

The context in which civil society works is marked by the interlacing of the political, economic, and social factors, which makes it a complicated and to a great extent different context. Therefore the training programme focused on examining and devising the ways of achieving cooperation and coordination between the makers of public policy, the local authorities, and the private sector, in a way that achieves comprehensive, integrated development.

Taking part in the training programme were participants from diverse fields of the specialised and grassroots non-governmental organisations that work within the frame of education, community service, health, and the empowerment of youth and women. A limited number of graduates and young activists were likewise brought into this training so that they could share their points of view.

This training programme includes a series of digital encounters and workshops, and will end with a deepened study of the working environment of civil society and the elements of strength and influence, and the formulation of realistic interventions that contribute to the positive change of the current reality in the various parts of Palestine. The training was led by the international expert Zahid Yousef, founder of Dialectiq, the consulting company that devised this programme and has previously implemented it in many of the world's states.