The «Conflict resolution and community peacebuilding skills» training opens

“Pal-Think for Strategic Studies” opened a training programme titled “Conflict-resolution and communal-peace-building skills”, within the project “Youth Forum for Politics and Development”, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which aims at building the capacities of rising Palestinian youth in strategic thinking and communal work, with the participation of 25 trainees, chosen on the basis of their competences.

The meeting was opened by the trainer Mahmoud Abdel Hadi, welcoming the attendees, pointing to the importance of spreading the culture of non-violence and peaceful coexistence among Palestinian youth, especially in light of the difficult existing economic and social conditions.

He said: “The real treasure is the youth, and Pal-Think presents training programmes that suit the needs of the youth and society, focuses on the trainees after the training, and deals with them as agents of change in society — and this leaves real communal effects”.

The training's first day took up the concept of conflicts and the stages of their development, and the common frames for dealing with them. The trainees also carried out several collective activities to develop the spirit of working within a team, and to strengthen the spirit of cooperation among them.

The trainees expressed their gratitude to “Pal-Think” for the training's importance: the trainee Heba al-Abadla (26 years), a journalist, said: “This training is very important, because society develops continuously, and conflicts also develop. Conflicts begin with us from the house, between the family's members, reaching the great conflict, which is the Palestinian division. And we as youth must accept the other and coexist peacefully with one another”.

She added: “As usual, Pal-Think's projects are very important, because there is selectivity in the trainers, and the focus is placed on the trainees after the training”.

From his side, Salah al-Razzi (20 years), a law student, said: “This training is very important because it forms the basic structure for any person who wants to be a communal activist. I, as a Palestinian citizen, believe in peace; I live in a region full of conflicts and disputes; therefore, we must understand the nature of communal conflicts so that we know how to deal with them”.

It is recalled that the project “Youth Forum for Politics and Development” will extend to the month of April 2020, and contains varied lectures in Palestinian law and democracy. It also includes several varied training programmes, such as: leadership and communication skills, building the digital identity on the social-media sites, conflict resolution, writing research papers, and others. Through the project, “Pal-Think” aims at developing the knowledge of Palestinian youth and spreading the culture of non-violence and coexistence among them.