Pal-Think opens the third ToT course under «Turning democracy and human-rights principles into daily practice»

Pal-Think opened the third training-of-trainers course under the SWITCH project — «Turning democracy and human-rights principles into a way of life and daily practice for the residents of the Gaza Strip» — implemented with Acted and Convergences, funded by the European Union.

Pal-Think's director Omar Shaban attended the opening, welcoming the participants and affirming Pal-Think's attention to Palestinian society's young people, «being the group most capable of change — particularly as Palestinian society is a young society.»

He added that «the training comes within a series of activities and projects Pal-Think implements with local and international partners to spread and strengthen the culture of democracy, dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution, and to empower young people and develop their capacities and skills.»

Shaban presented the project's idea and goal: developing the capacities of human-rights defenders, change-makers and civil-society leaders by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to monitor and document the state of human rights in society, alongside developing traditional and new media institutions' capacity to spread the culture of respect for human rights.

The training programme delivers a rich dose of the essential skills and knowledge for implementing community initiatives: the concept of the human being in law and its evolution, the concept of democracy and the development of global democracy indicators, gender equality, hate speech, democracy and youth political participation, the Palestinian political system, political decision-making skills, new and traditional media in spreading respect for human rights, and presentation skills.

The project trains 60 young men and women through a ten-day course delivered to three training groups; the trainees then carry the skills and knowledge they gained to their peers and communities through community initiatives and awareness meetings, in cooperation with Pal-Think's grassroots partner organisations across all areas and governorates of the Gaza Strip.