Pal-Think opens a ToT course under «Turning democracy and human-rights principles into daily practice in Gaza»

Pal-Think for Strategic Studies opened a training-of-trainers course under the project “Turning the principles of democracy and human rights into a way of life and daily practice for the residents of the Gaza Strip (SWITCH)”, implemented in cooperation with Acted and Convergences and funded by the European Union, in the presence of Pal-Think's director, Omar Shaban, and Acted's director in the Palestinian territories, Jenny Haythornthwaite.

Shaban welcomed the attendees and affirmed Pal-Think's attention to the youth of Palestinian society, “being the group most capable of change, especially since 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 aimed at spreading and strengthening the culture of democracy, dialogue, and the resolution of conflict by peaceful means, and at empowering youth and developing their capacities and skills.”

Shaban set out the idea and aim of the project, which works on developing the capacities of human-rights defenders, change-makers, and civil-society leaders, by equipping them with the information and skills needed to monitor and document the state of human rights in society, in addition to developing the capacities of traditional and new media institutions in spreading a culture of respect for human rights.

For her part, Jenny Haythornthwaite stressed the importance of this training: “at a time when most courses on human rights focus on the theoretical side, this training focuses on the practical aspects that enable the trainees to achieve the project's larger goal — turning the principles of democracy and human rights into a way of life and daily practice.”

The training programme delivers a rich dose of the most important skills and knowledge enabling participants to carry out community initiatives, including the concept of the human being from the standpoint of law and the concept's evolution, the concept of democracy, the development of democracy indicators worldwide, gender equality, hate speech, democracy and the political participation of youth, the Palestinian political system, the skills of political decision-making, the use of new and traditional media in spreading a culture of respect for human rights, and presentation skills.

The project includes training 60 young men and women through a 10-day training course delivered to three training groups, after which the trainees will pass on the skills and knowledge they gained to their peers and communities by carrying out community initiatives and holding awareness meetings in cooperation with Pal-Think's grassroots partner institutions across all areas and governorates of the Gaza Strip.