Pal-Think runs awareness meetings on democracy and human rights

Pal-Think for Strategic Studies continues carrying out its awareness meetings on democracy and human rights, targeting through them society's different groups, especially youth — within the project “Strengthening civil society's role in supporting the Palestinian elections”, implemented by Pal-Think for Strategic Studies with funding from the Government of Canada.

These meetings proceeded in cooperation with several civil-society institutions in all the governorates of the Gaza Strip. One of the meetings was at the Spark Association for Innovation and Creativity, under the title “Opposing gender-based violence”, targeting a group of university graduates. The meeting turned on the concept and roles of gender, the faces of gender-based violence and its point of difference from violence against women, discussion of the concepts relating to violence and their effect on the individual and society and how to overcome them, in addition to the bodies to which one resorts when subjected to violence.

As for the meeting titled “Youth's participation in the elections”, in cooperation with the South Association for Woman's Health, the attendees and the meeting's leaders shared discussion on the Palestinian elections, the mechanisms of election and balloting, the conditions of candidacy for the presidency and the Legislative Council, and the local-council elections — the participating youth affirming their enthusiasm for the holding of the Palestinian elections and participation in them, which they had hoped would proceed in May 2021

Meanwhile a meeting on “The effect and role of youth in decision-making” ran at the Creative Woman Association, with discussion on the concepts of decision-making, the importance of youth's presence in decision-making centres, the most important challenges facing youth in reaching decision-making centres, and the causes of youth's absence from this role.

There was likewise the meeting titled “Unemployment and women's economic empowerment”, in cooperation with the Muttahidun Cultural Social Association: it took up the problem of unemployment and the causes of its high rates in Palestine, especially in what concerns the women's side and society's views on women's empowerment; also discussion of the principles of empowerment, the fields of women's empowerment on the economic side in particular, and the purpose of women's empowerment, its goals, and its elements.

Another awareness meeting was carried out in cooperation with the South Women Journalists Forum Association, titled “Gender equality”, with discussion of gender awareness and its roles, the division of those roles, the aim of gender analysis, and the positive effect of gender justice in all fields.

These meetings were carried out by a group of youth among the graduates of a training programme titled “Strengthening youth political participation and spreading the concepts of democracy”, which Pal-Think carried out in the project's first phase to qualify the youth to pass on information and knowledge and contribute to awareness-raising on democracy and rights topics.

The designations used and the presentation of materials in this programme entail no expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Government of Canada