With Mr. Douglas Scott Proudfoot attending, the «National integrity system» training concludes

“Pal-Think” for Strategic Studies concluded the “National Integrity System” training, funded by the Government of Canada within the project “Strengthening the democratic and civic values of Palestinian youth”, which was attended by 25 young men and women from the various specialisations and Palestinian universities.

Mr Omar Shaban, director of the “Pal-Think” for Strategic Studies institution, welcomed the representative of Canada to the Palestinian Authority, Mr Douglas Scott Proudfoot, and the head of the political section, Mr Ian Anderson. Mr Omar Shaban introduced Canada's representative to the participants, and affirmed the importance of the cooperation between the Canadian government and the Pal-Think institution in implementing a programme aiming at strengthening democratic education and the foundations of transparency and integrity among the youth in the Gaza Strip, pointing to the institution's role and its endeavour to educate the youth and enrich their knowledge. He noted the importance of the youth's role in overseeing and following up the societal institutions in all their forms, whether governmental, civil, or private sector, with the goal of strengthening constructive “scientific” criticism that does not rest on a personal or political background, represented in the “National Integrity System”.

From his side, Mr Proudfoot affirmed the role of the Government of Canada in supporting the democratic values and the continuity of its support for the Palestinian youth sector to exercise their rights fully in a civilised democratic manner. He also affirmed the achievement of the two-state solution, whose fruit will be an independent Palestinian state whose citizens enjoy freedom of movement and mobility, and the ending of the blockade on Gaza.

Mr Proudfoot pointed to the importance of the role of civil-society organisations, whose capacity cannot be belittled, for working on filling the gap and building a democratic society, especially in light of the Palestinian government's stoppage from work. He made clear that the Canadian government's support includes the projects that work on strengthening the intellectual level of the youth, such as the project “Strengthening the democratic and civic values of Palestinian youth” implemented in partnership with Pal-Think, in addition to supporting the rest of the sectors that would contribute to the positive and required change toward a civilised democratic Palestinian society.

The young participants in the programme affirmed their great happiness at Mr Proudfoot's visit to them, speaking with them and listening to their opinions and hopes. The participants likewise affirmed the great importance of such programmes supporting them, which enable them, by scientific means and methods, to bring about change and contribute effectively to creating an upright democratic society. They touched on the most important points on which the training rested, which added much knowledge to them, such as the concept of corruption, its forms and types, and the ways of fighting it — which qualifies them to participate in decision-making in the coming stage, and will also make them competent candidates for participating in, and even standing in, any coming elections.

At the meeting's conclusion the youth thanked the Canadian government for its support of the youth sector, and affirmed the necessity of empowering them with the scientific methods and methodologies that increase their awareness and strengthen their skills for the sake of serious work to serve their society.

It is worth mentioning here that the project “Strengthening the democratic and civic values of Palestinian youth” continues for six months, and includes ten educational lectures and radio episodes on the issues of democracy and political development in Palestinian society, in addition to three training courses in subjects related to fighting corruption and strengthening the instruments of societal accountability and transparency in Palestinian society.