Active Local Grants

Panorama “Youth Taking Action” This project aims at building the capacity of young community leaders and creating a pool of responsible and responsive citizens from Palestinian universities in the West Bank to work as a forum for the rule of law. Through this project, Panorama will work to engage and foster youth involvement in Palestinian decision-making process and also provide a platform of debate on democratization, rule of law and civil peace.

Al Marsad “Strengthening Youth Participation in Increasing the Impartiality of Local Governance Institutions” The six-month project aims at educating a group of youth about civic engagement, the role of the local councils and the means of interaction between them. Through a series of meetings, workshops and the formation of local youth councils, the project will help raise youth awareness about their ability to influence the local councils through democratic means of pressure.

Al Nayzak “East Jerusalem Talented Students Incubator” This project encourages talented students (ages 14-17) in Jerusalem to develop their scientific skills through training workshops and hands-on learning. It will also increase the professional capacity of science teachers by providing training on different teaching techniques and practice how to implement their intended curriculum through hands-on training workshops. Both students and teachers in the project will attend a scientific summer camp, where will provide training in different fields of science, innovation and technology.

The Palestinian Women’s Information and Media Center (PWIC) - “Strengthening Palestinian Women in the Gaza Strip through Dissemination of Democracy, Human Rights and Gender Sensitivity” The PWIC will contribute to developing the capacity of 450 women, aged 20-35 from the Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoon and Jabalia governorates in Northern Gaza. The project will work towards the improvement of the overall status of women in Gaza Strip through a series of intensive training programs, workshops on democracy, human rights and gender sensitivity, and also through lobbying campaigns that draw attention to critical women’s rights issues.

Society Voice Foundation (SVF): “ Empower Future Young Leadership on Parliamentary Work and Monitoring Corruption” - This project aims to increase the capacity and knowledge of youth aged 22-35 in local leadership. Through the creation of a youth parliament, radio programs and town hall meetings, the project teaches youth about transparency, accountability and integrity systems.

Completed Local Grants

Association of Women’s Committees for Social Work (AWCSW): “ Young Women‘s Leadership Program” - This project organized training sessions, outreach activities, and public forums empowering young Palestinian women activists in several marginalized communities to better utilize their leadership skills and capacities in public service, community development, and local decision making processes. The project enabled women to become more active in public life by sharing their needs, concerns, and demands with local government officials while developing and implementing action plans.

Cultural Center of Narsan (NRSAN): “Building Youth Capacity in Democracy & Citizenship” – NRSAN promoted democratic practices and women’s political participation by empowering civil society activists to run workshops, training sessions, advocacy efforts, and public awareness campaigns within the Yatta area and 30 surrounding villages in Hebron. Through this project, local leaders were taught how to promote their own reform efforts. The trainees and NRSAN then implemented activities, including educational campaigns, and radio & TV programs designed to have a positive impact on their communities.

Barefoot Workshops: “Public Service Announcement Training” – Representatives from seven NGOs in the West Bank participated in a three-week workshop on digital video production. The workshop taught participants how to write, shoot, produce and edit Public Service Announcements (PSAs), which are short noncommercial videos that raise awareness about important social issues. Each participating organization learned how to use low-cost video equipment to produce thirty-second videos. Topics included labor law, honor killings, land rights, and youth empowerment among others.

Basma Society for Culture and the Arts: “ Combating Violence and Enhancing the Culture of Forgiveness and Dialogue among Youth” - This project worked with youth aged 12-17 years , using theater and acting to build social awareness and address the concepts of violence, discrimination, lack of confidence, intolerance, forgiveness, and respect within their communities.

Basma Society for Culture and the Arts: “Promoting Dialogue and Tolerance among Youngsters” - This project conducted 20 workshops at schools and public centers, utilizing theatrical activities to teach Palestinian youngsters about dialogue, tolerance, democracy and peaceful conflict resolution methods. Five thousand brochures, posters and CDs were produced and used as tools in the implementation of this project.

Community Action Center (CAC): “Students Volunteers' Bureau” – This project targeted Palestinian youth in the Old City of East Jerusalem in an effort to increase their public participation and civic activism. CAC trained a network of student volunteers and encouraged the establishment of their own volunteer groups according to public needs, skills and interests. The project also aimed to create a Volunteer Placement Service, while promoting volunteerism and opportunities for youth.

Ekhbaryat Network for Information and Publishing: “Journalism Graduates Tackle Sensitive Social Issues” – This project helped develop the skills of newly graduated journalism students in Jenin, Nablus, and the northern West Bank. Participants were coached by experienced journalists to write investigative reports on local social issues then published on several news websites, such as Ekhbaryat.net. Other young journalists in the program learned how to produce TV debates and reports dealing with major social issues, which were broadcast on local TV stations, such as Nablus TV.

Ibdaa Cultural Center: “Youth-Led Social Change Project” – Located in the Dheisheh refugee camp, Ibdaa worked with young people to define their roles and responsibilities as agents of social change. Through awareness-raising campaigns and community development activities, this project empowered young participants providing them with the necessary communication and critical thinking skills to develop and articulate their opinions as they improved their local communities.

International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC): “Raising Jerusalemite Awareness on Urban Rights” – IPCC promoted public awareness within Palestinian communities on housing rights and related issues to more effectively deal with urban planning challenges. By holding public meetings and publishing manuals that addressed proper legal paths, IPCC helped solve collective problems facing many people in East Jerusalem.

Juhoud for Community and Rural Development: “Promoting National Volunteer Coordination” – This project worked toward establishing an effective nationwide coordination unit to stimulate interest in and increase accessibility to volunteerism. With this grant, Juhoud increased volunteerism encouraging women and youth to engage in their communities.

Near East Foundation (NEF): “Women + Jobs + Banks = Better Economy” – In an effort to increase cash flow to local economies by generating self-sustaining jobs, this project created a network of mobile bankers and trained them to better understand issues of credit, loans, and other banking procedures. The participants, who were primarily women, promoted bank loans to clients in rural areas and facilitated loan applications between clients and banks. NEF also developed and provided participants with a guidebook on applying for loans, while financially supporting them as they began their work as mobile bankers.

Not to Forget Society: “Feminist Lobbies Project” – Under this project, women from the Jenin area were trained in strategic planning, lobbying and public awareness building to raise the profile of women’s priority issues at the local level. Three pressure groups were formed in different geographic locations to identify local priorities, lobby local officials, hold public roundtables, and finally conduct their own information campaigns on selected areas of concern.

Obaidya Youth Club: “Strengthening Youth Capacity in Democracy & Citizenship” – This project trained civil society leaders on the principles of human rights, citizenship, and volunteerism & the role of youth in civic engagement. The civil society leaders held a summer camp for youth ages 14-17 and workshops for youth over 18 years old to promote community activism.

Palestinian Vision (Ruya): “Youth Achievement” – This project worked with young Palestinians aged 13-17, empowering them to take leading roles and responsibilities as citizens and agents for peace, justice, and social change in the Nablus area. Carefully selected youth mentors and participants were trained to use innovative, non-violent, community-based methods to increase democratic participation in the development of their local communities.

Palestinian Commission for Human Development (PCHD): “More Powerful Women” – This project enhanced women’s and girls’ abilities to confront intellectual and physical abuse. The project included an intensive training course for 50 women, 11 public lecture meetings and 200 workshops on women’s rights, emphasizing the important role that women play and the detrimental effects that violence against women has on society. The project participants also implemented a public awareness campaign on enhancing the role of women in Palestinian society. The information campaign used publications, posters and a magazine produced by the project participants.

Society Voice Foundation (SVF): “Enhance Women’s Leadership and Civic Democratic Participation: Campaigning to Stop Honor Killings” – This project successfully empowered 150 young Palestinians – primarily women with media, public relations, and journalism backgrounds – to lobby for legislation criminalizing “honor killings” and all forms of violence against women. After conducting an analysis of legislation on honor killing crimes (where women and young girls are sacrificed by their family members) SVF lead workshops and training sessions to develop advocacy skills among project participants. A steering committee was formed to recommend amendments to existing legislation and advocate for a new draft law. The project was extended for an additional year to further encourage women’s engagement in the policy lobbying process.

Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP): “Enhance Entrepreneurial Culture Among Youth” – Through local youth clubs in Nablus, young Palestinians aged 15-17 participated in a variety of workshops & training sessions. These sessions engaged youth in intellectual activities and honed their critical thinking and entrepreneurship skills. The project encouraged youth to become more reform minded and increased their awareness of small and medium enterprises in the West Bank.