Within conflict zones or an oppressed society, oppression and false values can be inherited systematically, generation after generation. This problem lies behind the establishment of our Social Justice and Human Rights Workshops program. It is founded on the values of social justice, highlighting the importance of social solidarity, peace education and conflict resolution. Observation of the behavior of Palestinian youth in our programs highlighted the importance of providing them with open forums to express themselves, their opinions and their daily concerns. Thus, the social justice and human rights program was created and funded by a Canadian grant.

The general theme of the workshops is social justice and human rights. The workshops run continuously throughout the year and are aimed at Palestinian youth. The workshops are designed as an open forum where youth can discuss and debate topics such as, but not exclusively reserved to: democracy, good governance, globalization, cultural diversity, indigenous rights, conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance, voluntarism, social justice, women's rights and human rights.The curriculum has been put together both by Palestinians and internationals after a series of pilot workshops. It provides a modern “global community” perspective but within the context of Palestinian social values. It considers popular topics of discussion, tackling daily obstacles Palestinian civilians face while formulating new perspectives on how to deal with such challenges.

The objectives of the workshops are:

1/ To explore issues in social justice and human rights with the goal of promoting: civil society, voluntarism, democracy, good governance, human rights and women's rights.
2/ To empower youth through learning, discussion and debate.
3/ To empower young Palestinian professionals, scholars and activists through leadership within program.

While international volunteers are welcome and encouraged to participate in the program, it is Palestinian participation and leadership, which is the most important. International volunteers simply add an international context and different perspective for the debates within each workshop discussion. Follow-up on both the individual workshops and the overall program is designed to be "youth led." The belief is that involving and challenging those involved is the best way to turn theories into practice.



"Peace is a mode of behavior"
(UNESCO International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, 1989)

"Peace is a process, a way of solving problems"