PRCS concluded, in collaboration with the Center for cooperation in the Mediterranean (CCM), a seven-day international seminar that dealt with young leaders, with the participation of twenty seven young men and women from the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of Palestine, Spain, Italy, and France.
The seminar was inaugurated with a speech given by PRCS President, Dr. Younis Al Khatib, in which he bid welcome to local and international participants while reiterating his deep gratitude to CCM for choosing Palestine as the venue for such an event. He considered that it gave Palestinian youth an invaluable opportunity to develop their capacities and to exchange experiences and skills in the best interest of PRCS and the nation.
The seminar discussed youths’ role in society and in dealing with crises. It also dealt with their role as a factor for social change, policies concerning youths and volunteers, and their role within the International Movement of Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Through numerous youths activities and games, participants showed a great capacity for change, discussed International Humanitarian Law and showed team-building skills for organizing and leading awareness-raising campaigns. They also received training in those areas.
Training activities were led by specialized trainers associated with CCM, which was created by the Spanish Red Cross in 2005. They included group learning activities as well as imagining virtual problems and working on solving them.
In that context, the Seminar coordinator, Roberta Fusacchia said that "participants were given the opportunity to work on a specific subject in small groups. It was up to them to set up a full plan for the issue at hand, in full details, and submit it to other colleagues for discussion.”
“This manner for expressing opinions gave participants the opportunity to give their views. It also enhanced their creative capacities by drawing up their energy and motivating them in sound thinking through shared experiences, as each of them came from a different nation”, said I?igo Gonz?lez-Posada Elechiguerra, of Spain, who noted that participating in the seminar impacted his personal experience in the field of young leadership. “The seminar enhanced young people’s capacity to induce positive change in society”, he added, praising the conference’s permanent positive atmosphere.
Regarding the capacities of Palestinian youths taking part in the seminar he said: “Palestinians have shown a great capacity for debate and discussion. They are well versed in young leadership issues and had information we lacked in our country, although we have come a long way in this field.”
Nature of the Conference
The seminar included a presentation regarding the role of youths in the movement . Various activities allowed participants to present what their national societies were undertaking in the framework of Movement’s plans and programs.
In addition, participants engaged in awareness-raising activities in the field of IHL, including the rights and obligations of Movement members, especially during armed conflicts, and also Palestine’s special circumstances requiring full knowledge of international law.
Through such events, CCM aims to consolidate experience sharing between European youths and their Arab peers. It seeks to examine differences from a positive perspective, as affirmed by Fusacchia who stated that “various activities are organized in the Middle-East, as was the case in Morocco and Turkey. We coordinated the present venture with PRCS President, Dr. Younis Al Khatib, and have brought European youths here so that they share their experiences with Palestinian youths.”
She commended PRCS staff’s high capacities in organizing and coordinating all of the event’s activities, praising the excellence of Palestinian youths, which commanded the admiration of other participants.
Solid relations with PRCS led to organizing the event in Palestine, despite the great difficulties faced, especially due to the fact that many Arab States, especially from North Africa, were unable to participate.
In this regard, Stefan Galves, a CCM trainer, said: “The meeting came as a result of efforts exerted by PRCS President, Dr. Younis Al Khatib, and of the excellent relations we have with PRCS. We were determined to organize the conference despite the scarcity of participating states, in view of the occupation prevailing here.”
He reasserted the excellence of Palestinian participants, noting that they were very active despite the few difficulties which arose in relation to language. Nevertheless, they were able to establish excellent dialogue with their French, Spanish and Italian peers.
Various activities and events
The seminar included various activities and events, which promoted cultural exchanges between the Arab world and Europe, enhancing participants’ knowledge of each country’s customs, traditions and products, as well as of its folklore and history.
The most beautiful event consisted of a popular Palestinian wedding organized by Palestinian participants, with female participants dressed in beautiful ornate gowns and males wearing their traditional attire and their “koufias” (head-scarf), which created an atmosphere of excitement and bliss.
The wedding event started with a very true enactment of a real-life wedding, with the bride, dressed in a Palestinian gown, awaiting the arrival of her groom wearing his “dammaya”, his “koufia” and “âgal”. The rest of the girls broke out in long strides of “youyous”. The bridal march led to the exhibition, which contained products from each country having taken part in the seminar.
The Palestinian corner contained a host of varied local products, embroideries, food and traditional artifacts, while the French, the Italians and the Spaniards displayed whichever products they had been able to carry, which best represent their countries.
The Palestinian wedding and the free exhibition were largely appreciated by the international participants, as confirmed by Caroline soubie, from France. She said: “The wedding was marvelous. I was very touched by it. It was done in a very nice manner. The exhibition was also distinguished.”
“It has been a wonderful trip,” she said. “The seminar was a success and the events very useful. Palestine is great, despite the harsh circumstances it is enduring. The mix between civilizations was special and wonderful. It was beautifully done.”
Her Italian colleague, Pietro Giulio Mariani, confirmed by adding: “Everything was very beautiful. The popular Palestinian wedding was very lovely. Everything was beautiful, the music, the traditions. The Palestinian corner was the greatest in the exhibition.”
About the seminar, he said that, in Italy, they had theoretical lessons about humanitarian interventions and about the work of IFRC. However, when he came to Palestine, he really lived the experience, due to the occupation.
Field Visit
The Seminar also included a visit to Bethlehem during which participants experienced occupation practices including roadblocks and the wall. The journey included a visit to the Church of the Nativity, the Solomon pools and PRCS’s branch in the city.
Participants met with the head of PRCS’s Bethlehem branch, Dr. Mohammad Rizk, who gave them a detailed account of conditions prevailing in his city, of the main activities undertaken by PRCS, especially in the field of youths and volunteer work, and what it has achieved in this area.
Hebron, which was off-limits due to occupation practices, was visited through a visual presentation made by Waleed Abul Halawa from the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC), containing loads of valuable information about occupation and settler actions perpetrated against Palestinian citizens.
Regarding the visit, Marie-esther Rouffet, of France, said: “The Bethlehem trip was amazing. It carried a lot of historical meanings. We were able to learn about the activities and event undertaken by PRCS there.”
She expressed her appreciation of HRC’s presentation and of the photos and maps it contained. She said: “The situation in Hebron is very difficult. There are human rights violations, and there were many things we did not know. What we see in the media is very different from the situation on the ground.”
Marie was not the only one to be bothered by the situation on the ground. Her Italian colleague, Antonio Giuseppe Di Pietro, said: “The situation in Palestine is like being imprisoned in a big box. There are many victims due to the wall and the roadblocks. Yet, there is great hope and a determination to live.”
Palestinian Participation
The methods used by CCM’s specialized trainers were appreciated by all participants. They used educational games in order to get the message through easily, smoothly and correctly. Participants were divided into groups.
Organizers and international participants alike expressed great admiration of the huge capacities of Palestinian participants, despite the difficulties and the special circumstances they were living in. They expressed great joy for having visited Palestine and mingled with its population.
The eleven Palestinians – from Gaza, Nablus, Tulkarem, Hebron, Jerusalem and Bethlehem – explained that the seminar has greatly enriched their experience in young leadership and in related skills and capacities.
In this regard, Oudai Al Tanib said: “The Seminar represented a quantum leap in enhancing my skills as a young leader. It contained many information regarding social change, many skills in the field of communication and crisis management, which it was not aware of.”
He praised the capacities of CCM trainers and their method for transmitting the information through interactive training and exercises. He said: “Interactions were high, the info reached us effortlessly.”
Al Tanib noted that dividing participants into groups consisting of young people from different countries contributed to discovering how each region thinks, learning about youths activities and events as well as what methods they use to raise awareness in various fields.
His colleague, Nivin Sha’raoui, noted that the main benefit from the seminar were the new methods used by trainers, in addition to experience sharing between Palestinian and international youths, as well as cultural exchanges and activities.
She commended her international colleagues on their great capacities in the field of interaction, dialogue and communication and also on their knowledge in many political and humanitarian issues. She also praised the work done by Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Results: How to be a successful leader!
Sha’raoui added that the seminar enriched her experience and that of all her colleagues, Palestinians and international alike, especially in the field of young leadership skills. It provided her with information on what a young leader with initiative needs to overcome obstacles faced along the way.
“We have acquired many skills and experiences, she said. We have exchanged methods, especially in relation to our activity as volunteers in our national societies, and to the role played by youths therein. The final outcome is that we have learned how to be leaders, which is the main topic of the conference: How to be a leader!”
This was again reiterated by CCM coordinator for the Seminar, Roberta fusacchia, when she said: “The Young Leaders Program is one of the major and effective programs implemented by our institution, through its qualified trainers. It is based on exchanging experiences and skills between Europe and the Arab world.”
“In light of practical activities and training sessions which follow lectures and theoretical presentations, as well as of the interaction witnessed throughout the whole week, our efforts and those of participants had to bear fruits, thus enriching their experience and ours in this area.”
Her thoughts were confirmed by Pietro Giulio Mariani, who said: “This seminar promises to be one of my major contributions outside Italy. I was able to acquire new skills and experiences. I have majorly increased my knowledge which will have a great impact on my work as a young volunteer.”
How to be a leader! The pivotal topic of the youth seminar organized in cooperation between PRCS and CCM, to the benefit of young people who took part in the seven-day event, during which they shared experiences and exchanged skills.
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