Short-term (2 to 4 weeks) "arts project" project in Palestine

Ramallah / Al-Amari Refugee camp

IPYL + Palestinian society for Peace & Development

Our projects seek to bring young people of various cultures together to build bridges of understanding, reconciliation, and peace. The long-term goal of project is to prepare youth to make positive contributions to their future and society through the values of understanding, helping, contributing tolerance, and respectful coexistence. These goals are achieved through education –awareness reaction, youth empowerment and work camps.

The work camps will be a challenging two weeks each. The participants will have the chance to discuss relevant issues in the world and particularly Palestine. They will visit historically significant sites and refugee camps, and create a positive and real impact in our community through a variety of activities related to Social Youth Development. Living and working together in a refugee camp in Ramallah, the participants will gain a better understanding of themselves, Palestinian social/political questions, the world around them and the continuing Palestinian struggle for freedom.

The work camp will be a place where people of all races, ideologies, and nationalities live and work together on a project organized by a local host for two weeks. The work camp will consist of 30 international participants, who volunteer, socialize and work with the local volunteers. The international summer work camp is run by young people for young people.

International Palestinian Youth League (IPYL):IPYL aims to empower Palestinian youth through non-formal educational programs, intercultural learning, training, media literacy and youth leadership activities. Since its inception, IPYL has implemented hundreds of activities, including international voluntary Workcamps, exchanges, cross-cultural study trips, leadership seminars, think tank groups and community meetings. By undertaking these activities, IPYL has developed strong alliances with a wide network of individuals and organizations. IPYL is running this work camp, for the first time, in partnership with the Palestinian Society for Peace and Development (Al-Amari Refugee Camp- in Ramallah city 12 Km north of Jerusalem).

For more information about IPYL, please visit www.ipyl.org

Since its establishment in 1998, in Al-Amari refugee camp, our organization was focusing on the situation of the Palestinian refugees and their right of return and on developing their living circumstances and conditions. Since the inception of our organization we had a goal to draw smiles and bring hope to those whom were deprived from it by destiny and circumstances surrounding them not allowing them to enjoy normal life. Our society developed programs in various fields and directions, despite the very limited financial resources.

Our objectives are...

- Community Development.
- Embracing and incubating talents and capabilities of refugee kids.
- Medical care for refugees inside the camp.
- Awareness raising sessions and guidance in different topics.
- Rehabilitation and training of the disabled refugee children.
- Integration and inclusion of the disabled in the community.
- Twining with societies, refugee camps and cities, in both the Arab and foreign worlds.

There are a number of different forms of work that volunteers can participate in, which will be based in Al-Amari refugee camp in the city of Ramallah. The work program has been designed to best suit the needs of the people (Kids) living in such hard places, as well as to effectively utilise the talents we anticipate volunteers will bring from abroad. The work will be divided into different sessions such as
Farming; Painting; Art; Working with the Disabled; Music; Sport.

A more detailed program will be sent one month before the camp starts.

The afternoon will be used to give volunteers an inter-cultural learning experience, with a focus on showing the international volunteers Palestinian culture within the context of the occupation and hopes for the future. This will involve different visits in the refugee camp, tours to interesting sites, lectures, and most importantly interaction with the local people on daily basis.

Among the several places the volunteers will be visit the apartheid wall, some community centers for women/children and some NGOs that are active in socio-political fields in Palestine.
Special tours to villages and towns around the area will be organized. In addition to that, the volunteers will be watching documentaries about Palestine and the Palestinian issue and politics.

200 Euros to be paid to IPYL.