Bethlehem/PNN/ 

Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society has launched the Youth Forum for Human Rights Defenders across several West Bank camps, as part of its ongoing efforts to empower Palestinian youth and raise awareness of human rights within these communities. The training program in the northern camps included Tulkarem, Jenin, Nur Shams, and Balata, while the southern camps covered Bethlehem: Dheisheh, Beit Jibrin, and Aida.

The forum’s activities included brainstorming sessions on advocacy and lobbying strategies, alongside specialized workshops on youth legal clinics and approaches to addressing gender-based violence within the Palestinian political context. The forum also introduced the core framework for the legal clinics and provided a comprehensive methodology for young human rights defenders, aiming to strengthen their capacity to protect rights and actively participate in civil society.

To further enhance advocacy skills, the society organized a dedicated rights webinar for youth, featuring Dr. Ramzi Odeh, a Palestinian writer and researcher and Secretary-General of the International Academic Campaign Against Occupation and Apartheid. The webinar focused on the importance of advocacy and lobbying in securing Palestinian rights and addressed responses to human rights violations, including ongoing aggression and forced displacement.

Commenting on the initiative, Alrowwad’s Executive Director, Ribal AlKurdi, said:
“At Alrowwad, we believe that youth are the backbone of any society capable of change. This forum was designed as a platform to develop their skills and enhance their human rights awareness. We aim to equip young people with the necessary tools for legal and social advocacy, and to confront the challenges related to violence and discrimination, within the complex political context of the West Bank.”

AlKurdi added: “The launch of the legal clinics and the training methodology accompanying the forum, along with the rights webinar, represents a crucial step toward empowering youth and creating a safe environment where they can express their ideas and actively participate in defending the rights of their communities.”

Alrowwad continues to promote education, support human rights, and contribute to building a youth-driven society capable of addressing social and political challenges through training, awareness, and hands-on rights-based work.