An-Najah National University in our International Summer work camp “Rays of Justice”

May 28th to June 11th , 2011. 

This program has been designed to bring 40 individuals from around the world to Palestine in order to foster relationships, exchange skills and ideas, and progress cultural exchange in an academic setting.

Rays of justiceis one of Zajel's promising projects. This year it will offer the opportunity for international volunteers to attend carefully selected lectures by remarkable educators about different fields and issues, in addition to working with Palestinian university students and peers in different fields of professionally-needed skills.

The international summer camp will bring together people from around the world who are interested in experiencing the unique place and people in Palestine. Our goal is to host volunteers interested in the Middle East question, from above all, while Palestine may seem daunting, it is also a highly rewarding environment to study firsthand. We strongly encourage motivated and serious men and women to apply.

The daily program of the international summer camp consists of daily voluntary work at the campus delivered by international volunteers to local students on the topics mentioned in the link provided below. In return, the internationals will be involved in workshops that are administered by professors from our University on the Middle East issues that are of interest to them.

For more information, please visit our summer program webpage at:

http://youth.zajel.org/summer_camps/camp2011-rays-of-justice.htm
For the information packet and application form for the summer camp please contact us at: placement@najah.edu andzajel.camp@gmail.com
It would be our pleasure to host you in Palestine and we look forward to future correspondence.

2011 Summer Public Service Program in Palestine

Inspire DreamsAn opportunity to work in Palestine this summer with a non-profit started by Georgetown alums! The application deadline is February 28th.

Inspire Dreams is excited to announce our second Summer Public Service Program in Palestine. The program will take place from June 3rd 2011 to July 28, 2011.

For the application, program requirements, a detailed description of the program and more information, please click here.

Please consider applying and passing on the application to anyone you think may be interested.  It's a great opportunity to delve into work in Palestine. 

The Summer Public Service Program aims to increase cultural awareness by immersing college  students from American universities in the day-to-day life of Palestinians, specifically those in refugee camps. This is just as much a cultural exchange program as it is a skills sharing one for summer volunteers. We encourage you to explore our website and Facebook page to learn more  about the work we do. Our Youtube page has a half hour documentary on Inspire Dreams’ work  which includes interviews with refugee youth that have participated in our programs, and can give you a good introduction to the work we do.

Watch a short video of last summer's volunteers talk about their experience. 

We hope you join us for an unforgettable experience and summer in Palestine!

The Inspire Dreams Team

http://www.inspiredreamstoday.org/

Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube

Interfaith Peace-Builders

 was founded in 2001 and became an independent organization in 2006. Interfaith Peace-Builders is not affiliated with any government, political party, or special interest group. It is funded through individual donations and foundations.

Interfaith Peace-Builders fosters a network of informed and active individuals who understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the United States’ political, military, and economic role in it. To build and nurture such a network, we lead delegations of people from diverse backgrounds to Israel/Palestine. These delegations emphasize listening to and learning from those immersed in the reality of the conflict, and advancing the work of Israelis and Palestinians committed to nonviolent struggle and peace with justice. We seek to empower delegates to educate their local communities and the media, counter unfair or inaccurate stereotypes, and advocate for a more just US foreign policy that:

• actively promotes civil, political and human rights
• affirms political self-determination for Palestinians and Israelis
• fosters economic and environmental sustainability in the region
• supports a diplomatic resolution to the conflict rather than one imposed by force of arms.

Interfaith Peace-Builders’ Delegation Program presents alternative images of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; images that reach deeper and give a more complete picture. IFPB privileges diverse voices that are not often heard in the United States. Voices of Israelis and Palestinians engaged in nonviolent resistance to an illegal occupation; images of cooperation, of healing, of caring, of hope and possibility. Images such as these help break the paralysis and inform us about the possibilities for a real peace. IFPB’s on-the-ground experience is designed to enrich participants’ understanding of the occupation. Participants on Interfaith Peace-Builders delegations return to North America energized and transformed.

Each IFPB delegation itinerary is unique; however many themes are regular features of our program. A typical delegation will feature meetings with some of the following people and organizations. Links to some organizations are provided below to learn more. Please note: these links are informational only, and do not necessarily constitute the endorsement of Interfaith Peace-Builders.

Interfaith Peace-Builders works hard to keep delegation costs as low as possible. Our commitment to the Palestinian Code of Conduct for Tourism in the Holy Land means that we always pay a fair price for services offered during a delegation. Indeed, there are few programs that offer more for less. Click here to see what makes an IFPB delegation unique.

Ground Fee

The ground fee cost for the 2010 and 2011 delegations is $2100.

This cost includes almost everything for the 13 days of the delegation, including:

• orientation in Washington, DC
• hotel and home stay accommodations
• breakfasts and dinners
• local transportation
• speaker and event fees, including honararia to Palestinian and Israeli presenters
• a professional local guide + two delegations leaders from the US
• basic tips for guide, driver, and hotel staff

The only things on the ground in Israel/Palestine that the delegation ground fee does not cover are: (1) lunches; (2) souvenirs and gifts you wish to buy; and (3) extra tips if you'd like to add to the base tip for driver and guide.

Budget around $10 per day for lunch. Use your own judgment for what you will need for gifts and extras. While we give a group tip to our guide and driver at the end of the journey, we encourage additional tips if you are pleased with their work.

**The price of the Olive Harvest delegation is $100 more ($2200 total) than our other delegations because of the extra transportation and event cost incurred in getting to sites where we can learn more about issues facing olive growers and farmers.

Airfare

The ground fee does not include domestic and international airfare.

Scholarships

Part of the mission of Interfaith Peace-Builders is to send as many people as possible to Israel/Palestine. In keeping with this mission we have a small fund for scholarship matching grants - money that we can contribute to delegate expenses to help with the cost of the delegation. We also have a fundraising packet to help prospective delegates raise money to cover their delegation expenses.

Scholarships: Interfaith Peace-Builders often has limited scholarship money to help with delegation expenses. In granting scholarship money, IFPB prioritizes those who would not otherwise be able to join. We also make scholarship money available to people who diversify our delegations and broaden education and advocacy work in the US. We strive to organize delegations diverse in age, gender, sexual orientation, class, ethnic identity, religious belief, and racial background. Scholarships generally range between $250-$500 per person. To apply, we have a one-page supplement to our regular application.

**Scholarship Opportunity for Summer 2011 Delegations**

Interfaith Peace-Builders is pleased to offer up to TWO $1000 Scholarships for students and young adults (ages 18-30) towards the ground fee of our May or July 2011 delegations.

Volunteer with Unipal!

Unipal (A Universities’ Trust for Educational Exchange with Palestinians) seeks to facilitate a two-way process of education; providing English-language teaching in Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon and introducing British students to a knowledge and understanding of the situation and daily lives of refugees.

Unipal...

sends volunteers to the Middle East to work with Palestinians on a short-term basis in the summer, to teach English or to take part in other activities as needed
brings Palestinian teachers of English to Britain in order to study language courses and refresh their language by living with British families
in the past has had long term volunteers teaching students and adults in need of better English.

Volunteer!

Volunteers should be native English speakers, living in the UK and must be 20+ on January 1st in the year in which they volunteer. There is no upper age limit but it is very demanding work in a hot climate, so you need to be fit.

If you would like to speak with a previous volunteer before applying, please email your contact details to: volunteers@unipal.org.uk.

For more information click here.

Sharek Youth Forum is Looking for Volunteers!

A leading Palestinian youth organization with the primary goal of creating the space and capacity for youth to engage as active participants in all sectors of civil society and to participate in the development of local communities. Originally launched as a program of the UNDP in 1996, Sharek became an independent NGO in 2004. As a youth organization for youth, run by youth, Sharek tackles development issues from a unique perspective which directly reflects youth needs and visions.

Sharek’s work includes economic empowerment initiatives, providing services to connect youth mentors with underserved children to ensure the realization of children’s right to play and provide complimentary education services; building capacities of other youth organizations, especially small community based youth organizations; and arming youth with knowledge of their human rights and the capacity to articulate, effectively communicate, and persuasively advocate for change on the issues that most affect them, as active individuals and engaged citizens in the process of building a culture of reciprocal respect and democracy in Palestine. Sharek designs and carries out its youth development programs with hundreds of motivated youth volunteers involved in project design and implementation.

Step Forward: the Center for Youth Economic Empowerment
http://www.stepforward.ps/

With 4 years of experience implementing careers and business services for youth, Sharek Youth Forum decided in 2009 to target its efforts into a new center focusing on economic empowerment: Step Forward. The center is now leading the way in addressing key challenges set out by Sharek Youth Forum in its August 2009 white paper: a Youth Employment Action Plan (see http://www.stepforward.ps/en/knowledge/yeap/). Step Forward’s strategy is to develop knowledge and advocacy as fundamental building blocks upon which high quality services can be provided. It aims to get all Palestinian youth actively participating in the economy.

Based on this strategy, Step Forward works on three programmes: School-to-Work, Youth Enterprise and Welcomed to Work. Each works on research, advocacy and services to address the challenges faced by youth trying to become economically active. School-to-Work addresses the gap between education and employment. Youth Enterprise addresses the barriers to youth establishing micro and small businesses. Welcomed to Work addresses particular issues facing marginalized groups.
 
Programme Information
Target Group Young people (21-25) with an interest in working with Palestinian youth in the field of economic empowerment and with a skill or experience to contribute.

Programme Structure

Length of Internship 3-6 months
Start Dates 01/07/2010; 15/09/2010; 01/01/2011; 01/04/2011
Costs No fee is currently applied; you will require approximately $400 per month to cover rent and living costs
Benefits Work-related West Bank travel expenses are paid

Fields of Work (2010-11)
Office-based:

• A1 Research & reporting
• A2 Resource development
• A3 Training (including English teaching)
• A4 Website Development
• A5 Fundraising & PR

Field-based:*

• B1 Field research
• B2 Business coaching
• B3 Training

* requires excellent spoken Palestinian Arabic Notes

You can select up to three fields of work and work on up to two during your internship. If you complete your work early, you can select a new fields of work You must commit to the work and normally you would be expected to work full-time. Part-time arrangements are possible. If you have an idea for a placement, please let us know by submitting your proposal using the same approach as below.

Applications Applicants should complete the associated application form and return it to maha.smoom@sharek.ps at least 1 month before their proposed start-date. Following the application, a skype interview will be arranged.

 
Please visit the Sharek website to download an information packet with detailed information and an application.
Thanks Kasia for bringing this to our attention!