YWCA Palestine holds the Second National Conference on UNSCR 2250
Ramallah - The YWCA of Palestine organized on Saturday, November 12,
2022, in Ramallah, the second national conference "United Nation Security
Council Resolution 2250" on youth, peace and security, in partnership with
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Y Sweden.
The conference, which was held under
the auspices of Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh, under the slogan
"Palestinian youth deserve freedom and just peace", brought together decision
makers, including ministers, officials, and representatives of UN and
international institutions, with more than two hundred young people, to discuss
the reality of Palestinian youth in light of various political, economic and
social challenges.
The first session included a discussion about the reality
of Palestinian youth under occupation, facilitated by the human rights
activist, Lamia Shalalda. The session dealt with the difficult
political, economic, social and living conditions experienced by Palestinian
youth, which reduce their chances of integration and participation in society
and in decision-making processes.
The second session of the conference discussed a draft
general policy paper presented by the YWCA of Palestine, entitled “Creating an enabling environment for Palestinian youth to
lead for the future.” Prepared by researcher Hassan Mahareq, the
paper dealt with a specialized analysis of the reality of empowering
Palestinian youth, as an entry point for enhancing political and civil
participation, and leadership in production sectors in Palestine, based on a
review of national policies concerned with youth, and their connection to
international agreements and resolutions related to youth, especially UNSCR 2250.
The third session of the conference was entitled
"Palestinian Youth Understanding and their Practice of UNSCR 2250 in the
Field" and was facilitated by Ms. Sereen Hoso, Program Director at the YWCA of Palestine, where she focused at the
opening of the session on the importance of supporting economic and social
leadership projects for young people and the importance of empowering them
economically to provide a resource or income that helps them stabilize and
perhaps create opportunities for their peers, and the importance of this vision
in the union's strategy and programs.
Recommendations:
1- Formation of a
national coalition to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2250 with the
participation of youth, along with relevant ministries, government institutions
and civil society institutions, in order to intensify and combine all efforts
to reach comprehensive and just laws for the rights and capabilities of youth.
2-
Assigning a committee comprised of the
Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and
Empowerment and the Ministry of Labor (Employment Fund) to promote cooperation
and networking between the three government parties; monitoring market needs;
offering suggestions on how to correlate education outputs with the market;
opening new areas of entrepreneurship for graduates.
3- The Higher
Council for Youth and Sports must shoulder its responsibility in overseeing
sectoral plans for the empowerment and development of youth skills; follow-up
on the implementation of policies by the relevant parties; achieving actual and
measurable outputs.
4- Securing the
necessary financial resources to empower the entrepreneurship ministry to carry
out its duties, especially in creating spaces in the Palestinian market for
creative and leadership ideas; strengthening cooperation with the private
sector in developing the infrastructure for these projects; drawing on the
experiences of other countries, especially Rwanda and Estonia, given the
similarities with their poor infrastructure in the fields of IT and
entrepreneurship projects. These two countries were able to create thousands of
jobs in the youth sector.
5- Providing the
necessary government budgets for scientific research in the fields of IT and
digital solutions; taking steps towards applied research in a way that will
allow entrepreneurs to implement their
research results and improve production and quality of their solutions and
services, locally and internationally.
6- Networking
with international partners to exchange expertise in the field of
entrepreneurship; increasing cooperation with external markets and providing
opportunities for youth to present their initiatives at international expos;
connecting them with funders and global business incubators.
7- Take
legislative and policy measures aimed at ensuring the participation of youth in
the decision-making process, at least 30% in various locations.
8- Continue to
build on this conference to contribute to raising awareness among Palestinian
youth about UN Security Council Resolution 2250, which enhances the role of
youth in peace and security, and the challenges of its implementation in the context
of the Israeli military occupation and difficult living conditions.
9- Encourage the
process of supporting young Palestinian leaders to become active and positive
agents of change in their societies by involving youth in decision-making
positions and mechanisms