YWCA Palestine organizes a webinar on the occasion of International Youth Day 2024
YWCA
Palestine organized a webinar on the occasion of International Youth Day 2024,
“From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development.”
The
webinar focused on digital advocacy and digital rights for youth in Palestine,
especially young women, and mechanisms for benefiting from digital platforms in
mobilizing and advocating for humanitarian and human rights issues.
“We
believe in the role of youth, especially young women, in digital innovation to
face challenges and difficult political, economic, and social circumstances,”
Vera Bano, YWCA Palestine board member and president of YWCA Jericho, stated.
“We
support community youth initiatives through several projects that had a
positive impact on society, as they promoted digital inclusion, confronted
cyber blackmail, and engaged in digital advocacy for national, social, and
human rights issues that concern women and young women in Palestine." She
added.
Monica
Aziz, Technical Programme Manager in the Middle East and North Africa for the
Young Women for Awareness, Agency, Advocacy, and Accountability YW4A programme,
a World YWCA initiative, emphasized the importance of digital safe spaces to
empower and amplify youth voices and participate in advocacy campaigns to
influence public opinion locally and globally, in addition to its importance in
psychological support through communicating with others and exchanging
experiences.
Athar
Zaghal, from the Youth Program at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),
affirmed the strategic partnership with YWCA Palestine, especially in the
establishment of the She Leads Academy, which aims to empower young women by
enhancing their leadership skills, stressing the importance of utilizing
digital tools to push towards positive change in Palestinian society and
achieve sustainable development goals.
Aisha
Obaidullah, a young woman from She Leads Academy, spoke on behalf of the young
leaders, reviewing the reality of Palestinian youth in the current
circumstances, as well as the increase in unemployment rates, citing her
experience in the Academy, which helped her become more aware of many issues at
both personal and professional levels and improved her skills.
Muhannad
Al-Qaisi, the Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI) Director, provided an overview of
the initiative, which was founded by YWCA Palestine and YMCA East Jerusalem to
advocate for just peace through various advocacy campaigns and instruments.
Jalal
Abukhater, Advocacy Manager at 7amleh-The Arab Center for the Advancement of
Social Media, discussed how to leverage digital development and the spread of
social media platforms to mobilize and advocate for national, human rights, and
social issues in Palestine, as well as the challenges of digital rights in
Palestine.