Last week, Tishreen launched the first phase of its project ” Empowering Youth Academic Activists”    with a training program for three academic groups in the Triangle region. The project aims to provide this primary target group of young academic university students with a framework that enables them to organize, and empowers them to translate their skills and desire for change, into successful work plans.

With the guidance of an organizational consultant, the groups will firstly undergo a series of workshops intended to enable them to develop a clear vision, achievable goals along with specific and measurable objectives for the following academic year. More so, the groups will be equipped with tools necessary for community organizing and mobilizing.

In addition to organizing the work of each group individually, the project also aims to build a shared platform from which these groups can define a collective vision, and are able to exchange experiences through a regional academic forum. Up to date, the training workshops have been initiated with groups from Taibeh, Qalansuwa, and Zemmer, with plans to expand the outreach of the empowerment project to groups across the Triangle region.

Most students, having experienced university and urban life, return to their towns and find that the town is not equipped to meet their personal, professional and social needs, nor does it offer the kind of lifestyle they want or expect. On the municipal level, there is little awareness of the specific needs of this group and even less of an interest in appropriately addressing their needs. Furthermore, the needs of Palestinian Arab communities in the Triangle are profound – including rampant violence, crime, endemic poverty and unemployment – educated and motivated young adults struggle to find opportunities to translate their skills and goodwill into activism.  Thus, this precious resource is wasted.

The need for community organizing and support, is not only beneficial for the young academics. This process also benefits high school students about to graduate, as Arab towns lack organizational resources for high school students seeking to continue on to higher education.

Consistent with our vision of seeking to empower and promote a society which is socially concerned and involved, this project intends to increase the capacity and promote the development of young social activists from our community who will serve as change agents. These youth academic groups provide a non-political platform for personal and collective growth and development through leadership training and joint action, allowing members to leverage their education for change in social discourse.