Youth 4 Change

 

Areas: Northern & Central West Bank and Gaza Strip

 

The ‘Youth 4 Change’ project allocates special attention to the invisibility of Palestinian youngsters and encourages them to voice their concerns relating to issues they consider important and thus contribute to effective democracy in Palestinian society. Although around 60 percent of the Palestinian population is made up of children and youth, it is the harsh political situation that receives the largest amount of attention from local and international media, leaving young Palestinians marginalized and distant from the main picture except when it comes to the activism efforts in which some have engaged as a result of the Intifada. One result of this is that the generally politicized and nationalistic atmosphere, which, amongst other things, has resulted in a constant emergency situation, has unintentionally silenced the younger members of the Palestinian society by not providing a direct vessel through which they can democratically express their own concerns and expectations regarding their nation and their role as active members in it. Although it is clear that Palestinian youth are taking up an important place in the political movement of their people on the streets and resistance fronts, it is the chaotic and often undemocratic nature of this movement that limits their understanding of what their role as citizens is beyond the Intifada.