Round table discussion at MIFTAH on youth document and priorities for working with various sectors
By MIFTAH
September 20, 2017

On August 22, MIFTAH completed a series of roundtable meetings with youth organizations from various parts of the country.

The participants discussed the publication of a public policy paper that includes the most important points which youth organizations, in cooperation with the Higher Council for Youth and Sports Council, seek to implement. The main points of the policy paper are as follows: adopting the political youth document as a general framework for implementing the youth program, especially since the document expresses the youths’ vision for boosting their capabilities and encouraging their social and political participation.

The attendees also discussed galvanizing the General Union of Palestine Students through enabling student union councils in Palestinian universities to represent their councils in the General Union. This, they said, would be the first step in restoring youth representation in PLO institutions. It would also place special attention on Jerusalem’s youth in light of the difficult circumstances they live under, in addition to highlighting the experience of the city’s youth during the recent Aqsa events as an inspiring example of resistance.

At the end of the meeting, participants recommended that the Higher Youth and Sports Council adopt the policy paper, which specifies the priorities for promoting political and civil participation of the youth sector. They reconfirmed the role of institutions in empowering and raising the awareness of student union councils to their leadership role in student movements, which embrace the lion’s share of Palestinian youth. They stressed on the need to integrate youth in the various fields and upgrade their representation in civil society institutions and public institutions, pointing out that GUPS is the best means for achieving the broadest possible youth participation within the PLO framework.

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