MIFTAH continuously works towards enhancing the leadership role of Palestinian youth and empowering young Palestinians to shoulder responsibilities towards social and political change and to become capable of voicing their rights at the local, national and international levels.

The YEP targets Palestinian youth groups from the different geographical areas in Palestine; West Bank including Jerusalem, Gaza, and youth networks in diaspora presented within the branches of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS).

MIFTAH through YEP also aims at bridging the identity gap among Palestinian youth through enhancing democratic values and social cohesion, increasing youth’s awareness on utilizing platforms for communication and dialogue and supporting them in re-gaining their right to be represented within the PLO and lead the GUPS.

The main pathways of MIFTAH’s Youth Empowerment Program:

1. Research and Advocacy:

MIFTAH organizes international advocacy trips and virtual meetings to share experiences and enhance networking with youth counterparts and parliamentarians at the regional and international levels.

MIFTAH produces research, reports, fact sheets to identify gaps and to share evidences related to youth status within the Palestinian Political System and uses these evidences in producing and publishing documentaries and media materials with focus on youth representations, challenges, interests and demands as means of influencing strategies.

MIFTAH also supports youth in developing and implementing advocacy initiatives targeting different stakeholders. These initiatives help youth groups to make their role visible and their voices heard at the local and national levels.

2. Fostering Dialogue:

MIFTAH provides a safe space for youth to interact, socialize and revive their joint identity as Palestinians in Palestine and in diaspora and to plan for joint actions. This is done through a number of interventions; the organization of summer camps in which different youth groups are included in an open dialogue with stakeholders, policy makers, political leaders and decision makers, conduction of 24-hour weekend-solution workshops to strategize action plans, identifying priorities and actions to promote bridging identity gaps and fostering dialogue with decision makers and political leaders and activists with focus on youth issues and challenges.

3. Capacity Building:

MIFTAH invests in youth through building their capacities in political and civic engagement, leadership, and critical thinking and mobilization skills in order to influence their surroundings. MIFTAH organizes comprehensive capacity building workshops aiming at providing youth with new analytical tools, leadership and advocacy mechanisms, in order to take the initiative in mobilizing and taking action in influencing the social structures and combating social ills/ fault lines.