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LESSON

Lesson Learned: Youth local councils for civic engagement and social change in Palestine

The young people in Palestine were very aware that they cannot continue to serve as youth councillors past the age limit set by the project (16 – 22 years) but have clear ideas of how they can both support younger people taking on the youth councillor role and also continue to participate as trainers and mentors.
Project Partner
Almawrid Teacher Development Centre
Project Description
The project focused on the creation of Youth Local Councils (YLC) in six villages in the West Bank – two in the north, two in the central area and two further south. All the young people in these villages were mobilized to register to vote in the YLC elections and underwent training in citizenship, democracy and electoral processes. Families, municipal councils, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community members were involved in the campaign meetings or in overseeing the elections. The YLCs then received further training in the skills they would need in order to ‘govern’ effectively: negotiation, leadership, conducting meetings, fundraising, strategic planning and community action. They consulted with their youth constituents, the municipal council and community members, to devise a plan of action to contribute to their communities’ needs, and subsequently undertook a wide range of cultural and social activities, ranging from computer classes for other young people to the painting and renovation of school buildings.
Evaluation Date
December 2013
Country