UNESCO empowering youth in Gaza through the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) The room is wide and filled with sunlight from the ample glass windows. Several people are standing together, a few feet apart, declaiming in the elegant vibrations of Standard Arabic. Hisses and whistles, long and short vowels intermingle and produce powerful lyrical messages. The melodical sounds fuse with the lazy rays of sunlight, just as the theater actors and actresses melt with the characters they play. Arabic speakers themselves refer to their language as the most eloquent of tongues. And quite accurately, eloquence is one of the key skills in theater acting. But it was not just eloquence that got Reham Fathi Ibrahim Hamad to the theater actress she is today. Hard work, perseverance and tenacity were also necessary to land her dream job. Determined to carve herself a space in Gaza’s theater scene, Reham knows all too well the fruits of her relentless dedication. 

Ramallah, Palestine 20.12.2021. In framework of the support to the Palestinian Cultural Heritage through the project “Local Development through the Rehabilitation and Revitalization of Historic Environment in Palestine” funded by Sweden through Sida; UNESCO and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) joined forces to support museums as repositories for heritage and identity. In light of the role museum’s play in enriching Palestinian human capital, MoTA and UNESCO partnered to establish the first Virtual Museum of Archaeological Objects representing the history and culture of Palestine. The Virtual Museum was established as a response to the challenges imposed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Palestine, and the need for multiple sources of knowledge with reliable scientific materials especially in the time of recurring home confinement to help students and their families in distance learning processes. The Virtual Museum is a platform developed by Palestinian experts with simple tools to facilitate accessibility and foster an understanding of history through archaeology using attractive methods. It comprises a collection of more than 40 digitized magnificent artifacts that were used as tools in people’s daily lives and found during archaeological missions in various locations in Palestine. The Museum also portrays five major historical periods in Palestine through scientific chronological descriptions. The Virtual Museum platform, through its website and mobile phone application, provides an opportunity for students and knowledge-seekers to have an overview of the Palestinian history and related cultural heritage objects from the Paleolithic period until the end of the British Mandate period ended in 1948. This Museum enables the visitor to see a digital copy of the artifacts that corresponds to reality, where he/she can see their shapes, colors, materials by moving and rotating them in different directions thanks to the 3D scanning, read and listen to a brief explanation about them and how they were used in their original environment. UNESCO and MoTA considers this museum and its content as a solid basis and a nucleus of a larger initiative that aims to document and display thousands of Palestinian artifacts for educational and research purposes. Such a Museum will present to the Palestinian youth and general public, treasures found in the land of Palestine and will show how these treasures contributed to the development of human civilization. The project was implemented in partnership between UNESCO National Office for Palestine and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, with financial support from Sweden. The partners would like to express their sincere appreciation for and thanks to all those who contributed to this important and scientific achievement. You are invited to visit the Virtual Museum on: https://virtualmuseum.tourism.ps/  You may watch the User Guide Video on YouTube via this link: https://youtu.be/G3cG3hlHEUM     

The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003 Convention) was adopted in 2003, entered into force in 2006, and at present( December 2021) 180 States ratified it. The main goals of this Convention are to find new ways to speak about (“safeguard”), to valorize, to facilitate transmission and to deal with “traditional culture”, to celebrate cultural diversity and to involve more actors like communities and groups. In 2011, Palestine was admitted to the UNESCO as a Member State, since that time, Palestine has become a party to several UNESCO treaties and cultural conventions. The Palestinian community and institutions have realized the role played by intangible cultural heritage in the social, cultural and economic aspects of life, but also the dangers threatening its viability and continuity, identity and belonging, which made Palestinians aware of the need to fill the gap that exists between the threats they are facing and the possibilities offered by UNESCO treaties and international cooperation instruments in this respect. On 15 December 2021, and during the 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held virtually from UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, the art of embroidery in Palestine, practices, skills, knowledge and rituals has been added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Prior to 1948, embroidery was an important focus in the lives of rural and Bedouins women. Its main canvas was the “thoub’, which was worn both daily and on special occasions. However, Palestinian embroidery is more than just a practical decoration of work of clothes or pieces. It is a connection between stiches and public sphere. The people of Palestine and in diaspora highly welcomed the inclusion of the art of embroidery, as it is considered as a symbol of Palestinian history evolution and identity alike. During the same meeting, on Tuesday 14 December, a shared nomination was put forward by a coalition of 16 Arabic-speaking countries, and upon a positive recommendation from the Evaluation Body, the Arabic Calligraphy: knowledge, Skills and practices has been also inscribed on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage for Humanity. “Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting Arabic script in a fluid manner to convey harmony, grace and beauty”’. ’States parties should develop together networks of communities, experts, centres of expertise and research institutes to develop joint approaches, particularly concerning the elements of intangible cultural heritage they have in common, as well as interdisciplinary approaches’ (ODs, p.86). For Palestine this inscription is considered as a major step towards collaboration and cooperation with other Arab States and respective culture for the calligraphy to be a driver for peace and cultural diplomacy. Intangible cultural heritage (ICH), made up of all manifestations of culture, represents the variety of living heritage of humanity as well as the most important vehicle of cultural diversity. The ICH is represented by the bearers of heritage within the communities, and is considered crucial for the connection of cultural identity. Its viability is a response to the historical and evolution of the communities and groups concerned. Therefore, it is important to safeguard and preserve ICH by constant practicing as a living heritage and using modern technological tools. In this context, it is mandatory to preserve the endangered traditions such as traditional know-how, indigenous knowledge, popular rituals carried out to bring prosperity and socio-economic sustainable development for Palestine.  

"The innovation and commitment of our students makes this story a Success Story.” Engineers Ahmad and Jihad felt a sheer sense of pride as they listened to their students, presenting their innovative work.

Ramallah, 2 December 2021. Within the framework of the project "Increasing TVET Competencies for Youth in the Palestinian Labour Market", supported by the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) and in cooperation with the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), UNESCO Ramallah organized a workshop to introduce the Life and Work Skills Toolbox. The toolbox was developed by UNESCO Beirut Office and contextualized for Palestine under the umbrella of the “Youth Employment in the Mediterranean” project, funded by the European Union previously.  The workshop gathered around 35 participants from the TVET Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ministry of Labour, higher education institutions and experts in order to provide feedback on the developed toolbox.  It was a platform to introduce UNESCO’s approach in building the capacities of youth on different types of skills (technical and life skills) and Green TVET to help them to access the labour market.  In Palestine, there is a gap between the skills of youth acquired during their higher education studies and what is requested by the employers. This is adding to the reasons of high unemployment rates both in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. UNESCO Ramallah is planning to  utilize the revised toolbox to stimulate youth employment and entrepreneurship and to improve the skills relevant to today’s labour market needs.    This contextualized tool will be utilized through conducting training to enhance the missing technical, transversal and digital skills within at least 20 TVET mapped specializations. The trainings for youth will be organized with the line Ministries and private sector to empower the  capacities of youth and to  facilitate their access to the labour market.    

UNESCO Ramallah Office is pleased to announce the contribution to the December 2021 issue of This Week in Palestine magazine under the theme “Promoting Palestinian Tourism Digitally and Virtually”, by publishing an article on the first Palestinian Virual Museum in this issue     The Virtual Museum: In 2019, the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Palestinian National Commission for Education, Culture and Science inaugurated the educational Traveling Museum. It was established with the aim to enhance students’ awareness of Palestinian history and cultural heritage through the presentation of archaeological artifacts that date from the Paleolithic period until the mid-twentieth century. Since the museum was not able to travel during the height of the pandemic, UNESCO Ramallah Office partnered with MoTA and, with generous support from Sweden, worked to present the museum’s objects through a virtual platform that allowed students and the public to visit and interact. You may visit the website of the museum through this link to learn more.