Based upon the evaluation of July 2011 with the target group and the beneficiaries of YEAP it was concluded: that the new training methodology that BADIL planned and launched with its partner CBOs in January 2011, showed an increased awareness and engagement of youth in their communities; that there was an increase in the capacity of youth on a variety of levels; that it was necessary to increase the scope of the beneficiaries by engaging more CBOs inside and outside Palestine. Subsequently for the implementation of YEAP 2012 BADIL will implement 5 different actions with 24 different CBOs (5 in Gaza, 15 in northern, southern, and central West Bank, 4 in Syria and Lebanon).

First Initiative of the YEAP: United in Confronting Israeli Apartheid

The first action of the YEAP was implemented in partnership with Lajee Center and the Phoenix Charitable Society and in cooperation with many civil society organizations from 10-23 March. The initiative included 5 activities and aimed at raising awareness of the local community about the implication of the Israeli regime of Apartheid, colonialism and occupation. BADIL dealt with the commemoration of Israeli Apartheid Week as an opportunity to educate participants, especially children and youth on human rights in particular on the values/principles of human dignity, equality, and non-discrimination.    The program of activities included the following:

·        10 March-BADIL presented a lecture and discussion to the Youth Parliament of Beit Jala’s Public Girls School.

·        13 March-In commemoration of Israeli Apartheid Week, BADIL hosted the first screening to a Palestinian audience of the documentary film “Roadmap to Apartheid” by directors Ana Nogueira and Eron Davidson at Dar Annadwa Theatre.

·        14 March-In commemoration of Israeli Apartheids Week, BADIL presented a lecture and discussion regarding the Israeli regime of Apartheid at Bethlehem University.  Press Release for both events can be found at: http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3470-press-eng-10

·        23 March-In commemoration of Israeli apartheid Week, BADIL hosted the children’s entertainer Roni Rock at Aida Refugee Camp. http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3481-press-eng-14

·        15 March-BADIL facilitated a second screening of the documentary film “Roadmap to Apartheid at the Alternative Information Center in Beit Sahour.

·        16 March-BADIL implemented another workshop to refugee youth (ages 15-17) of Aida and Dheisheh Refugee Camps at the Phoenix Charitable Society to raise awareness regarding Israeli Apartheid and human rights  http://www.badil.org/ar/press-releases/143-2012/3474-press-ara-10

 Second Initiative of the YEAP: On the Occasion of Land Day-Stop the JNF Campaign

The second action of the YEAP was implemented on the occasion of Land Day 30 March 2012 in cooperation with a multitude of community-based organizations.  The initiative comprised a march and tree planting in areas adjacent to Cremisan Monastery which are threatened by the Apartheid Wall and the Greater Jerusalem Program under implementation by the Israeli government to confiscate more Palestinian lands.  Similar activities were implemented in Gaza Strip by BADIL’s partner organizations.

 See: http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3486-press-eng-15

 Building consensus about a rights-based strategy is a huge task which requires the participation of a large number of actors, in particular experienced activists and opinion leaders among the Palestinian and non-Palestinian people in the oPt, Israel and abroad. Therefore BADIL has in the first quarter of 2012 invested more efforts to maintain and enhance the progress made in 2011. 

BADIL-Zochrot Joint Action: From 1-10 February, 2012 BADIL and Zochrot undertook an intensive study mission to Cape Town, South Africa. The mission was carried out as part of a broader joint project of examining the practicalities of the implementation of the right of return of the Palestinian refugees and internally displaced by using the lessons learned and experiences gained in post-Apartheid South Africa. Seventeen participants from BADIL and Zochrot participated in the mission and will be developing a practical plan of return, the main output of the initiative to contribute to a larger more detailed program of reparation. http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3446-press-eng-4

Establishment of the Civil Society Activists Forum (CSAF): The acknowledgement and formal identification of the CSAF within the Strategy Forum with the aim of increasing the engagement and participation.  It includes 30 activists (15 male and 15 female) from ages 25-35 mainly from local refugee camps, refugees and IDP communities in the oPt and inside the Green Line to be community leaders and local rights defenders. The aim of forming this group is to engage activists in the strategy debates about the rights-based vision and the root causes of the conflict. The forum will implement 5 workshops throughout the year using the rights-based strategy based upon the root causes of the Palestinian Israeli conflict.  It will be supported by BADIL to encourage the implementation of popular initiatives whose themes are grounded in the historical and cultural Palestinian events that have shaped Palestinian identity (Nakba, World Refugee Day, anniversary of UN Resolution 194). 

  Academic Activists Training: BADIL continues to provide the course “Palestinian Refugees under International Law” at Al-Quds University with 49 students enrolled in the 2012 fall semester.

Establishment of the Local Refugee Youth Network (LRYN):

iis a flexible body built upon the success of the 2011 Intensive Leadership Training Summer School. The participants consist of the 2011 graduates (42 youth). Through the creation and activation of this network, BADIL and the participants will conduct 5 initiatives culminating in the final central initiative, the practical training tour. The main focus of the five activities will be on the methodology of engagement such as debates and discussions on a local level. The practical training tour, which will take place on local and regional levels, is a progressive extension of the 2011 summer school. The local tour will provide hands on training and experience while the benefits of a regional tour utilizing the most active and competent youth will be to network with refugee communities in the Shatat/Diaspora such as Lebanon or Syria. The LRYN held its first meeting on 8 March 2012.http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3464-press-en-09

2012 is the 6^th consecutive year that BADIL will implement the annual Al Awda Award. BADIL has modified the award program in 2012 with regard to the procedure, conditions, categories and prizes. These developments and changes are based on BADIL’s annual plan which is aiming to strengthen programs and projects in order to promote the principles of a rights-based approach to the plight of Palestinian refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, and at promoting a creative public discourse about the ongoing Nakba (displacement) of Palestinians over 63 years. In addition, the modifications are a result of responses to feedback from stakeholders including beneficiaries and participants in the previous award competition to provide a diverse range of expression, an increased foundation of impact and to entice not only amateur artists to participate but also professionals.
Instead of organizing a one day award ceremony, BADIL has divided the prize ceremony into three continuous phases-to symbolize the ongoing Nakba-each one ending with a national public event. This methodology was selected in order to activate and strengthen the overall efforts and common popular activities throughout the year. By such distribution, BADIL hopes to ensure and increase the opportunities for participation, quality and variety of the entries, expression of human rights values and principles, as well as to raise the level of interaction and fruitful results.

Consequently, the project has been divided into 3 stages with each stage ending in an award ceremony for those categories with popular initiatives commemorating Palestinian heritage throughout the year.  The dates selected correspond to significant historical Palestinian events. http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/138-2011/3320-press-ara-31

The first phase of submissions for the award ended 30 March 2012 which encompassed the Best Nakba Poster category and Best Photographic Story category (for youth under 18 years old).