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Youth
Education
and
Activation
Project |
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‘United in Confronting
Israeli Apartheid’, ‘On
the Occasion of Land
Day-Stop the JNF
Campaign’ and ‘Return is
our Right and our
Destiny’ (for the
Nakba-64 Commemoration)
are three YEAP
initiatives which were
implemented in the first
quarter of 2012 with the
participation of youth
from 24 different
Community Based
Organizations (CBOs): 6
in Gaza, 15 in the West
Bank and 3 inside the
Green Line.
Third Initiative of the
YEAP: Nakba-64
Commemoration
14 May
– BADIL’s partner
CBO in Khan Younis
Refugee Camp of Gaza
organized a march and a
memorandum submission to
the General Secretary of
UNRWA, calling for the
implementation of UNGA
Res. 194.
15 May
– BADIL
facilitated the
participation of
hundreds of youth in the
Nakba-64 commemoration
events in Ramallah,
which were organized by
the Department of
Refugee Affairs at the
PLO and the National
Committee for the
Commemoration of the
Nakba.
See:
http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3517-press-eng-23
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BADIL
– Zochrot Joint Action:
The second section
of the 49th issue of al-majdal,
titled “Thinking
Practically about
Return”, is dedicated to
creating a vision of
return which utilizes
lessons learned from the
BADIL-Zochrot mission to
South Africa during the
first quarter of 2012.
Four papers are
published in the second
section of al-majdal:
The BADIL-Zochrot Study
Visit to Cape Town-An
Introduction; Working
towards Return;
Reparations; and Visions
for a New State.
Civil Society
Activists Forum (CSAF):
The first meeting of the
CSAF was held on 15
June. The topics
discussed in the first
meeting included the
expectations of both the
participants and the
BADIL staff, the
proposed strategy,
action plan and
framework for the forum,
as well as the
communication mechanisms
and potential activities
of the forum. The second
meeting and activity of
The CSAF will be
organized in August.
Academic Activists
Training:
Forty-eight Al-Quds
University students
enrolled and graduated
from the course
“Palestinian Refugees
under International Law”
offered by BADIL. In
addition, two former
graduates of this course
wrote their bachelor’s
theses on a topic
related to the
Palestinian refugee
problem with the
guidance and support of
BADIL.
Local Youth Refugee
Network (LYRN): LRYN
and BADIL conducted an
in-depth mid-year
evaluation session on 14
June to assess progress,
successes and failures
of the newly established
LYRN. The topics
discussed included
improving the
communication mechanisms
and increasing the
engagement of the
members with each other
and with BADIL.
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Al Awda
Award
Competition |
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The
first phase of
submissions for the
award ended 30 March
which encompassed the
Best Nakba Poster
category and Best
Photographic Story
category. The second
phase encompassed the
Best Caricature and Best
Photography (less than
18 years) for the World
Refugee Day. The
deadline for the second
phase was 15 June.
Winners in both phases
were honoured on 5 July
during the Palestine’s
First World Refugee Day
Commemoration Event
which took place in the
Nativity
Square/Bethlehem (Please
see separate item on
this event below). |
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Ongoing
Nakba
Multimedia
Project |
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Ongoing Nakba
Education Center (ONEC):
On 10 May BADIL
inaugurated its
Ongoing Nakba
Education Center.
This event also
signaled the start
of the Nakba-64
Commemoration
activities. The
launch of the Center
was attended by
dozens
representatives of
civil society
organizations who
pledged their
support for feeding
this ever-evolving
and ever-expanding
project. An article
in Al-Jazeera
English stated that
“the ONEC has the
advantage of
standing out from a
host of NGO-based
projects.”[1]
The ONEC attempts to
consolidate
information
regarding past and
present ethnic
cleansing of the
Palestinian
population. This is
achieved through an
accurate, personal
and user-friendly
format, utilizing a
plethora of
multimedia tools
based on the
interactive map of
historic Palestine.
The website relies
heavily on
confirmed, firsthand
testimonies and
contributions from
forcibly displaced
Palestinians,
regardless of their
current place of
residence, or time
of their
displacement.
See:
http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3511-press-eng-21
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BADIL
staff participated in 14
radio, TV and newspaper
interviews contributing
to approximately 206
minutes of air time
regarding topics such as
the Al Awda Award
Competition 2012,
Nakba-64 Commemoration,
the Kirk Amendment,
BADIL publications and
activities and
Palestinian refugee
rights as they relate to
international law.
BADIL released 8 English
language and 11 Arabic
language press releases
surrounding its
activities and
initiatives in the
second quarter of 2012. |
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Support
to
Popular
Initiatives |
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In
the course of
commemorating Nakba-64,
BADIL supported 17
popular initiatives
which took place in both
sides of the Green Line,
as well as abroad. BADIL
activities included
granting small financial
contributions to
creative activities
initiated by Community
Based Organizations (CBOs),
facilitating youth
participation,
distribution of advocacy
tools, and the release
of a statement
encouraging Israel and
the international
community to take
responsibility for
Palestinian past and
present forced
displacement.
In cooperation with
Droit au retour (DAR)
and Collectif Urgence
Palestine (CUP) of
Switzerland, a march and
sit-in was organized in
commemoration of the
Nakba-64 and to
highlight the ongoing
Nakba. A joint letter
was submitted to the
Federal Foreign Affairs
Department Counselor,
Mr. Didier Burkhalter,
calling for the
government of
Switzerland to step up
its role as a depository
in the 4th Geneva
Convention in holding
Israel responsible for
its blatant violations
of international law.
See:
http://www.badil.org/en/press-releases/142-2012/3519-press-ara-24
As the Palestinian
refugee population is
the largest and
longest-standing refugee
population in the world
today, BADIL is working
closely with its local
partners in order to
implement a coordinated
and inclusive national
popular initiative in
commemoration of World
Refugee Day (WRD). While
WRD is observed on 20
June, BADIL and its
partners planned a
day-long event on 5 July
in Bethlehem’s Manger
Square and Peace Center.
The event included
activities that
celebrate Palestinian
culture and identity,
highlighting the
Palestinian refugee
experience. |
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July 2012 - Manger
Square (Maydan Al-Mahd)
and the Bethlehem Peace
Centre, Bethlehem. |
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5 July 2012
– Manger Square (Maydan
Al-Mahd) and the
Bethlehem Peace Centre,
Bethlehem.
Under the motto “Return
is not an ideology, it
is a legal right”, the
festival was the biggest
public event gathering
Palestinian civil
society organizations.
A new phase in
Palestinian activism and
political discourse?
Addressing the biggest
portion of Palestinians,
the refugees (67%), this
event not only reminds
of the centrality of the
refugee problem, it also
marks a shift towards a
unified Palestinian
political discourse, one
which is rights-based,
in the legal sense of
the term. |
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