Partners in Palestine

(Partners listed in Alphabetical Order)

AMAN – Coalition for Integrity & Accountability

AMAN-Coalition for Integrity and Accountability was established in the year 2000 upon the initiative by a number of Palestinian civil society organizations working in the fields of democracy, human rights, and good governance. The program was designed to promote the values of integrity, principles of transparency and systems of accountability in the various Palestinian sectors with the aim of participating in the building of a national integrity system.

Findings of several studies reports and opinion polls conducted in Palestine indicate that corruption is found at the higher level among public sector officials, where misuse of positions for personal interests is a pervasive and common phenomenon; coupled with favouritism and nepotism in the various sectors. Consequently AMAN was founded. Its purpose is to advocate for and provide support for uniting all Palestinian efforts to combat corruption and participate in building a national integrity system.

International Chamber of Commerce – ICC Palestine

ICC Palestine was founded in January 2011 by a group of the top Palestinian business leaders who realized the need to establish this organization in order to grow the Palestinian economy, open new markets, expose national business to international expertise and encourage trade from and into Palestine. Its mission is to give Palestinian economic sectors the opportunity to be part of world economic practice; to foster a competitive and healthy economic environment; and to ensure that Palestinian private sector institutions are able to voice their various interests locally, regionally and internationally. For more click here.

Center for Democracy & Community Development (CDCD)

The Center for Democracy and Community Development is a Palestinian Jerusalemite institution set in 1997; aiming to disseminate the concepts, and the experiences of community based on participatory democracy, just peace theories and practices in the Palestinian community, throughout North Africa and West Asia countries, promote the participation of marginalized groups in decisions-making, change the practices and the performance of community for the best, particularly through working with children, youth, women and the all community groups; through research projects and policy development, training and empowerment and rehabilitation, capacity building and exchange programs, etc. by coordination with local, regional and global institutions that are relevant to the work of the Center.

Filastiniyat

Filastiniyat is a non-governmental organization founded by young female and male leaders who are active in civil society and political society. It is not a neutral body; it is political but not factional. Filastiniyat is committed to ensuring and supporting the equitable participation of Palestinian women and youth at all levels of public spheres and all forums of public discourse. Alternative media discourse and equitable participation of women and youth are not just abstract social justice goals, but are also decisive factors in building a just and a lasting peace, democratic governance and sustainable development.

Freedom Forum Palestine (FFP)

Freedom Forum Palestine is a membership based non-profit, non- governmental Palestinian organization. It is funded and supported mainly by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for liberty, and aims at contributing to the process of building a democratic- pluralistic political system in Palestine, where individual / collective liberty are guaranteed. The FFP works in all the Palestinian governorates including Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. During the year 2007, and through cooperating with its local partners from the civil society “The Civic Forum institute”, the “Palestinian Centre for Research and Cultural Dialogue”, “Filastiniyat” and “the Palestinian Peace Coalition” implemented 69 activities in a three months period, from Oct- Dec/2007, in all the Palestinian governorates including Gaza strip. The activities included workshops, town hall meetings and conferences in addition to training courses on democracy related issues, which aim to raise the awareness of the public of liberal principles and values. During this period, the FFP managed to reach more than 3000 individuals from different ages and different social backgrounds and from both sexes. The FFP succeeded in designing the first steps towards its ultimate goal, i.e., to form a liberal social movement in Palestine. This has been achieved through gaining 40 new members and supporters for the FFP, which raised the number of the general assembly members at the FFP to 60 members, in addition to the different youth groups that has been formed in different governorates in Palestine.

International Campaign for Freedom of Movement for Palestinians (KARAMA)

‘KARAMA’ Campaign for “Dignity” is a national mass campaign which works to serve the absolute independence of the Palestinian people to alleviate their suffering in the movement and travel within and outside Palestine with freedom and dignity. The campaign of pride acknowledges that the fundamental solution to the freedom of movement and travel for the Palestinians is to end the occupation and for Palestinian people to achieve their freedom and sovereignty on its borders and land, water, and airspace.

Please click here to see KARAMA objectives.

MA’AN News Agency

Launched in 2005, Ma’an News Agency (MNA) publishes news around the clock in Arabic and English, and is among the most browsed websites in the Palestinian territories, with over 3 million visits per month. Considered the main source of independent news from Palestine, MNA has become the first choice for online information for many Palestinians, and is also attracting a growing international readership and interest from prominent international news organizations and agencies.

Ma’an News Agency is an integral part of Ma’an Network, a non-profit media organization founded in 2002 to strengthen professional independent media in Palestine, build links between local, regional and international media, and consolidate freedom of expression and media pluralism as keys to promoting democracy and human rights. Ma’an Network is a partnership between independent journalists throughout Palestine, including nine local television stations and nine local radio stations. In addition to MNA, its activities include television, video, and radio production, and training courses for Palestinian journalists and media personnel.

MARSAD – Arab World democracy & Electoral Monitor

Independent, non-governmental, and non-profit organization with Arab dimension , working in good governance, through the adoption of a set of indicators that help in recognizing democratic development, the reform and the electoral process in Palestine and the Arab world and seeking real networking among institutions engaged in Democracy and Elections. Its vision is consistent with the willingness of the reform in the Arab world and Palestine, where structural changes in the field of political participation, in the electoral posses, and systems, and the tendency towards more democratization. There is a serious need to found measurements for the development achieved and the role of political parties, civil society organizations and the private sector.

Palestine Governance Institute (PGI)

The Palestine Governance Institute (PGI) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization which aims at promoting and modernizing corporate governance in the Palestinian Autonomous Territories. PGI embarks on a result-oriented operational strategy in order to foster tangible shift in the governance structure among targeted institutions. Its activities include, i.a. the organization of specialized training programs for key officers in governance-related departments as well as in targeted private sector firms and the conducting of studies on the status of governance in specific private and public sector institutions.

(The Website of PGI is still under construction)

Palestinian Center for Research & Cultural Dialogue (PCRD)

The Palestinian Center for Research and Cultural Dialogue (PCRD) was established in Bethlehem in 2003, by a group of Palestinian academics in the West Bank. The center’s mission is to promote dialogue between social, political and cultural groups as a means of conflict resolution, accepting differences between peoples, citizenship, and respecting other’s convictions. The center with this belief directs its projects and programs to young men and women from different social, economical and political affiliations

Palestinian Conflict Resolution Institute (Taawon)

Established in 2002. Its main activities aim to raise awareness of young people on effective and peaceful ways to resolve conflict and to develop understanding, respect, and the ability to cooperate with others in a multicultural world. Taawon targets youth in Palestine covering the West Bank and Gaza. It also focuses its work on integrating concepts of mediation, conflict resolution and peace education on all aspects of youth lives. Through its work, Taawon achieved a remarkable relationship with universities and different youth civil society organizations in Palestine.

Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies (RCHRS)

RCHRS is a Palestinian civic, non-governmental, and non-partisan organization that aims at promoting among the Palestinian people in general, and the Palestinian youth in particular, a culture of tolerance and respect for human rights, as well as the education to the values of democracy, good governance, and the freedoms of thought and expression. RCHRS is founded upon the belief that an understanding and appreciation of tolerance, human rights, and the fundamental freedoms are indispensable in any society, and particularly so in a society that is being shaped by the day as is the Palestinian one. It aims at raising awareness on human rights violations in Palestine, and on the need to safeguard the fundamental freedoms of all Palestinians and to ensure justice in all aspects of their life. It is an active member of the International Federation for Human Rights.

Young Entrepreneurs Palestine (YEP)

YEP is a membership based, non-profit, non-governmental Palestinian organization. The idea behind starting Young Entrepreneurs Palestine, was the pressing need for a professional body that is capable of representing a broad group of Palestinian professionals including young top executives and entrepreneurs from all fields of the Palestinian business and economic arena. Its mission is to assist young Palestinian entrepreneurs to succeed in all their endeavours and contribute actively to the socio-economic development of Palestine and to its ability to compete in the global economy . Its vision is to create an entrepreneurial and leadership culture that acquires a national socio-economic development for the future Palestine.