KFUK-KFUM Global - Breaking barriers

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www.kmglobal.no 0

Breaking barriers – the right to just

peace

“It is not that we face a Wall, but walls. Just think of the fact that the Wall is built

by Palestinian workers who need to live

and bring food to their children.

Think about the fact that [a prominent Palestinian

politician] is the one who is selling them

the cement for the Wall.

Think about the Americans that are supporting Israel

financially and morally in the world.

They give them guns, and help them kill us.

Do you think that it is only this one Wall?

So many walls.” (Nawal, 18 years old)

OPERATION DAY’S WORK 2014

Application from KFUK-KFUM Global



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Contents

Sammendrag (norsk) s. 2

1. Information about the applicant organisation s. 3

1.1 Who we are s. 3

1.2 What we do s. 3

1.3 Thematic priorities and main areas of focus s. 4

1.4 Youth s. 6

1.5 Work in Norway s. 7

1.6 About the organisation s. 7

1.7 YGlobal’s role and added value s. 8

1.8 Financial routines s. 8

2. About the programme s. 9

2.1 Programme goal s. 9

2.2 Outcomes s. 9

2.3 Palestine s. 9

2.4 Target group s. 11

2.5 The programme s. 12

2.6 Our experience and selection of theme s. 15

2.7 Risk s. 16

2.8 Participation s. 16

2.9 Sustainability s. 17

2.10 Budget per partner s. 17

3. Local partner organisations s. 18

3.1 Choice of partners s. 18

3.2 Presentation of the partner organisations s. 18

4. Spørsmål fra ODs bistandsfaglige råd s. 22

5. Answers from YWCA-YMCA Global s. 24



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Sammendrag

Ungdom i Palestina er begrenset av fysiske barrierer som hindrer dem fra å bevege seg hvor de

ønsker når de ønsker. I tillegg til den Israelske okkupasjonen av Palestina med mur og gjerder,

sjekkpunkt og israelske soldater som sjekker ID kort når det passer dem, møter også ungdommen

barrierer som er knyttet til kulturen i samfunnet. Kjønnsroller og oppfatninger av hva som er

sømmelig for gutter og jenter fører til at jenter blir begrenset og gutter forsøker å leve opp til

mannsroller hvor vold er en viktig del. Man kan si at disse barrierene gir en form for okkupasjon som

hindrer personlig i utvikling. Alle barrierene og de mislykkede forsøkene på å skape fred i landet har

gjort at ungdom føler seg apatiske og uten kontroll over sin egen framtid som borgere i Palestina.

KFUK-KFUM Global søker om Operasjon Dagsverk i 2014 til et program som vil utfordre og bryte de

barrierene som ungdom i Palestina møter hver dag. Dette er barrierer som hindrer dem personlig å

utvikle seg som hele mennesker hvor de selv tar del i utviklingen av sin egen framtid. Ungdommen

trenger og ønsker seg utdanning som kan frigjøre dem fra okkupasjonene som hindrer deres rett til

en rettferdig og fredelig framtid.

Tema for denne OD-søknaden er utviklet i tett samarbeid med lokale partnere og ungdom fra

Vestbredden og Gaza i Palestina. Vi inviterer OD med for å skape varig endring i ungdommenes

muligheter for framtiden. Sammen ønsker å bryte barrierer og stoppe okkupasjonene ved å:

I) Endre ungdommers og voksne syn på kvinner og menn muligheter og begrensninger og utfordre

kjønnsroller der destruktive mønstre er oppstått.

II)) Lære ungdommer positive og ikke – voldelige metoder for å håndtere stress, bearbeide vonde og

opplevelser og for å kanalisere engasjement og energi mot positiv endring for seg selv og samfunnet.

III) Engasjere ungdommer til å ta del i utformingen av sin egen framtid. Der hvor ungdom tidligere har

trodd de var offer og passive i samfunnet skal de gjennom opplæring se på seg selv som ledere og i

stand til å skape endring i sitt eget og andres liv.

IV) Påvirke politiske strukturer slik at den Israelske okkupasjonen av Palestina opphører.

«Det er ikke det at vi møter én mur, men murer».



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1. Information about the applicant organisation

Applicant organisation: Norwegian: KFUK-KFUM Global / International: YGlobal

Contact person OD (Sept.-Dec.): Anja Elise Ø. Husebø ([email protected])

Theme: Empowering Palestinian youth to break the barriers and end occupation hindering their right

to a just and peaceful future.

Countries of co-operation: Palestine

1.1 Who we are

“A cause supported by youth will never fail!” (Nelson Mandela).

History has shown that youth are leading the way pushing for changes in structures and hence

changing the world. One of the “impossible” was ending Apartheid in South Africa and recently,students have led the demonstrations and changes in the “Arab Spring”.

YGlobal’s main target group is youth and we are connected to our international alliances and

movements of YWCA and YMCA and hence the world’s largest women’s organisation and youth

organisation. The movements are member-based and reach the grassroots in more than 125

countries.

Some very few are capable of changing history on their own. Most of us depend on our networks,

others and together forming large groups and movements that bring on desired change. Though

connected to large movements, we need more people to bring on the real and sustainable change as

in our vision; “Together we build global justice and peace”. Everybody has the right to live in a

peaceful environment. Peace is not reached only by ceasing gunfire and justice will never tolerate

poverty. We need to unite globally and end the poverty and violence being the reality and everyday

for too many young girls and boys struggling to find a better today.

1.2 What we do

Our strategy involves building a global, social, inter-religious movement for just peace. All historical

experience shows that movement-building is the only sustainable way to introduce comprehensivesocial change. Our networks, YWCA and YMCA, are true global movements and provide a solid basis

for social movement building. One of the key elements in our approach is therefore to establish

groups of young people at the grass roots level. We will support these groups through training and

empowerment in such a way that they become power-centres of informal education and dynamic

employment focusing on human rights. All humans have rights and some bear the duties. The

interventions are grounded on the Rights Based Approach and the right-holders are trained to

challenge the duty-bearers.





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YGlobal’s programmes

The following table summarises the main building blocks in the operationalization of the YGlobal’s programme and interventions. The building blocks below

do not comprise an exhaustive list, but are suggested and considered as main and key strategic elements.

Level in

Society

Thematic area

ECONOMIC JUSTICE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP JUST PEACE

Macro Tax justice

Tax is the most important, beneficial and

sustainable source of finance development. It

gives countries the freedom to pay for their own

development by raising their own revenues.

Global Climate agreements

Mobilise non-violent advocacy

campaigns for global climate

agreement.

Youth leadership

Young leaders have claimed space to

influence decision making at a national and

international level

Harmful traditional practices

International eradication of FGM.

UN resolution 1325

YWCA is a key advocate for women in

conflict and post conflict situations.

Meso Public Expenditure Tracking (PETS)

A process of tracking the flow of public resources

compared to budgets and operational plans.

Local protection

Advocacy and training to adapt and

mitigate challenges related to

environmental change.

Youth leadership

Youth driven information campaigns and

increased democratic participation of

young people.

Religious dialogue

Network established of young religious

leaders that advocate for and provide

peaceful conflict resolution and

reconciliation.

Micro Savings- groups

A member-owned institution composed of a

small number of people who save together and

take small loans from those savings.

Business Development Services (BDS)Training in basic financial and marketing theory

as well as improving the products supplied by

the entrepreneur.

Basic Environmental rights

Training on environmental rights such

as the right to clean water and safe

sanitation.

Subject to Citizen (S2C)

Youth equipped with skills to become

socially and politically active agents of

change.

Harmful traditional practicesEradication of harmful practices like FGM

(including life-skills training on issues like

gender and HIV/AIDS).

Religious dialogue

Grass root peace initiatives and joint

actions across religious and ethnic

boundaries.



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1.4 Youth

YGlobal actively involve young people in shaping the way we work, as they are the primary target

group for the organisation. The goal and purpose of everything YGlobal does is to promote the

empowerment of young people and work for a constructive influence on policy frameworks that lay

the foundation for respect for the whole person’s human rights. Youth participation is also a central

crosscutting theme in YGlobal’s strategy. Youth participate at all levels of YGlobal and in all

projects/programmes of support and YGlobal uses a target oriented approach with its partners to

ensure youth participation at all levels of the partner organisations.

Youth leadership is a principle guiding the way decisions are made in the organisations. In 2012 youth

led advisory bodies were established, one for each of the four thematic areas in YGlobal’s

development work. Prior to this we have had a long-standing youth led advisory committee on the

Middle East. The role of these groups is both to influence decision making in the organisation, train

others and to take a lead role in the advocacy work of the organisation.

As part of our strategic work on youth leadership YGlobal engages in exchange-programmes,

facilitates volunteer engagement and leadership training for young participants both from Norway

and from partnering organisations. YGlobal receives funding from Fredskorpset (FK Norway) for

youth-exchange, and also facilitates campaigning and global engagement in other leadership

programmes within the movement in Norway. Our Global Week each summer brings together youth

from all over the world for global leadership training.

YGlobal’s exchange programme is called Young Peace Performers (YPP). The aim of the programme is

to enhance young peoples’ participation in promoting peace, justice and reconciliation.

Kpimbata Michael Dombo is 26 years old and YPP-participant from South Sudan, 2012/2013.

Kpimbata grew up during the civil war in Sudan. He did not have a father and the family was poor. –

Before I joined YPP I worked as a volunteer for South-Sudan YWCA for 4 years, says Kpimbata. He ran

the football team and educated the boys and girls in the teams about gender based violence and HIV.

– I applied to attend YPP because I wanted to share my experiences and contribute with a year of my

life to train others. I have learned a lot from the other participants in the YPP-programme. The

programme is important to me because it is about leadership. I believe that when I travel back to

South Sudan I can influence many other young people.

From August 2013 to April 2014 20 participants from 7 countries travel to Palestine, Jordan and

Norway. The YPP-participants’ stay in Palestine will allow them to deepen their understanding of the

Palestinian culture and the realities of living under occupation. YPP provides an increased capacity of Y Global and the partner organisations to engage in advocacy

for just peace, especially on Palestine and Israel. The YPP-participants, along with people who have

participated in other shorter or longer exchange programmes, will be a great resource for the OD

information campaign. This years YPP-participants will already be trained, have experience from

Palestine and training in and experience from running campaigns and information work. The

Norwegian YPP-participants will be expected to do follow-up work from May – July, and will also be

volunteers for YGlobal after this. The Palestinian participants will be available in in Palestine.



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1.5 Work in Norway

The YWCA-YMCA movement in Norway with its 30 000 members, organised in 900 local groups, has a

strong sense of ownership of YGlobal. The organisations provide programmes for children and young

people in Norway. Most members are between 8-25 years old. The member-base is our starting point

in information work, advocacy and to a large extent, fundraising in Norway. YGlobal engages withregional and national events within the movement to implement our information strategy, but also to

get members engaged in activities such as “Global market” and “Global run”. In 2012 we developed

the concept of Stop Poverty party, a concert with focus on our overall Stop Poverty campaign. One

concert was held in Gjøvik in 2012 with 4000 attendants. In 2013 a smaller Stop Poverty Party was

held in Gjøvik and during the YMCA Europe festival in Prague 5000 people attended a Stop Poverty

Party. Young volunteers in Norway are ready and able to engage duty-bearers through advocacy on

issues that are important to our partners i.e. Climate change, economic justice, democracy, peace).

In Norway, YGlobal contributes to, and cooperates with, relevant networks for example on our

selected thematic areas such as Tax Justice Network, SLUG, Fairtrade Norge, FOKUS, FORUM, RORG,

Fellesutvalget for Palestina and LNU.

The Norwegian YWCA-YMCA also owns several Folk High Schools in Norway. Four schools have

established relations with YGlobal for the purpose of cooperation both in relation to information as

well as campaigning and exchange.

YGlobal has had a continuous advocacy focus on the Palestinian situation. The “Olive Tree Campaign”

uses the selling of tree planting-certificates as a way to spread awareness of the violations of rights of

the local Palestinian population.

1.6 About the organisation

YGlobal was established in 2004 as a merger of DELTA Internasjonalt and Ungdomsmisjonen. These

two organisations were established in 1947 and 1908 respectively.

The organisation works through direct partnerships with national YWCA and YMCA organisations.

YWCA1 is the world’s largest women’s organisation leading social and economic change in over 120

countries. YMCA2 is one of the oldest and largest movements of youth in the world reaching 58

million people in 119 countries.

Programmes are funded by YGlobal’s own fundraising , campaigns run by the YWCA-YMCA movement

in Norway, support from back-donors such as NORAD (including information work), FOKUS, LNU and

MFA and the youth exchange programme, Young Peace Performers with support from Fredskorpset

(FK). At present YGlobal has partnered with organisations in Africa (Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania,

South Sudan, Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe), Asia (Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), the Middle East

(Palestine) and Europe (Russia and Armenia).

1 www.worldywca.org

2 www.ymca.int



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1.7 YGlobal’s role and added value

YGlobal’s partners are within the YWCA-YMCA global network. To a large extent, we share the same

values and aspirations as our local partners. The local YWCA and YMCA partners tend to be well-

established organisations in their respective local communities that help to ensure a high level of

local ownership and participation. This ensures a balanced, equal and mutually enriching relationship

between YGlobal and our local partners.

Furthermore, the fact that YGlobal’s local partners are within the YWCA-YMCA “family” implies that

funds are transferred directly. YGlobal’s Partner Selection Principles emphasise solid and long-term

partnerships and state that the collaboration with most of our current partners have lasted for

decades.

Feedback from our partners says that they have benefited from more than just the financial part of

the collaboration with YGlobal. Regular visits are conducted by YGlobal to partners with discussions

on how to develop the programme work, especially on how to develop funding proposals. In addition

YGlobal opens doors to networks and other international relations. Our partners are invited to

YGlobal’s Advisory Council (AC) every second year. In 2010 and 2012 we had general discussions of

the Strategy of YGlobal (2011-2015) and partners contributed in developing themes and methods.

1.8 Financial routines

The YGlobal policy on fraud and corruption is one of zero tolerance and applies to all employees,

volunteers and partners accessing funding from Y Global. The policy and work within anti-fraud and

corruption can be split in three phases; i) awareness raising done through contracts and whenever

meeting with partners through seminars, training etc. ii) monitoring and following up of program is

done by agreed upon reports as well as through partner and project visits. iii) Reporting of incidents.

Y Global encourages all partners to set up systems for whistle blowing and we have a system for

receiving incident reports in our Oslo office. Further, transparency in programs is required. All key

project documents should be made available to the stakeholders. All partners are committed to

following the policy of Y Global in the contracts signed. Even though Y Global has extensive focus on

financial management, the partners are requested to commit themselves through their own policies..

Monitoring of programmes is done using agreed upon reports as well as through regular visits. All

visits include a financial assessment of the organisation. The financial management is backed by a

comprehensive Results Based Management (RBM) system. Standardised output and outcomes tables

have been implemented. All programmes are audited yearly by independent auditors selected by

the local partner and approved by YGlobal. The standard audit includes questions added by YGlobal.



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2. About the programme

“It is hard to forget about this shitty Wall… It is so big, so high, so hard to see and to absorb. It gets in

your bones, for it ahs affected us economically, politically and even morally. I personally am not sure if

there is a God in this world. And if he exists… Where is he?” (Martha)3

Youth in Palestine are limited by physical barriers as well gender barriers and patterns created

culturally in the society. One could say they are limited and occupied personally and further on a

National level by Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Altogether this adds to the feeling of apathy and

lack of control of the future and limits the youth in their participation as citizens of Palestine.

We will educate young people in Palestine and create groups of youth committed to change their

future by changing today. Through education for liberation the youth will be free from gender

discrimination, traumas that supress their individual development and work towards liberation from

occupation.

2.1 Programme goal

- 20 000 youth are engaged in shaping their own future.

2.2 Outcomes

- 10250 youth have changed their perceptions of gender roles

- 1750 young ex-detainees are using positive coping mechanisms shaping a constructive

attitude towards life.

- 10250 youth are transformed from subjects to active citizens

- 10250 youth are engaged in non-violent resistance to end the occupation

2.3 Palestine

Capital4: East-Jerusalem, but as the city is under Israeli control the Palestinian authority

headquarters are in Ramallah (and Gaza city)

Language: Arabic

Area: 6220 km2

West Bank: 5860 km2

Gaza: 360 km

2

Population: 4 016 416

West Bank: 2 350 583

Gaza: 1 499 369

1 813 847 are refugees (not counting Palestinian refugees in other countries)

Palestine is situated in the Middle East and consists of two geographically separate parts, the West

Bank and Gaza. The history of Palestine is both long and complicated dating back to the stories in the

3

All quotes are from interviews with Yglobal staff or the book; Facint the wall by Naderea Shalhoub-Kevorikian4 Facts from landsider.no. All figures from 2007.



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Bible. In 1948 the State of Israel was established on parts of what was then British Mandate

Palestine. The rest of the mandate area was controlled by Jordan (the West Bank) and Egypt (Gaza).

In 1967 Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza and the occupation still continues.

The Oslo Accords in 1994 set-up of the Palestinian Authority gave limited self-government to parts of

the West Bank and Gaza. Today Palestine is politically divided, with the Palestinian Authoritymanaging the West Bank and Hamas managing Gaza.

The life of Palestinians is marked with instability, frustration, hopelessness, traumatic experiences,

stress, violence and oppression. This is particularly the case for youth and children. Living under the

Israeli Military occupation deprives the Palestinian people from having control over their lives, their

future and their everyday life. It also deprives them from the confidence and security to lead a

normal life and to enjoy their basic human rights. Physical barriers such as checkpoints and the wall

prevent people from going where they want to go, even to work, visit holy places or family.

Harassment of Palestinian civilians on Israeli military checkpoints and confrontations with settlers

also hinders people’s movement. While the physical and material losses can be substantiated andtheir effects measured, it is extremely hard to estimate the psychological, emotional and spiritual

losses and most importantly the loss of dignity and safety and having “peace of mind”. Growing up in

an unstable and violent environment affects youth and nobody knows what the long-term effect will

be. Youth are the ones to build Palestine further, and how will they be able to create a peaceful

society when they grow up under suppression?

Post-traumatic stress and other psychological disorders are major consequences of the continuous

exposure to traumatic events. The ex-detainee youth who suffered the detention and torture in the

Israeli jails are particularly vulnerable. They have been through a though experience and are suffering

from traumas and sometimes physical injuries.

About 700 Palestinian youth under 18 years (under 18 categorized as children) have been detained by

the Israeli authorities every year since the beginning of 20005. The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees

and Ex-Detainees Affairs statistics indicate that 881 children and youth were detained only in 2012.

Over the past 13 years, about 10,000 children and youth have been detained. Most of these are

charged with throwing stones under Israeli Military Orders6, in which Palestinians can be subject to

detention when they are as young as 12 years old.

Experiences from Palestine and other areas show that in conflict situations, women and girls are the

most abused and affected. A range of conservative social attitudes, norms and practices limit their

participation in decision making in their families and communities. They might not be allowed to

select their partners, get their inheritance or get equal opportunities for education, training or

employment. Cultural norms and conditions determining that it is unsafe and/or unacceptable for

girls to go out in public curtail girl’s physical mobility.

The severe impact of this political and economic deterioration and the human rights violations in

Palestine have become a serious issue calling on us to address the resulting trauma, which is

becoming prevalent and chronic amongst the Palestinians and leading to personal, collective

psychosocial disability, and which definitely impedes the social and human development.

5 Defence for Children International – Palestine Section (DCI-PS) study of 2010 http://www.dci-palestine.org/

6 Military Order 132

http://www.dci-pal.org/english/home.cfm






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According to a study composed by Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD)7 from 2012,

there is a growing tendency of optimism and the willingness to activism amongst Palestinian youth. A

shocking percentage of 87% of the participants say that they have high confidence in their own

generation in the ability to change and lead, while only 38% of the participants say that they

themselves believe that they will have a position in public life in the future. The rest of the

participants believe in their generation, but not in their own ability to partake in the change process.

The Arab region is going through a critical era with a multitude of political events and changes

creating the so-called Arabic Spring. For the situation to continue to change positively, grass root

movements focusing on justice and democracy need to take action. Teenagers are soon to become

university students, who are historically the ones to initiate resisting initiatives for the sake of

freedom, peace and justice. Education and training is essential to bring engagement of the targeted

group in shaping their future where they can enjoy, peace and justice in addition to their rights.

2.4 Target group

The programme will target 10 250 youth (male & female) from 13 - 19 years old. They will be from

various West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza communities of cities, villages, and refugee

camps. The youth will be participants in the YMCA or YWCA, school students, members of scout

groups and Christian youth groups. Within the total number the programme will target about 350

children and youth ex-detainees from all over the West Bank.

– They handcuffed me. I was blindfolded before they led me to a car. There were 30 of them. Obida

was sitting up late preparing for the final exam of high school the next day. Obida was arrested for

throwing stones at the age of 17 and was in prison for 6 months. After being released, he struggled to

get back to school. In the end he did pass his exam, but with low results. Studying is difficult as he

struggles to concentration. It is difficult to focus and even to plan for the future.

In addition to working with youth groups, some youth will receive additional training and become

trainers for others. These trainers could enable even a higher number of youth to be reached.

Secondary target groups are leaders in contact with the youth such as staff members who will get

increased the capacity as well as teachers and leaders of the schools, scouts groups, church-related

youth groups and other non-governmental organizations’ youth programs.

In addition to the youth in the programme, activities will reach members of the partner organisations

through events and campaigns. Parents, family members and community members of the youth will

be influenced by the participation of the teenagers in the project and its local results and from the

national campaigns that will be launched. In total 20 000 youth will be reached and challenged to

engage in shaping their future in addition to around 20 000 members and community members.

7Which is specialized in public opinion poll with Palestinian youth (18-30 years old) in the West Bank and Gaza, andpublished by Miftah http://www.miftah.org/Doc/Polls/AWRAD010212En.pdf

http://www.miftah.org/Doc/Polls/AWRAD010212En.pdf






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2.5 The programme

The programme could be divided in four main areas for liberation for the target group. The themes

are accompanied by one outcome each.

Challenging gender roles

As a young woman, I face so many problems with my family. My father is always worried about me

being abused on my way back and forth from school. Yesterday, I was climbing the Wall – I mean

jumping from the hole that we all pass through – and one of the neighbour said that this is not

something girls should do. He said that it is more honourable for girls to stay home than to jump,

climb, argue or fight with soldiers. So many friends of mine left school or were unable to continue

their education due to the political situation.” (Siham, 17 years old)

In Palestine, adolescence is a time where to a large extent the world expands for boys and limits for

girls. Social factors have detrimental effects on the lives of youth and contribute to the maintaining of

gender gaps. The Palestinian society has defined specific stereotyped roles for males and females.

The society expects females to primarily carry out reproductive roles and for males to carry out

productive roles. Gender disparities in opportunities and expectations become particularly

pronounced during adolescence and this programme will therefore work with youth to change both

their ideas of gender and to influence the society around them.

The programme will target males and females. The YWCA has built a strong reputation among the

Palestinian community and proved to be a safe space for young women and will therefore be well

placed to work with youth. Working on gender issues, there is a need to work on influencing social

norms and destructive perceptions about masculinity such as violence and discrimination against

females. Males are brought up believing that masculinity is all about practicing power and control

over females which results in abusive and violent behaviour against the girls and women.

Training on transformative masculinity will be one of the main topics and methods with the youth.

The approach works with young men and boys, allowing them to question what masculinity truly

means to each of them and the importance of respect and mutual understanding, to ensure that all

rights are being reserved and protected.

We will work on socio–political, cultural and economic skills training and education. In this we will

have a strong focus on liberation from oppression especially for girls and young women. We will

educate youth about various issues such as gender equality, human rights, SR UN resolution 1325,self -image and respect. We will also develop their cultural and expressive art skills to alleviate from

the negative social norms and behaviours.

As part of the training, the youth will launch two national campaigns on issues related to violations

against women’s rights. Male perceptions about masculinity will be a central element in the

campaigns. One national conference will also be organised. The theme for this conference will be

identified later by the youth.

Adopting positive coping mechanisms

Many youth who have been in prison are not just left with traumas but also with a feeling of being ahero. When they leave prison they receive a “hero’s welcome” in their communities, and may feel



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that they need to “keep up” this image. This, together with dealing with the traumas, can sometimes

lead to destructive behaviour8. We therefore want to teach the youth ways to deal with the traumas

as well as giving them a different way of using their “hero mentality”.

The East Jerusalem YMCA Rehabilitation Program will work on the psychological well-being and

coping capacities of children and youth ex-detainees with the aim to liberate them from destructivethoughts, feelings and stress. We will train the youth in stress-management and -release activities.

One way of doing this is by helping the youth see their strengths, and using these to get rid of the

tension. This is expected to have a direct impact on enhancing their well-being by increasing their

self -esteem, supporting them to use positive coping mechanisms and shaping a positive attitude

towards life. The programme also includes creating groups and educating the youth about tolerance,

conflict transformation, human rights and non-violent opposition. This will help them building hope

for the future and transform them from feeling lost, hopeless and wanting to use violence to being

tolerant and nonviolent. They will become good models for the youth of Palestine and devote their

time and change the life positively.

From Subject to Citizen

Youth in Palestine often do not trust in their ability to take part in society and in the change process.

The problematic political structures and the lack of self -determination can sometimes lead to

unwillingness to engage. The programme would like to target this feeling of helplessness in order to

give a platform for youth to be empowered and regain their confidence in themselves. We will work

to transform youth from being subjects to becoming active citizens within their communities. We

believe in the potential of youth as active citizens. The Subject to Citizen (S2C) initiative is designed to

unlock the potential and equip youth with the skills and confidence to transform themselves and

other young people. The “Subject to Citizen” programme was developed by the Africa Alliance of

YMCA and is spread with African YMCAs. Y Global has funded parts of the programme since 2010.

This model has been well tested, and the experiences from training youth in Africa will be used in

designing the trainings in Palestine.

The entire concept of citizenship is controversial and debatable in Palestine as the people are still

under occupation. The Palestinian Authority itself functions under occupation and the general

democratic procedures have never served the concept of democracy and citizenship. The concept of

citizenship is usually linked to independence, freedom and sovereignty that are still absent in general

and legal terms in Palestine.

We will graduate S2C Ambassadors through innovative youth leadership development training. The

S2C ambassadorship programme provides the unique opportunity for youth leaders to understand

and make the deliberate choice that our current mind-set needs to change. We call it Subjective

Competence. That is at the heart of all the social transformation processes. The next level of

competence of the S2C ambassador is related to acquiring various leadership skills such as

understanding the concepts of citizenship, leadership, a root cause analysis approach, problem

solving, communication skills for influence and personal leadership styles through coaching.

8 We recommend seeing the Norwegian film “When the boys return”/”Mellom murene” for more in depth

understanding of this issue



www.kmglobal.no 14

During the project implementation period, youth will learn to formulate a position on issues, to

articulate their viewpoints and advocate for positive change in their communities and country. S2C

ambassadors will be involved in the training of their younger counterparts, sharing the knowledge

and experience they have acquired through the programme and perpetuating the project cycle. The

Ambassadors that will be produced from this project will be change agents in their organizations.

The youth will also receive media training in order to express their needs and issues that are

important to them. In Gaza the media training will result in two photograph exhibitions each year in

addition to a festival of short video products.

Ending the occupation

Most Palestinian teenagers experience almost daily harassment and injustice. This has made most of

them feel powerless. In some the injustice creates a tendency for reaction or revenge, in violent or

non-violent way. Others are made passive. Hence, training in non-violent resistance is necessary to

develop means among teenagers to respond to conflicts and to the violation of basic human rights.

Forming the youth in groups is a central element in the programme. Group members function as

support to the individuals and together as one strong a network to end the occupation. We find non-

violence the only means to our goal and the groups will be trained in such resistance methods. Non-

violent resistance has also proven to be the most effective way to reach the goal of liberation9.

One of the main objectives is educating the Palestinian youth in order to serve their national

aspiration of independence and freedom and further the international youth to become advocates

for just peace in the Middle East. The programme offers a platform for youth to operate from and an

opportunity to connect and network together in order to help in achieving peace with justice.

One way of doing non-violent resistance is through Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The

BDS-movement in Palestine started when in 2005 Palestinian civil society called for boycott,

divestment and sanctions against Israel as long as the state does not respect international law and

Palestinian rights10

. Since then BDS has grown to an international movement. YGlobal see such

economic means as both right and necessary. There are few non-violent alternatives that can

contribute to ending the occupation, and BDS therefore has to be a central tool in our work. Y Global

calls for a broad economic boycott to get Israel to end the occupation. This does not mean that we

do not recognise the state of Israel.

The campaign work will be coordinated between the different partners in the project, reaching

different target groups and geographical areas. The Joint Advocacy Initiative will play the central role

of coordinating the campaign work as they are set up to be the joint campaign unit for the YWCA and

the YMCA.

The project seeks to train the teenagers to become aware of themselves and their potential as

individuals as well as how they can contribute to making a change in the political situation. The

disconnected Palestinian areas and people creates a need for teenagers to learn about their own

country and to witness the facts and measures on the ground created by the occupation in the

9

Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan. Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of NonviolentConflict (Columbia University Press, 2011)10

http://www.bdsmovement.net/ 29.10.12

http://www.bdsmovement.net/






www.kmglobal.no 15

various Palestinian areas and on the various Palestinian communities. Hence, organized fields trips

and guided tours are important.

Teenagers need to be aware of and involved in existing non-violent advocacy campaigns on local and

national levels, including the Olive Tree Campaign, Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) Campaign,

striking and demonstrating against the Israeli occupation and injustices.

Some non-governmental civil society organizations in the targeted areas work in non-violence and

advocacy projects for older youth (18-25, or up to 30) years old. No such project for teenagers is

apparent on the local or national level by governmental or non-governmental organizations or

institutions. We therefore see a great need for this.

2.6 Our experience and selection of theme

As a result of our long-term partnership with YWCA and YMCA in Palestine, YGlobal has been actively

engaged in networks and in advocacy working against the Israeli occupation. Examples of such arethe EAPPI- programme (Ledsagerprogrammet) initiated by the World Council of Churches, the World

Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, Fellesutvalget for Palestina, the Olive Tree campaign, Journey

for Justice and our contribution to debate concerning the Palestinian Kairos Document and violation

of human rights in the occupied areas.

For the past three years YGlobal has been implementing a programme focusing on the UN Security

Council’s resolution 1325 in coordination with the World YWCA and funded by FOKUS, which builds

the capacity of young women in three countries: Palestine, Sri Lanka and South Sudan. We also have

on-going projects funded by NORAD in cooperation with Palestine YWCA, Gaza YMCA and JAI.

In 2013 YGlobal will launch a campaign to promote just peace in Palestine and Israel. This will be

based on a policy document adopted by YGlobal’s board in 2012. Our policy is based on the idea that

peace can only be achieved through justice, following international law and UN resolutions on Israel

and Palestine. The Palestinian people have a right to a viable, independent state based on the

borders of 1967. Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, are occupied by Israel. This is in

violation of UN resolutions, for example Security Council Resolution 242. YGlobal acknowledges the

State of Israel’s legitimacy according to international law. Both Israelis and Palestinians have the right

to self -determination within internationally recognised borders, to full sovereignty, to international

recognition of their elected leadership and to just peace with security for the civilian population.

Our experiences has led us to see that a programme as the one we are now suggesting will be a great

addition to the work we and our partners have done previously. The choices of the specific themes

and focus have been done by the partner organisations, in close cooperation with YGlobal.

Consultation processes with youth have been done for example by Gaza YMCA. They consulted with

their youth group to find out what their needs where. One of the things that came out of this was the

need for media training that was then included in the programme. The East-Jerusalem YMCA

Rehabilitation program conducts a needs assessment each year. Here organized nine youth focus

groups covering the whole area of west Bank including East Jerusalem. The main goal of this activity

was to assess their needs and improve the quality of the program. The recommendations received

from those beneficiaries were taken into the development of this programme.



www.kmglobal.no 16

2.7 Risk

The imposed restrictions on movement between Palestinian areas affect the mobility of the target

population, particularly when organizing for national activities. Another risk is increased violence,

especially targeted against youth (who have been a main target of the Israeli occupation, and as such

have become victims of terror, dehumanization and marginalization). Violence against women,whether political or domestic, could hinder their participation in the programme. To reduce these

risks, the intervention is directed towards the protection and empowerment of women and youth,

through leadership, human rights and awareness training, to help them lobby for change, expose

discrimination and violation of rights, and engage in peace building.

If the political situation changes, or in case any closures are imposed on the Palestinian cities, a

change or delay in the programme might be necessary. For example if the Bethlehem-Jerusalem

checkpoint gets closed by the Israeli army, teenagers from Jerusalem would not be able to come to

the JAI centre in Beit Sahour or West Bank areas for training, or to join field -trips. In such cases the

activities will be implemented separately in each area. Changes in the situation might lead to parentsbeing hesitant to allow the youth to attend activities.

The situation in Gaza remains very uncertain and volatile due to Israeli effective control of access of

people and goods in addition to the political rivalry between the Palestinian fractions. A full scale war,

shortage of goods and rise of prices may contribute to delay in implementation. In difficult situations

families may also be afraid sending their youth to activities. However, Gaza YMCA is a well-known and

respected organisation in Gaza standing through tough times in history.

2.8 Participation

The youth in the programme will be male and female. They will be chosen based on non -

discriminatory criteria, regardless of gender, religious or political affiliation. It ought to be mentioned

that the vast majority of children and youth ex-detainees are males, not females, so that for this part

of the programme most of the participants will be male.

All the local partner organisations include youth with disabilities in their programme. For the East

Jerusalem YMCA Rehabilitation Program people with disabilities constitute one of the main targeted

groups. For this programme they will work with youth ex-detainees and not target youth with

disabilities specifically. However, in case any of these ex-detainees have disabilities, they will be

served and dealt with equally. In the other parts of the programme priority will be given to youth

with disabilities and they will be encouraged to participate. Participation of youth with disabilities is

highly desirable to demonstrate the importance of the inclusion of all in a truly democratic society.

Parts of the capacity building training for the youth will be human rights including right for persons

with disability.



www.kmglobal.no 17

2.9 Sustainability

- I am Marah from Biet Sahour , Palestine . I am almost 16 years old. I am a

very active person and that led me to participate in the JAI training course

about our Palestinian Cause. The course was amazing and inspiring. I

learned many things; the importance of our participating as young

Palestinians in our cause by the awareness and understanding of the truth

about our struggle and the ways we can continue fighting in every possible

way. Therefore, the course taught me what I can do. Which is very simple yet highly effective; I can

boycott the Israeli products and depend on our local goods to support the economy and show my

disagreement. The lectures gave me a message: I am a Palestinian, I am not a terrorist! I have a right

to live freely and safely as any human being! I want to build on this experience in my life as I want to

study human rights and especially women rights as I believe everybody deserves equal rights despite

the sex, religion or nationality.

Sustainability will be achieved through empowering the targeted groups and changing their

attitudes. The activities carried out within this project are sustainable in their nature with the long-

term changes they will bring to the youth as well as to the whole community.

The local partner organizations will also follow up the youth and the youth groups beyond the end of

the programme. As all the organizations have robust and sustainable structures the groups and

movement built during this programme will still have a “home” after this specific programme is

finished.

The youth in the programme will be change agents within their organizations. Engaging younger

members in the YWCA and YMCA will be a major role in sustaining the efforts invested in those

trained youth. It is absolutely imperative that youth are represented at the top level and are involved

in the planning process and have input in determining relevant policies and solutions.

2.10 Budget per partner

Palestine YWCA 10 860 000

Joint Advocacy Initiative 3 000 000

East Jerusalem YMCA 7 000 000

Gaza YMCA 3 000 000

Mid-term evaluation 200 000

End evaluation 300 000

Administration ( 5%) 1 400 000

Follow up - YGlobal (8 %) 2 240 000

Total budget 28 000 000



www.kmglobal.no 18

3. Local partner organisations

3.1 Choice of partners

All the partners in this programme are part of the YWCA -YMCA network. This means that we share

the same basis for our operations. Y Global has had long term partnerships with all the local partnerorganisations, one of them dating back to the 1960s. All of the local partner organisations are well

established organisations with a strong position in their communities. They also have experience in

cooperating with each other. In this programme they will be able to benefit from each other’s

strengths and we reinforce each other.

All partners in the programme are member-based organisations with branches spread in the relevant

communities. Further, all partners have built partnership with external institutions over years.

3.2 Presentation of the partner organisations

YWCA of Palestine

The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Palestine was established in 1893 and is a

national membership based women’s organization locally registered as an NGO and affiliated with the

worldwide YWCA movement. The YWCA of Palestine is formed by three associations situated in

Jerusalem, Ramallah and Jericho, that also oversees two multifunctional community centres in

Jalazoune and Aqbet Jaber Refugee Camps, and is currently in the process of establishing a new, local

association in Bethlehem.

Throughout the years the YWCA has developed a wide range of programmes and projects with the

aim of empowering women and youth, particularly young girls, by enhanced accessibility to

educational and cultural activities, creating and developing economic opportunities, raising

awareness and advocating for individual and national rights.

The YWCA has succeeded in creating an attractive hub for youth through its non -traditional programs

and approaches. The youth are empowered to become agents for change within their societies. The

YWCA provides a safe space for youth to overcome their daily challenges, be it political, economic,

social, or cultural and to freely express their concerns, feelings of insecurity, identity, issues and lack

of self -confidence. The YWCA has also been working with children with the aim of enhancing theircognitive learning skills and creating spaces for them to express their positive energy through cultural

activities, drama, music and civic education.

The Palestine YWCA is a respected national NGO that has close relations with many sectorial

Ministries; Education, Labour and Women’s Affairs and coordinates closely with government agencies

at central and local level. The YWCA is also a member in the Palestine-NGO network, as well as many

other specialized networks, e.g. network of women organisations working on violence against

women, The Jerusalem NGO network, Church Related Organisations’ network (CRO’s), as part of its

ecumenical work.



www.kmglobal.no 19

YWCA of Palestine’s partnership with Y-Global started over 15 years ago. This partnership is based on

the World YWCA Resolutions calling for Peace and Justice in Palestine and the commitment of global

partners to help the national YWCA of Palestine to work towards Peace with Justice, and to engage

the young people in this process. The YWCA’s core constituency is the youth themselves and thus the

YWCA represents their aspirations and needs.

Joint Advocacy Initiative

The East Jerusalem YMCA and YWCA of Palestine's long history of commitment, concern for people'

rights and involvement in the fight for the Palestinian people’s human rights resulted in the decision

to establish the Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI) in January 2001.The JAI is a programme that works for

peace with justice through engaging the world movements of the YMCA and YWCA, churches and

church related organisations and UN agencies.

On an international level, the JAI seeks to raise awareness, by providing accurate information and

updates, involving people in prompting practical actions & activities through their running or stronginvolvement in campaigns and initiatives. On the local level, JAI manages, involves, trains and

facilitates the participation of its youth groups; the Youth for Peace Justice Group and the Palestinian

Youth Ecumenical group (18 – 25 years old). In addition, the JAI has works with local schools’ students

(15-18) for exchange programmes. The local youth plays an active role in receiving and working with

international youth visitors. JAI trains the students on identity, leadership, communication, lobbying

and advocacy.

JAI cooperates with the Palestinian Authority through the Ministry of Sports and Youth to access

information and decision makers on youth related issues at the national and local levels. It also deals

with the local youth councils that were formed by the municipal councils. JAI has good ties with somegovernmental organisations and with youth organisations at the community level. JAIs core

international donors are; Interchurch Organisation for Development in Cooperation in the

Netherlands. (ICCO), the Danish Church Aid (DCA), Cord Aid and HorYzon from the YMCA-YWCA

Switzerland.

JAI is a part of three local networks whose mission is to build JUST PEACE. JAI also works closely with

the World Alliance of YMCAs and the World YWCA, the World Council of Churches and the World

Student Christian Federation/ Middle East.

The Joint Advocacy Initiative involves youth in its various activities. This is done not only by

participation, but by planning and implantation of activities with responsibilities and authorities. The

programmes include the youth exchange programmes, international youth trips in Palestine and

abroad. JAI youth groups’ structure include steering / leading committee from the teenagers and

youth themselves who coordinate the planning, management, and implementation for the groups’

various activities, training, exchange programs and others.

The JAI and YGlobal have worked together in partnership since the founding in 2001. Youth from

Norway have taken part in the Olive Tree Campaign picking olives and planting trees, others have

worked with the JAI for a year as part of the exchange programme funded by FK and yet others have

taken part in trips with Norwegians visiting Palestine or Palestinian youths in leadership training in

Norway.



www.kmglobal.no 20

As JAI is a program of both East Jerusalem YMCA and Palestine YWCA, it benefits from the networks

and backing from both these organisations. In addition, JAI is part of three local Networks that

include some 50 organizations.

Gaza YMCA

Gaza YMCA was founded by the Christian community in Gaza in 1952. Yet, the goal was helping

children, youth and their families in Gaza irrespective of religion. Gaza YMCA has more than 40 years’

experience in organizing a variety of programmes for children and youth, including pre-schools,

sports activities, annual summer camps, and leadership training for youth. It is a leading organisation

in leadership training for adolescents and youth in Gaza celebrating the 33rd

year of training in July

2013.

YMCA Gaza’s mission is to develop the body, mind and spirit of all people irrespective of their

religions, sex, colour or creed. In 2005, YMCA Gaza started to focus on community-based social

activities and reaching more people across the Gaza strip through a creative project aiming to buildcapacity for children through “Voicing children's rights”. The project continued with new features

until end of 2012 through “Children Resilience Development project”. The implementation was done

in the marginalized areas of the Gaza strip together with other local organisations. From 2013 Gaza

YMCA and YGlobal cooperate on a project targeting youth in leadership training. Gaza YMCA has long -

lasting support by the regional YMCA in Egypt and a partnership with YWCA-YMCA of Sweden and

HorYzon of Switzerland.

Gaza YMCA has strong local relations with youth institutions and cooperates closely with Palestinian

Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Education/Social Affairs and Ministry of planning and

international cooperation (the Palestinian children national plan secretary). Gaza YMCA is one ofmany children’s organisations participating in the meetings and workshops organised by the

Ministries. Gaza YMCA cooperates with local organisations such as the Palestinian centre of human

rights, culture and free thoughts association, Women affairs centre, Canaan Institute of new

pedagogy and UNRWA.

The cooperation and partnership with Y Global started in 1975. Gaza YMCA has comfortable

premises suitable for variety of youth activities and training mainly situated in the middle of Gaza

City. The location serves as a meeting point and hang-out for local youth from all groups in the society

including the 4000 members.

East Jerusalem YMCA

The East Jerusalem YMCA (EJYMCA) was established in a tent in Aqabat Jaber Refugee Camp in 1949.

EJYMCA is one of the largest organizations in Palestine and is renowned for its programmes and

responsiveness to the communities’ needs. EJYMCA runs different programs and activities, including,

sports, leadership training, youth engagements, vocational training, women engagement and may be

particularly known for its rehabilitation programme. The programmes are covering all areas of the

West Bank. The EJ YMCA works closely and partners with CBOs and believes such local partnerships

ensure sustainability.

The East Jerusalem YMCA Rehabilitation Program (EJ-YMCA-RP) was established in 1989 respondingto the emerging needs for the Palestinian youth suffering from psychosocial difficulties in the



www.kmglobal.no 21

aftermath of the political conflict. Throughout the 24 years of experience, EJ-YMCA-RP has been

supporting and empowering the survivors of political violence to overcome the traumatic experiences

and the psycho-social difficulties from the continuous exposure to traumatic events and experiences

caused by the Israeli military occupation and its accompanying actions of arrest, torture, home

demolitions, forced displacement, killing, etc. The East Jerusalem YMCA Rehabilitation program was

founded to extend quality rehabilitative services to the youth who were injured as well as those who

have become disabled and traumatized as a result of political violence. Therefore, youth had been

one of its major concerns since its existence.

Palestinian ex-detainees in general and children and youth ex-detainees in particular usually found

that no convenient preparations had been made to deal with their special conditions. It is

unfortunate that the Palestinian Authority as well as the Palestinian community is already too

exhausted by long decades of Israeli occupation, and unable to shoulder such a huge burden among

many others. The East Jerusalem YMCA Rehabilitation Program will cooperate and coordinate its

efforts with the relevant organizations such as the Palestinian Prisoners Club, and Defence for the

Children and Youth International who offer legal aid to the children and youth in prisons, we will also

coordinate our efforts with the medical centres to whom we refer some cases in need for medical

treatment.

The East Jerusalem YMCA and Y-Global shares a very close and transparent cooperation history, with

continuous cooperation since 1963. The co-operation started with youth and children programs in

refugee camps around Bethlehem area and has continued with the Rehabilitation Program in a

partnership not only through transferring money, but mostly through awareness raising, strategic

processing and human resource exchange though various exchange programmes.

Olive picking on the fields – international students have joined.



www.kmglobal.no 22

Operasjon Dagsverk

Akersbakken 12

0172 Oslo

Telefon: 22 99 37 04

E-post: [email protected]

KFUK-KFUM Global

v/ Anja Elise Ø. Husebø

Oslo, 3. oktober 2013

Spørsmål til søknad på OD 2014

Takk for en spennende søknad. Rådet har noen spørsmål og kommentarer som vi ønsker dere skal

reflektere rundt i et kort svar til oss. Svarfrist 14. oktober innen kl. 12.00. Husk at hvis søknaden blir

innstilt av styret vil de korte og konsise svarene fra dere bli vedlagt søknaden og lagt ut på www.od.no.

1) Målgruppen

Vi kunne tenke oss å vite litt mer om hvem dere vil at deltakerne skal være. Blir aktivitetene

for egne medlemmer, kan ungdommer søke om å delta eller blir de rekruttert, i så fall av

hvem og hvordan? Finnes det noen allerede utarbeidet utvelgelsesprosedyrer?

Dere nevner bare så vidt ordet nøytralitet. Siden organisasjonen er basert på kristne verdier

og navnet kan tolkes dithen at dette er «kun for kristne ungdommer» ville det vært fint om

dere kunne skrive litt om hvordan dere skal sikre nøytraliteten.

Vi skjønner at det kan være vanskelig å inkludere Israelere, både muslimer, kristne, jøder og

andre. Men er dette noe dere har vurdert, eventuelt hvorfor ikke?Vi lurer også om dere har vurdert eventuelle sekundærgrupper e.g. lærere og foreldre for å

sikre et mer varig resultat.

2) Administrativ kompetanse og kapasitet

Fint om dere kort kunne si noe om hvordan dere har tenkt å jobbe under kampanjeperioden, prosent

stilling avsatt til OD kampanjen og annet, og hvilken kapasitet dere har til å nå ut til norske skoler. Kan

informasjonssamarbeidet med utveksling mellom Norge og Palestina i 2014 gjennomføres som

beskrevet uten problemer eller annen tilpasning? Se «informasjon til søkere».

3) Varige endringer

Et av de overordnede målene er å ende okkupasjonen, hva konkret forventer dere at

ungdommene oppnår av målbar endring ved programmets slutt? Hvilken politisk prosess

skal ungdommene delta i for å endre situasjonen? Hva innebærer f.eks. Activ citizenship og

Non-violent resistance? Det trenger ikke å være detaljert, men vi trenger litt mer konkret hva

dere skal gjøre under de ulike målsetningene. Hva ville skjedd hvis dette programmet ikke

ble noe av?

Vi vil gjerne vite litt mer om hvilke strategier, foruten kapasitetsbygging, dere har planlagt

for å sikre en varig positiv endring. Hva er deres tanker rundt videreføring av arbeidet og

ungdommenes engasjement etter programmets slutt?

Dere beskriver the main building blocks på en fin måte, men hvordan er dette linket opp til

http://www.od.no/

http://www.od.no/

http://www.od.no/

http://www.od.no/



www.kmglobal.no 23

akkurat dette programmet?

Skal programmet støtte eksisterende aktiviteter eller starter de fra grunnen av?

4) Partnerskap

Hva er felles for alle de lokale organisasjonene?

Hva er estimert budsjett per partner og hvor mange skal de nå hver?Vi kunne tenke oss litt mer informasjon om hvordan samarbeid med de ulike myndighetene

er, hvilken avtale har dere med f.eks. Hamas?

5) Risiko

Det står litt i forhold til konfliktsensitivitet, men hva innebærer aktivitetene av ekstra risiko

for ungdommene selv? Si litt om hvordan dere tenker å følge opp ungdommene som deltar i

prosjektet med tanke på denne risikoen.

Vennlig hilsen

ODs bistandsfaglige råd v/ Gøril Tomren



www.kmglobal.no 24

Answer to questions Operation Day’s Work

1. TARGET GROUP

1.1 The participants and selectionThe participants in the programme will be recruited in different ways. Some will be youth who are

members or participate in activities at the YMCAs and YWCAs. These youth will be both Christian and

Muslim. The activities at the YMCAs and YWCAs will be open and new people are welcomed to join.

We will also work through other already established youth groups, for example scout groups. These

youth groups will mostly have a Muslim majority.

The largest number of youth will be targeted through schools. Christian private schools in Palestine

have a large share of Muslim students. In the government schools the vast majority of the students

are Muslim. In some schools we might be able to train all the youth in the target age group, in other

we will have to go through a selection process. This will be done by the youth themselves applying to

join the training, and the selection will be based on non-discriminatory criteria, regardless of their

gender, religious or political affiliation while ensuring a mix of all groups. The ex-detainee youth will

be reached through the East Jerusalem YMCA Rehabilitation Program 11 outreach teams in the 11

districts of the West Bank. The teams are working with these children in their living places. EJ YMCA

RP teams are recruiting the youth by direct contact with the youth, their families, The Prisoners’ Club,

The Ministry of detainees or Defence for the children International DCI. Our YMCA teams reach them

in many cases through media and through the community. The targeted youth are the most needed

males and females, Muslims and Christians who will be chosen based on non-discriminatory criteria.

Our work is based on and inspired by the Christian principles of justice, love and equality and run

with the human rights based approach.

Including Israeli youth is difficult because of the separation policies that make it difficult for

Palestinians and Israelis to meet. Our partner organisations are Palestinian and it is natural for them

to work with Palestinian youth. We will however try to include Israeli resource persons whenever

possible and relevant.

1.2 How teachers and parents contribute to sustainability – in results

Teachers and leaders of the organizations and youth groups will be involved in the discussions of the

programme goal, objectives and activities. This support and the understanding of the importance ofthe continuation of similar activities is a pre-requisite for any agreement. Part of the agreement will

be to keep promoting the program goal and relevant ideas in their organizations and within the

community whenever possible.

Parents will be invited to participate in some activities and will see how their children perform and

will later feel how they can create change in people attitude and reaction to such activities.



www.kmglobal.no 25

2. YGLOBAL CAPACITY

2.1 Administrative competence and capacity

The ODW project will be integrated in our portfolio of programmes and managed along the lines of

guidance for all programmes. Commitment from young members in the movement and to train them

in issues relating to our strategy and vision of a peaceful, just world, is part of our main goals and

mandate. For the ODW campaign in Norway, a co-ordinator will be selected and work with a

committee of appointed resource persons. YGlobal’s target group is youth. Hence our communication

is targeted towards youth be it seminars or other forms of resources.

In 2012 youth led advisory bodies were established, one for each of the four thematic areas in

YGlobal’s development work. The youth, in total 30 meeting on average, aged from 20-25 years, are

volunteers and young leaders with the organisation and generally trained in youth leadership. Most

of them have been part of one of the exchange programmes and trained in international issues not

only by reading, but by living in a different culture and exploring together with youth from othercountries. The mandate of the advisory groups is to influence decision making in the organisation,

train others and to take a leading role in the advocacy work of the organisation.

One of the leadership programmes is Young Peace Performers, the youth exchange programme of Y

Global. The 6 Norwegians taking part in the exchange of 2013/2014 in Palestine will be specifically

trained in issues relating to the context of this application. They are committed to continue working

with us after the return and remain in the programme till August 2014 working on campaigns and

training others. The participants will be a valuable resource if we are elected for the campaign. These

groups, the advisory bodies as well as the YPP participants, form the core for the campaign and to

meet with schools to spread the ODW campaign. Further, this is just the beginning and being achildren’s and youth movement, there are many more to draw from when wanted. The members in

the movement are spread through Norway.

2.2 Information cooperation

Y Global and our partner organisations have a lot of experience in exchange of young people between

Norway and Palestine. Organising programmes for internationals is one of the core activities for The

Joint Advocacy Initiative. They organise programmes such as the Journey for Justice and the Olive

picking program, giving internationals a thorough understanding of the situation. Receiving the ODW-

delegations in Palestine and making sure they have a useful stay will therefore be no problem for us.

Visiting Gaza may be a challenge due to restrictions on entry and the security situation, but we are

open to trying to manage a visit there too. Anyway, the main part of the activities will take part in the

West Bank

All our partner organisations have committed young volunteers who will be ready to come to Norway

to do trainings and information work as outlined in the “Informasjon til søkere”. We also have many

committed Norwegian volunteers who have spent longer or shorter periods in Palestine and who will

help out in this.



www.kmglobal.no 26

3. SUSTAINABLE CHANGE

3.1Ending the occupation

The youth will be promoting the Boycott-Divest-Sanctions (BDS) Campaign in their schools, groups

and respective communities. This should lead to the targeted Palestinian schools and youth

organizations being free of Israeli products. The youth will also advocate for BDS to YMCA and YWCA

movements internationally and try to get them to commit to BDS against the Israeli occupation.

The youth will also be advocating to the Palestinian Authority, for example through annual

conferences where Ministers and high officials will be invited. The conferences will also result in

resolutions directed to the Palestinian Authority. Getting Palestinian individuals and institutions on

board with the BDS-campaign is important for several reasons. Palestine is currently an important

market for Israel, and reducing it could push them to thinking in new ways. A stronger BDS in

Palestine will also send a signal to the international community and encourage more people to

support the BDS-campaign from their countries. Boycotting Israeli products will also open up formore Palestinian products. This will have a positive effect on the economy and create jobs.

Forming the youth in groups is a central element in the programme. Group members function as

support to the individuals and together as one strong a network to ultimately end the occupation.

The groups will be trained in non-violent resistance methods. Non-violent resistance is proven to be

the most effective way to reach the goal of liberation11

.

An important element of the training on active citizenship is that the youth groups choose a project

to employ and try out their skills. This may be trying to influence their organisation or their local

government on one of the topics of the programme.

The project will contribute to eliminating the devastating impact of the detention experience of the

ex-detainees, it will help them being free from the occupation of the destructive thoughts and

traumatic feelings they accumulate through the arrest period, the project will also enhane their re-

integration in the Palestinian Society that will form a vital step towards sustainable community-based

psychosocial rehabilitation process.

3.2 Political processes

The youth will be involved in the political “Palestine-question” in general. The activities will be local,

regional and national. A central element will be to promote the BDS Movement. The youth will alsotake part in peaceful gathering, prayers, and demonstrations against the occupation and its

measures. The programme will organize annual conferences on youth non-violent resistance.

Palestinian officials will be invited to the conferences, and they will have statements to duty bearers.

Introducing the concepts of non-violence, conflict transformation and tolerance among other

concepts as planned in the project, will enable youth to take part in political process as young leaders

demonstrating a model of healed conflict survivors standing for justice in a non-violent way, such as

campaigns like BDS.

11

Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan. Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of NonviolentConflict (Columbia University Press, 2011)



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The youth will participate in regional and national gatherings, and sharing the concerns of

Palestinians. This could be gatherings in the YWCA-YMCA-movements, within the UN system or other.

The political processes may be awareness raising for example about torture and each year marking

the days against torture and impact of arrest of children.

3.3 Active Citizenship and Non-violent resistance

The idea of non-violent resistance is based on the idea that the power ultimately lies with the people.

When we talk about non-violent or civil resistance we talk about a sustained, organised non-violent

action led by ordinary people against oppression. Ordinary people challenge the seemingly powerful

opponent, there is a political contest for legitimacy between the mobilized people and oppressive

adversary and there are organized methods of disruptive and constructive actions (engaging in

protests, noncooperation, and building alternative institutions). It is a way for ordinary people to

transform political power through organized actions. Being non-violent is not the same as beingpassive, rather it is taking active action to confront the injustice.

In our programme one of the main non-violent actions is the BDS-campaign. This is a way of protest

and non-cooperation that is gaining momentum and we want our youth to be part of that. But we

also want to train the youth on the basic idea of non-violence and help them understand the

possibilities that lie in strategic non-violent resistance. We will work with them on different existing

methods of non-violence and give them the tools to develop their own activities. This could be done

through screening movies such as “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” and “Bringing down a dictator” and

through practical exercises.

The active citizen (mainly implemented through the programme; From Subject to Citizen – S2C) is

based on the concept that young people are subjects and thereby both excluded and manipulated

politically, economically and socially. The result is that many youth are at risk, idle, lack hope and

confidence and are thus open to exploitation and political manoeuvring.

The S2C change model emphasises the importance of young people having a voice, space and ability

to influence their choices and the outcome of their lives as individuals and within their communities.

S2C related initiatives are designed to unlock the potential of the youth and equip them with skills

and confidence to transform themselves and other young people. In S2C/ active citizenship-training,

we do a root-cause analysis exercise, which involves looking at challenges youth face in their

community or country, beliefs and choices which nurture these challenges and identifying new beliefs

and choices as well as opportunities for action in order to create new and more positive results.

3.4 The situation without implementation of the programme

According to a study composed by Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD)12

from 2012,

there is a growing tendency of optimism and the willingness to activism amongst Palestinian youth. A

shocking percentage of 87% of the participants say that they have high confidence in their own

generation in the ability to change and lead, while only 38% of the participants say that they

12Which is specialized in public opinion poll with Palestinian youth (18-30 years old) in the West Bank and Gaza, andpublished by Miftah http://www.miftah.org/Doc/Polls/AWRAD010212En.pdf







www.kmglobal.no 28

themselves believe that they will have a position in public life in the future. The rest of the

participants believe in their generation, but not in their own ability to partake in the change process.

We therefore need this project to empower the youth to believe in their personal role in the change

process. If this programme is not implemented the youth may stay passive and not involved and they

will not have the tools to engage. Teenagers are soon to become university students, who are

historically the ones to initiate resisting initiatives for the sake of freedom, peace and justice.

Education and training of this age group is therefore essential to bring engagement of the targeted

group in shaping their future where they can enjoy, peace and justice in addition to their rights.

Violence against women has direct relation to the negative and abusive masculinity image is

increasing in Palestine. “Honor-killing” and violence against women is increasing in Palestine and it is

time for the YWCA to step in and educate the people about women rights and the consequences of

negative norms on women and the community at large in Palestine. If this programme is not

implemented we will not be able to do this, at least not with the strength of thousands of youth. In

addition the program will also educate the targeted groups on how to lobby and advocate for thechange of certain laws and policies that are abusive to women and do not punish those that violate

women’s’ rights and in some cases lead to killing them.

When we talk about ex-detainees related problems, certain issues normally come to mind. Ex-

detainees are likely to face medical and health hardships, psychological stress and trauma resulted

from living the detention and torture, fear, loss of hope, as well as educational, vocational, social and

attitudinal barriers to the process of reintegration in their communities. Most of them suffer of the

lack of living resources and have very limited access to rehabilitation service. This results in increased

suffering and more social exclusion and potentially increased violence if not trained other vice.

3.5 Strategies to ensure long-lasting and sustainable positive change

Engaging and empowering youth through training and active participation in the public and national

issues will be the strategy used to ensure the sustainability of the program. We will also involve the

leader and teachers to make sure that the youth groups receive support even after the end of the

programme. We believe that the understanding and commitment that the youth will get from the

training and work during the programme will bring a lasting change in them and be something they

take with them in their daily practices and in other arenas after the end of the programme.

Through working within the local communities the youths will create the ground to have more

community members participate in this and create a more sustainable initiative from within the

community itself.

Policy dialogue with decision makers in addition to advocating and lobbying to contribute to changing

polices and laws will also create sustainable results that can be achieved through this program. We

aspire to educate people and equip them with the needed tools and mechanisms to be able to

educate other people and influence change in policies and laws, for example those that discriminate

against women.

The activities carried out within this project are sustainable in their nature especially with the long-

term changes they will bring to both the youth and the whole community particularly that most of



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the activities focus on raising awareness and changing perceptions about specific social norms such

as transformative masculinity and non-violence actions against women through local and national

campaigns that will involve thousands of participants.

We believe that once people are aware of their rights, roles and responsibilities they will be able to

better act in implementing them and educating other family and community members. The main

factor of sustainability proved to be the best tool for change is to educate people and equip them

with the tools and techniques needed to educate other family and community members.

3.6 Continue to working with the youth after ending the programme

The partner organisations will keep working with the youth groups after the project and will give

them the advice and the support needed to keep functioning in a proper way. The groups will be

linked to the local YMCAs and the YWCAs so as to be engaged in future activities and running for

elections internally, board, committees etc.

3.7 Building blocks in Yprogramme linked to this programme

The building blocks in the Yprogramme exemplifies how YGlobal looks upon the need to integrate

individual programmes with interventions on community level as well as advocating for policy change

and changing over-all structures restricting the potential for individuals. The Yprogramme as

explained in the application provides examples of methods and focus areas for all blocs.

The programme proposed to the ODW will be connected to several of the building blocks and fall

under the programmes of Democratic Citizenship and Just Peace. Under Democratic Citizenship, the

methodology of Subject to Citizen training youth to become active citizens is key at the individual and

micro level. Further, youth leadership is important in all processes locally as well as on a national

level. For the Just Peace Programme, we will keep in mind the UN 1325 resolution, but as we are in

the extraordinary context of Palestine being occupied by Israel, this will naturally become focus in this

specific and potential programme with ODW.

3.8 Activities – new and existing

The Joint Advocacy initiative has long experience in working with young people and BDS. However

this will be a new initiative that engages younger youths in shaping their future

At the YWCA of Palestine the programme will support more new activities, for example the S2C and

transformative masculinity are two new concepts. However, violence against women and organizing

campaigns are familiar interventions to the YWCA.

For East Jerusalem YMCA the programme will be an expansion of ongoing activities for the ex -

detainees. The new elements will be training in active citizenship and non-violent resistance and a

stronger focus on training the youth in methods to deal with stress.

Gaza YMCA has long experience of leadership training and activities for youth in the age group, but

the focus on media training and doing advocacy through media will be new.



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4. PARTNERSHIP

4.1 What is common for all partners?

All the partners are part of the YWCA-YMCA world movements and share a common value system.

They all work to end the impact of occupation on their target groups and work to end occupation as

the main cause of people sufferings by nonviolent resistance that engage youths. As youth

organisations they all work on empowering young people and believe in the role of youth in shaping

the future. Working to improve the living conditions and ending the occupation will provide for this.

The partners already cooperate in different ways, for example through the Joint Advocacy Initiative

that is a joint organisation for the YWCA and the YMCA. In the programme they will cooperate on

some of the activities, each contributing with their strengths and experiences.

4.2 Estimated budget per partner and the outreach

Partner Budget (three year) Outreach

Palestine YWCA 10 860 000 5000 Joint Advocacy Initiative 3 000 000 3000

East Jerusalem YMCA 7 000 000 1750

Gaza YMCA 3 000 000 500

4.3 Collaboration with governments

We will work with the Palestinian Authority through the Palestinian Ministry of Education, the

Ministry of Youth And Sports and the Ministry of Women Affairs. We will cooperate with them in

different ways, for example we will work with the Ministry of Edcuation to reach government schools.

We will also engage in policy dialogue and advocate for our campaigns towards the ministries. One

example of this will be influencing the Ministry of Woman Affairs to change laws and policies thatdiscriminate against women. YMCA Gaza like all non-governmental organizations is under the

provisions of the Interior law. In the Gaza Strip it is overseen by Hamas government. Hamas does not

interfere with internal affairs and programs in the organizations, and YMCA Gaza is free to implement

programs and activities. YMCA Gaza’s partner centers operate in the same way we are and they are

not subject to Hamas.

5. RISK

5.1 Risk elements and follow-up of the youth to safeguard themWhen we mobilize youth to work for just peace in Palestine there will always be some risk involved.

However the programme will have a strong focus on minimising these risks, especially since we are

talking about young youth here. For example we will make sure that political events happen in safe

spaces where we do not risk confrontation with the Israeli military or settlers. Our partners have long

experience in organising protest activities, such as vigils and demonstrations, in a safe way. The

training will also include how to plan activities in a way that ensures their safety. This includes

training in assessing risk, different creative non-violent resistance methods and how to act if they do

end up in a dangerous situation.

One of the main political focuses will be on BDS. The youth will be promoting the BDS in their own

schools, families, friends and communities. This allows them to be engaged and make a difference



without the need to be in direct conflict with the Israelis.

Most of the activities will take place in the local communities, and we will work with the communities

to ensure that they understand our goals. We will also be careful of how we design the programme

elements so as to make it accepted in some communities, and not to put the youth and their families

in risk.

The ex-detainee youth will be introduced to a new concept through the training. As part of the

programme they are introduced to a new way of life. Taking a stand against the violence they used to

be accused of and also taking part in. The programme is introducing approaches that may bring them

to more secure situations than what they used to be in.

The YMCA and YWCA are organisations with a long history and strongly rooted in the community.

This will also help safe-guarding the youth.

Documents

KFUK-KFUM Global - Breaking barriers