ActionAid Palestine to Stress Importance of Promoting Youth Role in Intergenerational Solidarity
Statement of ActionAid Palestine on International Youth Day
Palestine -ActionAid Palestine (AAP) celebrated the International Youth Day which falls on 12th of August each year under theme of “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages”. This year's occasion sheds light on the ways that young people employ in enhancing solidarity with different generations and community groups and raising their demands related to increasing their participation at the official, political, institutional and community levels.
Through its different programs and work with local and international partners, AAP highlights the positive role that young people can play in reaching vulnerable groups in their societies. This was embodied by giving young people the opportunity to contribute to responding to all emergencies and natural, humanitarian and political crises affecting the Palestinian community, and volunteering to serve the most marginalized areas in their communities. Through these programs, Palestinian youth engaged in building alliances and networking at the local and regional levels to support the Palestinian cause. Young people have also led many environmental and community initiatives that seek to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian community. In addition, AAP supports and implements many trainings and capacity building programs to enhance the leadership, technical, professional and life skills of youth.
Although the percentage of the youth (18-29 years) in Palestine was about 22% (1.17 million) of the total population in mid - 2022 , unemployment rates constitute the biggest challenge for the youth, as these rates reached 62% among females and 33% among males and were the highest in Gaza Strip compared to the West Bank (65% and 24%, respectively). Palestinian youth also suffer from low levels of political representation and insufficient opportunities, although there are some institutional and societal efforts to better engage and empower them.
The country director of AAP, Ibrahim Ibraigheth said: “as we celebrate International Youth Day, there is a need to take practical actions and build policies to increase youth engagement, empowerment, employment and capacity building to help them to build their future. The reality of the Palestinian youth is still difficult due to the difficult political, economic, and social conditions resulting from the policies and practices of the Israeli occupation and Palestinian political division. AAP supports Palestinian youth as innovators and leaders who play an important role in strengthening solidarity and cohesion between generations and different groups of society.”
Background Information
ActionAid in Palestine (AAP) is a part of global federation working for social justice and gender equality and eradicate poverty in more than 46 countries around the world. AAP started its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian People as ActionAid believes that they should enjoy their rights to freedom, justice and self-determination. AAP implements a number of programs through its engagement with communities and women and youth groups seeking to empower them and enhance their influential civil and political participation to understand their rights and undertake collective activism to address the protracted rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation of Palestine. AAP works simultaneously to enhance their leadership capacity and knowledge to practice their citizenship in holding authorities and other duty bearers to account.
For more information, please contact
Riham Jafari
Coordinator of Advocacy and Communication in Palestine
Mobile:
+972 (0) 595242890
Office:
+972 (0) (2) 22 13 137
Email: