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On World Environment Day: ActionAid Palestine to Support Youth-Green Initiatives for Palestinian Environment and Climate Action

( photo of a school student who is benefiting from  raising awareness sessions conducted by the   initiative of Green World which aims to  recycle plastic bottles and train school students on how to recycle plastic materials)

ActionAid Palestine (AAP) celebrated World Environment Day which falls on 5th of June each year. AAP celebrated this occasion by highlighting and supporting role of Palestinian youth in protecting environment and climate action. Through its “Civil Society and Democratic Participation of Palestinian youth” programme, AAP supported youth-led environmental initiatives as it believes that investments in youth must be channeled to enable them to adopt environmentally sustainable methods for their future. AAP does this by providing youth with skills development, capacity building, mentoring and grants.

A group of people standing around a table

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(photo of the Palestinian young man, Mohammad Al-Muhtasib while is he training school students onhow to recycle plastic bottles through an environmental initiative of “Green World”)

“Green world” initiative is a youth-led environmental initiative supported by AAP tackling plastic pollution resulting from the use of plastic bottles. That environmental problem pushed 22 active young people establish a youth group  in Hebron governorate in the south of West Bank and compelled them to think innovatively about how to address it since plastic pollution has detrimental health, social and economic effects. They adopted recycling idea through the Korean Centre which has an incubator for Green world. It provides an active space for youth to implement their activities. They are working on model for grinding plastic (plastic bottles) and re-using it to maintain the environment and reduce waste. The group has organized awareness raising sessions around environmental education/protection and prevention of hazards in collaboration with public schools, and holding voluntary days for collecting plastic bottles, and installing bins in schools.

A picture containing person, indoor, table, man

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(photo of school students in Hebron in the south of West Bank while they are learning how to recycle plastic bottles through environmental initiative of Green World)

Engaging youth in environmental protection not only creates direct impact on changing youth behaviors and attitudes, but possibly influences their parents, relatives, and families. Young people can play an active role in improving the environment and change their lifestyle. They can make their homes, schools and youth organizations more environmentally friendly by adopting environmentally friendly practices, recycling of different materials as well as preserving resources such as water and electricity.

A group of people posing for the camera

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(photo of school students in Hebron in the south of West Bank while they are learning how to recycle plastic bottles through environmental initiative of Green World)

Mohammad Al-Muhtaisb who is leading this youth group and initiative says, “this initiative is very useful allowing us to enjoy our free time usefully and improve our critical thinking in solving our current environmental problems. We expanded our knowledge and shared experience with factories and workshops to exchange ideas to reach innovative solutions for the most common environmental problems. Mohammad expressed his thank to AAP saying: “we reached to an advanced stage in this field by having necessary machines needed for recycling plastic products”.

Background Information

ActionAid

ActionAid is a global federation working for social justice and gender equality and eradicate poverty. ActionAid works worldwide to empower people living in poverty and exclusion with focus on women’s rights .ActionAid works directly and closely with communities, civil society organizations, women movements and social groups and movements and other allies to tackle root causes of poverty and oppression. ActionAid deliver grassroots programmes to utilize efforts of global struggle movements working for a just, fair and sustainable world. Based on human rights-based approach and women rights’ principles, ActionAid seeks to fairly re-distribute powers through solidarity, empowerment, awareness campaigns and creating alternatives to ensure that everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from oppression.

ActionAid in Palestine (AAP) is a part of that federation which 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 Gaza Strip and West Bank

Mobile:

+972 (0) 595242890

Office:

+972 (0) (2) 22 13 137

Email:

 Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org