ActionAid Palestine Honors Leaders of Youth-Led initiatives for 2025 to Recognize their Role in Strengthening Community Resilience and Humanitarian Response
Occupied Palestinian Territory – Ramallah – ActionAid Palestine organized a recognition ceremony honoring a number of young women and men volunteers and leaders of youth-Led initiatives for 2025 who led community initiatives across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during 2025. The event was attended by youth leaders and volunteers, as well as representatives of Palestinian youth organizations.
The ceremony was held on the occasion of the International Volunteer Day, observed on 5 December 2025, to highlight the impact of these initiatives in strengthening community resilience amid the extremely difficult conditions facing Palestinian society. These conditions include two years of genocidal war against the Gaza Strip and an unprecedented military escalation in the West Bank, marked by incursions, arrests, and settler violence. The initiatives varied across environmental, educational, emergency, humanitarian, cultural, psychosocial, and awareness-raising fields.
The event aimed to recognize the efforts of leaders of youth initiatives, celebrate their active humanitarian and community role, and shed light on the impact of their voluntary work in enhancing resilience and social cohesion. It also emphasized that voluntary work is a cornerstone of sustainable development and positive change. The event provided an opportunity for participants to speak about their initiatives, promote a culture of volunteering and community initiative, and encourage new groups, especially youth to engage in volunteer work. Outstanding initiatives were highlighted for their role in fostering a sense of belonging and social responsibility among volunteers and in building bridges of communication and partnerships between volunteers and community institutions.
The event opened with welcoming remarks by Jamil Swailmeh, General Director of ActionAid Palestine, who stated: “Today we celebrate high-quality youth initiatives that represent practical and effective models of community-based humanitarian response and that have contributed to achieving tangible and sustainable impact within an extremely complex humanitarian and political context. Honoring those leading these initiatives reflects a shared commitment to strengthening the role of youth as key actors in humanitarian and development work not merely as beneficiaries of interventions, but as partners in design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. This aligns with the principles of participatory approaches, community ownership, and linking relief with recovery and development.
This was followed by an open discussion with representatives and members of the initiatives and youth organizations, addressing the importance of these initiatives, their community impact, and the challenges they face in implementation. The discussion also touched on the steps needed to enhance the role of youth in development and humanitarian work and to improve coordination and solidarity among youth, community, and governmental institutions.
Aseel Safi, representative of the “Safety Is a Blessing” initiative in the Gaza Strip, spoke during the event via Zoom about the initiatives implemented by youth committees of the Wefaq Association for Women and Child Care, a partner of ActionAid Palestine:
“Our initiatives are essential youth-led efforts arising from a real community need due to the spread of unexploded ordnance. They aim to raise awareness of the dangers of these explosives. We work with very limited resources and use diverse awareness methods in displacement camps, such as performing educational puppet theater for children about the risks of unexploded bombs.”
For her part, Suad Owais, representative of the “From Generation to Generation for Traditional Games” initiative, explained that the initiative seeks to revive Palestinian cultural heritage as a tool to promote mental health and community cohesion. Activities involving traditional games were organized for mothers and children, strengthening their relationship and providing psychological relief”.
Mahmoud Abdelhadi, representative of the “Ready for Any Emergency” initiative, stated: “Our initiatives were crucial in training 35 young women and men in emergency preparedness, fully equipped to respond to emergencies in first aid and civil defense. This is especially important in our village, Attara, in northern West Bank, which is frequently subjected to settler violence and occupation forces.”
Mai Staiti, from local community organizations and representative of the Paths of Resilience initiative and the Alternative Financing Academy, said:“the idea behind our initiatives stems from the need to search for alternative funding ideas beyond conditional funding, through local financing pathways, empowering community institutions, setting community priorities, empowering civil society, and supporting small projects.”
Shatha Al-Azza, representative of the “Let Us Plant Awareness and Harvest Change” initiative from the Rehana Cooperative Association, highlighted the importance of raising youth awareness on environmental and climate issues: “Our initiatives targeted 30 young women and men from Bethlehem refugee camps by raising their awareness of issues related to climate justice in the Palestinian context. We held awareness seminars, produced an educational booklet, recorded television awareness episodes on environmental issues, and trained youth on documenting environmental violations.”
Mohammad Al-Harbouq, representative of the “Towards a Green Future” initiative in the village of Battir, emphasized the importance of educating children and school students on environmental issues as the generation of the future: “Our initiatives focus on environmental issues by raising awareness among school students especially in Battir—and rehabilitating greenhouses for the two schools in the village, forming committees within them, and training their members in environmental agriculture.”
Milad Al-Hayek, coordinator of the youth participation initiative in olive harvesting under the Community Advocacy Program at the YMCA, stated: “Our initiative seeks to strengthen the spirit of cooperation and mutual aid during the olive harvest season, enhancing the resilience of Palestinian farmers who face numerous risks due to occupation policies, land confiscation, and the uprooting of olive trees.”
Samah Smasra, representative of the “Knowledge Corner” initiative from the Roa Youth Group to promote reading among children and youth in Al-Dhahiriya town, said: “the idea of our initiative is to create a safe space for reading that encourages children and youth to read amid the widespread use of social media.”
Jihad Al-Namoura, representative of the Youth Humanitarian Action Group – Palestine, which was established by ActionAid Palestine, spoke about the humanitarian interventions and initiatives carried out by the group in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These included educational initiatives, psychosocial support, capacity building, and awareness on the impacts of war and explosives in displacement centers. Jihad emphasized the importance of involving youth in all decision-making processes related to humanitarian action, including planning and implementation.
Sujood Al-Shorbagy, representative of the psychosocial support initiative for displaced children from Nur Shams Camp, pointed to the importance of the initiative, stating: “there is a great need for psychosocial relief activities and recreational initiatives for children displaced from Tulkarm camps to alleviate the psychological trauma caused by displacement and incursions. There is also a need to implement initiatives that target mothers and children together.”
In turn, Helmi Abu Atwan, Public Relations Officer at Paylara organizations , expressed his admiration for the initiatives, saying: “the diversity of initiatives proves their importance, as they arise from the real needs of Palestinian society in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This demonstrates that the presence of youth with their ideas and initiatives is essential for development and sustainability. Our society deserves to progress through a sustainable development mindset, not one based on projects that end when funding ends.”
ActionAid Palestine’s support for youth initiatives stems from its belief in the importance of investing in youth potential. Involving youth in preparedness and readiness for emergencies is not merely an option, but a national necessity to strengthen community resilience and protect lives. The organization’s support reflects its deep conviction in youth’s ability to protect the social fabric. They are not merely survivors they are forces of resilience and change, facing seemingly impossible challenges every day with determination, creativity, and a deep commitment to their people.
About ActionAid International
ActionAid International is a global federation working with more than 41 million people across over 72 of the world’s poorest countries. We strive for a world founded on justice and sustainability, where everyone enjoys a life of dignity, freedom, and a world free from poverty and oppression. Our work focuses on achieving social justice, gender equality, and eradicating poverty.
ActionAid began its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian people, grounded in their right to freedom, justice, and self-determination. In Palestine, ActionAid implements various programmes through engagement with Palestinian communities, youth groups, and women. We aim to empower women and young people, enhance their effective civic and political participation, deepen their understanding of their rights, and mobilize them to engage in collective action to address rights violations resulting from prolonged occupation. Additionally, we work to strengthen their leadership capacities and support them in practicing active citizenship by holding authorities and other duty bearers accountable.
For more information, please contact:
Riham Jafari
Communications and Advocacy coordinator – ActionAid Palestine
