[AS
ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO
READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP
SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and
conversations) THAT EMPOWER
DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully
Palestine]
His
Majesty King Abdullah told visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry on
Wednesday that Jordan stands ready to shoulder its responsibility in
the fight against radicalism and terrorism in the region.
Jordan, said the King, will
support regional and international efforts to combat the threats and
designs of the Islamic State out of its deep conviction that IS poses a
grave threat to regional and international security and stability.
The US secretary of state
stressed that “the coalition that is at the heart of our global
strategy… will continue to grow and deepen in the days ahead... because
the US and the world will simply not stand by to watch as ISIL’s evil
spreads”.
President Barack Obama
delivered an historic speech to the nation on Wednesday, announcing his
country’s intention to fight off the Islamic State advances.
The US, said the president,
will launch air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria, signalling the
administration’s foreign policy shift.
The savagery of IS warrants indeed such departure from the traditional hands-off policy Obama has followed so far.
The US president also announced increased backing for the moderate Syrian opposition fighting against IS.
The unequivocal support for
the coalition of regional and international countries willing to fight
IS did not obliterate, however, an issue that is often said to be the
reason for many Middle Eastern problems: the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
The King reiterated the fact
that this remains a central issue for Jordan, and indeed the entire
Middle East, and that the unwavering support of the US is required if
the two-state solution, which would guarantee the creation of an
independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, is to
be reached.
And the two should not be mutually exclusive.
While the months ahead will
show progress on the front that fights terror, they should also be used
to make advances on the Palestinian-Israeli front.
Jordan does not shirk its responsibility on either of these two pressing issues.
Neither should the US and the world community at large.
[AS
ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO
READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP
SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and
conversations) THAT EMPOWER
DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
PEACE... and hopefully
Palestine]
Abandon your fears, listen to your passion, explore
the depths of science.
Reach the sky with innovation.
One day I asked my mother the question I ask every year:
“What do you want for Mother’s Day?”
And she gave her usual answer: “I
only want you to be happy.” This answer meant that I had to make an
effort to think about what gift to give her. After a few moments of
silence following the ritual answer, however, and in a timid, kind, and
humble voice, she spoke. Aha! She started to talk about computers,
software, Skype, Viber, WhatsApp, and free-of-charge long-distance
communication; I realised that she wanted a smartphone!
My mother, in her seventies, has never wanted to have
anything to do with science and technology, but somehow she has now
discovered that she needs a smartphone. So when I asked whether she
wanted an iPhone or an Android, she inquired about the difference
between the two but ultimately left the choice up to me.
Young researchers. courtesy of Al Nayzak.
This change in my mother’s attitude toward technology reminded me of
her astonishment when I made a major shift in my career to establish Al
Nayzak Organization for Scientific Innovation. Back then she wondered:
“Why?” My answer: “To build a generation that produces rather than
consumes science and technology.” Ten years ago, when this project took
its first steps in Jerusalem before spreading all over Palestine, my
mother only laughed. But now, she asked for a smartphone and made a
conscious effort to passionately investigate the different types and
specifications in an attempt to understand the various technical
details. I reminded her of that funny incident ten years ago when I had
said – with complete optimism – “Let’s hope that ten years from now you
will have a new smartphone whose label says ‘Made in Palestine’!”
This anecdote made me extremely happy and proud to have established
Al Nayzak, which is a unique initiative that looks for young talents in
science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and plants an
ambitious vision in the hearts of our community: “To develop, root, and
reinforce a new culture that embraces science, and to announce this
culture among Palestinian youth so that their competence in productive
applied sciences would provide them with better economic opportunities
that would lead to their future prosperity.”
♦ Al Nayzak is a non-profit, non-partisan Palestinian
organisation that was established in 2003 by a group of Palestinian
scientific innovators. It specialises in supportive education,
entrepreneurship, scientific innovation, and research and development.
Al Nayzak’s five branches are located in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Nablus,
Hebron, and Gaza, in addition to its Science and Technology House
(museum) in Birzeit’s old city.
Al Nayzak’s approach is to make scientific-thinking skills become an
inherent part of the lives of Palestinian people. In order to do this,
it applies empirical tools to help individuals acquire thinking skills
and relate them to genuine savoir-faire and technology. In this way they
become capable not only of facing challenges in their journey to
achieve excellence but also of helping to develop their environment and
build a modern Palestinian society. A scientific exhibition. courtesy of Al Nayzak.
We have adopted a number of annual programmes that target various age
groups, including Talented Students Incubators for kids and adolescents
from 10 to 14; Young Researchers for those from 14 to 17; Scientific
and Technological Entrepreneurship (STEP) for school students from 14 to
17; Made in Palestine (MIP) for those who are 18 and above; and
Tafkeer, thinking technology for schoolteachers. There are also a number
of complementary projects to convey a message of science and knowledge
to all segments of the society.
Our science home is managed by a team of specialists who possess
unique scientific experiences in applied sciences and engineering, in
addition to a group of psychosocial and pedagogic counselling experts.
It serves all Palestinian areas through its offices in Jerusalem,
Ramallah, Gaza, and Nablus, as well as in the House of Science and
Technology in the Old City of Birzeit. It benefits from a widespread
network of coordinators all over the country. Al Nayzak has opted for an
approach of annual programmes rather than projects of limited duration
and embraces the scientific talents of people 10 years old or above. Its
core programmes include the following:
1. Talented Students Incubators
The Incubator is an interactive annual programme designed to host
talented students and others with exceptional intellectual abilities. At
the beginning of the programme students in the third grade are assessed
through specialised psychological and technical exams. Successful
students then become eligible to embark on a four-year journey to
develop their talents and acquire leadership skills to become pioneers
within their society. The tools are tailored to the specific abilities
and needs of the students.
2.Young Researchers – Badir (Initiate)
Adolescents: Agents of Positive Change
The Young Researcher programme enables adolescents to discover
knowledge and explore social phenomena using a number of scientific
applications that are of interest to them. They are encouraged to think
outside the box and have their own vision of their community’s issues.
The programme is structured to combine scientific research and
practical application. Results of the research are published to help
implement initiatives in the community and respond to certain topics.
Adolescents are first oriented to the basics of scientific research and
critical observation for the purpose of problem solving in their
communities. They learn to apply logical analysis and subjective
criticism in choosing their research topics using scientific methods
until they can formulate their conclusions/recommendations. They then
use their research results to raise public awareness through the
“Advocacy through Innovation” campaign. They share their observations
through social media, workshops, and field visits. Some of the proposed
solutions have been broadcast on video spots and local TV channels.
Afterwards, the adolescents start to lead community-based initiatives
and volunteer work to help solve the problems which they discussed in
their research and which affect their daily lives as adolescents. As
such, they use their acquired skills to work for positive change.
Upon
their graduation from the programme, the young researchers become
members of Al Nayzak Volunteer Unit, which represents a “national
taskforce” that provides a role model for other projects in the
community.
3. Palestinian Science and Technology Program – STEP
Launched in 2013, STEP supports Palestinian students with innovative
projects and research ideas in various fields of applied science,
engineering, and technology. The programme disseminates a culture of
science and technology research and innovation by empowering the
students with the necessary capacities to implement unique and original
projects to help their communities to develop in order to keep up with
the latest advancements in science and technology.
Applicants to STEP receive an intensive, specialised training in
various topics, including scientific research methodologies and
professional scientific writing. Furthermore, applicants receive
technical and professional support and specialised counselling by Al
Nayzak professionals. The first and second round marked a milestone with
the submission of over 950 projects by 1,780 students from various
schools in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Eighty-two projects prepared by
167 students were shortlisted and made it to the nation-wide closing
exhibition and ceremony that were attended by 5,000 visitors. The 15
winning projects provided implementers with the opportunity to
participate in a scientific trip to the United States to enrol in an
intensive training programme at the Smithsonian National Air and Space
Museum and NASA in the areas of engineering, sciences, and physics.
Furthermore, the winning projects were displayed at the Air and Space
Museum to be seen by thousands of visitors.
4. MIP- Made in Palestine incubator for entrepreneurismand scientific innovation
Made in Palestine/Made in Jerusalem is one of Al Nayzak’s annual
programmes. It aims to support innovative ideas in science, engineering,
and technology; and it links the academic experience gained at
university level with the technical skills needed to enter into the
world of business, in an effort to provide solutions to the
technological, scientific, and industrial problems encountered by the
local community.
The core focus of the programme is to afford Palestinian innovators
both inside and outside universities with genuine opportunities to
achieve their hopes and aspirations. They would be able to use their
capacities to develop new products or solve technical problems using
creative methods and mechanisms. The programme has been a phenomenal
success in preparing the ground for a culture of innovation and
celebrating creativity in Palestine. Moreover, the participants have
achieved the highest scores in local and international competitions such
as “Made in the Arab World” and “Stars of Science.”
At the Science House, Birzeit. courtesy of Al Nayzak.
Thinking Technology is a distinguished educational technology
programme that aims to develop an effective Palestinian model for the
integration and use of technology in the educational process in schools.
It targets dozens of schools of various governmental, private, and
UNRWA systems, focusing on four main areas: advancing the
teaching-learning physical environment at schools; developing students’
skills in critical thinking and technological production; on-the-job
teacher training, and creating Arabic innovative e-content that is made
available in the Apple store and the Google play store.
6. House of Science – Pilot National Science and
TechnologyMuseum (NaSM
Crowning its series of achievements and a 10-year journey of
innovation, the organisation inaugurated in 2013 the first Science and
Technology House in Palestine, where visitors enjoy hands-on activities,
all dedicated to creating a culture of scientific thinking. This
constitutes a pilot project prior to the establishment of the National
Science and Technology Museum in Palestine. For this purpose, Al Nayzak
has invested all of its efforts in its first ten years of operation to
building local Palestinian technical capacities, with the vision of
designing and building high-quality, scientific hands-on exhibitions and
exhibits, and developing interactive activities for visitors around
each exhibit.
The Science House received approximately ten thousand visitors during its first year of operation.
7. The first Innovation Park and STEM School … in Jerusalem
Al Nayzak has implemented an initiative to establish the first
Innovation Park and Talented Students School in Palestine to be located
in Jerusalem. This school aims to educate students who believe in
excellence. We desperately need a national Jerusalemite educational
system that is not based on rote learning but rather aims to motivate
creative and critical thinking and analysis. As a result of
communication technology, all the information we search for has become
available online. However, the important question is: How should we deal
with this mass of information? And how can we use this accumulated
information to promote analytical capacities that enable us to use our
understanding to innovate and create and build knowledge-based capital?
The Innovation Park comprises an elementary and secondary school that
specialise in science, technology, engineering, and math. It provides
diversified facilities, including a gym, a swimming pool, playgrounds,
traditional and digital libraries, and indoor and outdoor theatres. It
also hosts a scientific garden that is open to the public round the
clock.
8. Art of Science – Art in Science
At the Science House, Birzeit. courtesy of Al Nayzak.
Science is an essential art that impacts our daily activities and
constitutes a vital component of human culture. We have therefore worked
on several programmes that merge art and drama with science to explain
concepts that would be hard to clarify using traditional methods.
The Scientific Theatre is a live interactive stage performance that
presents scientific methodology, igniting the audience’s imagination
regarding research and facilitating the discovery of real answers to
serious problems that they encounter in their lives.
“Why can’t we connect the refrigerator to lightning if lightning is
electricity? Why does hair stand when it is charged with electricity?”
This is what the Scientific Theater play character (main actor) asks on stage.
There you have a summary of Al Nayzak, ten years after its
establishment. A simple idea; tons of patience, passion, and daily
effort have brought about remarkable success. Over the next ten years we
will continue our programmes and transform them into national
programmes that are accessible to all Palestinians who are interested in
science, engineering, and technology. Together with our partners, we
look forward to inaugurating the National Science and Technology Museum.
And we will set up the Innovation Park’s network to start in Jerusalem,
connecting other governorates nationwide; it will reflect Al Nayzak’s
path with a first step in Jerusalem and steady steps to every other town
in Palestine.
And we hope that, ten years from now, this Jerusalem-based national
institution will be able to offer my mother a smartphone that is “made
in Palestine”!
The Science and Technology House
Birzeit-Old Town…Palestine Note: The House’s activities are for Children ages 6-100 years.
In 2013, Al Nayzak Organization
celebrates its ten year anniversary with the opening of the Saadeh
Science and Technology House. The organization hopes for it to be the
destination for all those seeking knowledge in an interactive and
nontraditional manner, as well as it hopes for it to bring out the ties
between science and technology and our everyday life.
For My Identity, I Sing! Across Palestine, spring flowers are filling the landscape with their
vibrant red, yellow and purple colors, welcoming in the new season and
the transformative renewal that comes with it.
On Friday, April 18, 2014, in the National Theater of Palestine, East
Jerusalem, a different type of blossoming took place as boys and girls
aged 14 to 17 from East Jerusalem took to the stage for an hour-long
public performance of original songs. This event was the first in a
series of concerts for the Al-Mada project “For My Identity, I Sing!,”
an 18-month long cultural and arts education initiative, that is being
completed with funding from Welfare Association. This project gives
Jerusalem area youth the chance to explore their identity and issues of
importance through musical and artistic expression.
Al Mada believes in the dignity and worth of every individual and the
communities we serve. Our vision is a Palestine where music and the
arts are at the heart of a culturally vibrant and healthy community
life. We work on the basis that everyone contributes towards making
social changes and that the power of art can be used to achieve truly
sustainable development if individuals are enabled to contribute to the
shaping of their societies. Communication, integrity, innovation,
respect and diversity are the core values, which inform every aspect of
our work.
Our Mission
Specializing in music, art and music therapy, Al Mada
Association for Arts based development affirms the importance of the
arts in promoting individual and collective wellbeing. Bringing musical
and art therapies to advance self expression, inclusion, therapy, social
justice and advocacy is at the core of its inception and the focus
which drives the organization to work with Palestine’s most vulnerable
communities. Al Mada’s art therapists do direct interventions with a
number of vulnerable groups; train teachers, community and health
workers, so all programs are sustainable and work with care givers who
receive no counseling themselves. Through partnerships with the
Palestinian Authority institutions, international, local and civil
society organizations, Al Mada is able to pool resources and extend
program reach in areas including gender, education, culture, poverty
reduction and mental health.
Across Palestine, spring flowers are filling the landscape with their
vibrant red, yellow and purple colors, welcoming in the new season and
the transformative renewal that comes with it.
On Friday, April 18, 2014, in the National Theater of Palestine, East
Jerusalem, a different type of blossoming took place as boys and girls
aged 14 to 17 from East Jerusalem took to the stage for an hour-long
public performance of original songs. This event was the first in a
series of concerts for the Al-Mada project “For My Identity, I Sing!,”
an 18-month long cultural and arts education initiative, that is being
completed with funding from Welfare Association. This project gives
Jerusalem area youth the chance to explore their identity and issues of
importance through musical and artistic expression.
***
In 2012, John came to Palestine with Remember Shakti for the first
solidarity concert by major international artists. In 2010, John donated
his entire cash prize award from the Jazzahead Festival in Germany to
support Al-Mada’s music therapy center in Ramallah, the first of its
kind in Palestine.
Dear Friends: I would like to make a short statement.
I will be making a second
solidarity concert in Ramallah soon, and I’ve been asked a number of
times why I do this.
It is my personal conviction that the Palestinian
people need much more international support.
The situation has been bad
for many people in Palestine for too long, and it is not getting any
better, to the contrary, it keeps getting worse.
My wife and I have been
working alongside a very dedicated Arts-Based Community Development NGO
in Ramallah known as Al Mada.
There is a simple reason for our desire
to support our friends in Al Mada, it is because they are helping to
cure traumatized children and adults through the use of music and music
therapy.
We feel that in a world full, of conflict, this is the right
cause.
Al Mada’s work is non-political and so is our support for them.
They work with justice, equality and dignity in mind, and so do we.
It
is our personal responsibility to show support and encouragement to the
people who every day are helping children and adults to conquer their
trauma, and give them another opportunity to live more free and creative
lives.
We seek to bring a sense of joy and relief from what is often a very
stressful life in Palestine. Through our programs, we are able to help
individuals to connect both with themselves and with others in their
immediate community.
Community development requires a collaborative, holistic approach. We
support change that comes from within communities, through their own
members, resources, capacities and diversities and believe that
individuals and groups can be empowered to be thriving community members
through artistic creative processes. The arts provide a space and a
platform where individuals can express, create and heal and are a
powerful tool to advocate for concerns and rights, thus advocacy
represents another important component of our work.
Our objectives
To introduce the arts as a developmental tool with considerable potential to empower individuals.
To strengthen the role of the arts in Palestinian society at a time when the arts are overlooked and underfunded.
To introduce and develop a Palestinian specific approach to music and expressive art therapy.
To establish that development should not be limited to
infrastructure or economic growth and is not strictly measurable by the
GDP of a country, but is more accurately reflected in terms of quality
of life.
To provide a non-threatening platform through which to advocate for causes which impact Palestinian society as a whole.
To compliment and support the work of the public sector which delivers critical services under challenging conditions.
A hands-on approach is emphasized during training, as participants
are introduced to theory and different concepts, while going through a
process of practical exercises and “living the experience”. In addition,
trainees have the opportunity to put into practice the acquired tools
and knowledge by working in communities at the grassroots level before
their training ends.
In 2013, Al Mada developed and completed an arts-based child
protection and educational project with generous support from the Qattan
Foundation and in partnership with UNICEF. This innovative project
resulted with the production of our first CD for children called I Love Life.
This family-friendly CD introduces pre-school and primary school
children to new educational concepts in a stimulating and
thought-provoking way through 8 original songs. The album’s songs were
composed by the Palestinian musician and composer Odeh Turjman, the
founder and artistic director of Al-Mada, and the lyrics were written by
Khaled Juma’, a Palestinian poet from Gaza who has written lyrics for
numerous songs for children and adults. The songs are about children’s
rights and touch on the themes of equality, the right to life,
protection from child labor, and safety from conflict.
The album was recorded and edited in Al-Mada’s state-of-the-art
recording studio by a team of professional musicians and technicians and
a group of eight Palestinian children aged 8-12. 2000 copies of the CD
were printed and 1000 of them were distributed to kindergartens and
schools across the occupied Palestinian Territories in partnership with
the Ministry of Education, UNRWA and ANERA. Our goal is to increase the
number of children who have access to this CD in Palestine and to make
it available regionally and in the diaspora, as well.
The idea for I Love Life came from the shortage of
local/Palestinian musical resources that are directed at children.
Educators, especially, lack creative and educational supplies and have
been forced to rely on outdated materials and to use educational
resources from countries that have little cultural relevance to children
living in Palestinian society.
Al-Mada believes that art and creativity are essential to healthy
child development and committed to strengthen the role of music in the
educational process for Palestinian children.
We are thrilled to have
created a culturally- and linguistically- sensitive product that is
specific to the Palestinian context, while also spreading awareness
about universal topics, such as human rights, peace, the environment and
respect for oneself and community. Even adults highly enjoy this
unique CD and we hope you will, too! Contact Al-Mada to purchase a copy of I Love Life
Al-Mada: The power of music is universal, eliminating barriers. It reaches us,
no matter who or where we are. Whether it makes us dance or sing along,
or evokes tears or laughter, music always touches us in ways nothing
else can.
The Institute for Palestine StudiesColor
photos of Palestine from the December 1926 issue of National Geographic
magazine (Vol L, VI), "In the Birthplace of Christianity," recently
donated to IPS's private library. Original captions included in the
photo descriptions.
"Palestine is a land of comely young women
and handsome old men. The years which affect the fleeting beauty of the
former bring dignity and character to the faces of the latter, who are
at their best when in repose, gossiping among themselves, soaking up the
sun, or lazily spinning a handful of snowy yarn."
"Moslem
and Christian Neighbors of El-Bireh and Ramallah. Among the peasants
and small-town dwellers of Palestine, the veil is seldom used for
concealment. But convention makes it difficult to obtain photographs of
women. This convention, which has a religious significance for the
Moslems, is often equally strong among Christians. The woman here is a
Moslem matron of El-Bireh. The chaplets of coins are thought by some to
have inspired the halo in sacred art."
"A
Turbaned Patriarch. Palestine is a land of comely young women and
handsome old men. The years which affect the fleeting beauty of the
former bring dignity and character to the faces of the latter, who are
at their best when in repose, gossiping among themselves, soaking up the
sun, or lazily spinning a handful of snowy yarn."
"Moslem and Christian Neighbors of El-Bireh and Ramallah. A schoolgirl of the Christian town of Ramallah."
"Palestine's
Tourist Port As Seen from Mount Carmel. The curving bay between Haifa
and Acre, historic harbor for a vast hinterland, is poorly protected and
often rough. But the former has displaced Jaffa as a passenger port to
the Holy Land. Haifa is rapidly growing up the side of Carmel and
contains most of the few factories that Palestine possesses. The
automobile highway connecting the seaport with Tyre and the Phoenician
coast runs on the white sands that cut like a shining sickle blade
around the blue bay. In the background are the hills of Galilee, beyond
which, on clear days, Mount Hermon lifts its snowy head."
“An
Arab Shepherd of Palestine. His headgear consists of a square of white
cotton secured by a thick, double black cord of goat’s hair. His aba, or
cloak, is folded up, so as to leave his legs free for climbing.”
“A
Christian schoolgirl of Ramallah. A scarf such as that worn by this
young woman may have served Ruth when she gleaned an ephah of barley in
the fields of Boaz. It is heavy with silk embroidery and fringe. The
dark gown is that worn on workdays or by those in mourning. Among the
four main types of costumes seen in Palestine, those of Ramallah are the
most attractive. “
“A
Mohammedan Sheik of El-Bireh. Intent on his string of beads, the adult
Moslem’s chief toy, this patriarch rests amid the wild flowers which
intrude into his vineyard. Behind the field where he sits in silent
meditation, two football teams are being coached by an American athletic
instructor.”
“Moslem
women weeding a grain field of Samaria. Dominating the south end of the
plain of El Makhna is Huwara, whose women are remarked for their
fanaticism and their beauty. The most beautiful women arouse the
greatest jealousy and hence are kept in the closest seclusion. These
agriculturists are pulling the tares from the young wheat, for it is not
until the grain is high that wheat and tares are allowed to grow
together until the harvest. “
“The
Softly Rolling Slopes of Galilee. It was in such flower-carpeted
fields, gently dropping away to curving valleys and commanding distant
views of the Sea of Galilee, that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount
and attracted his Disciples. The Galilee landscape, setting for so many
homely but deathless parables, makes a poetic appeal to the knowing eye
and the understanding heart.”
.jpg)
