Youth Development - keffiyeh

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Keffiyeh Center is a social association set up in New Askar Refugee Camp (Nablus, Palestine) in 2011. The association’s initial efforts stem from an urgent need in the region of Nablus for the establishment of a center that provides specific programs and extracurricular activities to children and teenagers, and that encourages healthy development and civic participation.
The center will maintain a primary focus on engaging participants in community service and voluntary action, in addition to offering cultural activities that encourage the proper understanding, revival, and preservation of Palestinian heritage.

Keffiyeh Center aims to attract children and youth specifically within the eastern region of Nablus to start, with a vision of eventually extending its programs to the West Bank populace at large. The target groups are the following:
- Children: The association works to promote creative thinking and free expression through non-formal educational activities.
- Youth: The association develops programs targeted toward young adults that showcase their specific talents and abilities in such a manner that simultaneously highlights Palestinian heritage.

A large panel of activities is offered to those beneficiaries such as:
- Choir and band music: A voice and band program aims at highlighting some of the major facets of Palestinian heritage through traditional music and performance.
- Theatre: Theatre is used as a form of expression for the youth of the center, providing an outlet and mode of communication to convey the reality of daily life for Palestinians and their ongoing social, cultural, and political conditions.
- Psycho-social counseling: A counseling program uses methods of expression and coping with children and teenagers. Positive self-concepts and understandings of identity are of the upmost focus and activities are coordinated with families to ensure that a comprehensive approach is adopted to best assist the healthy emotional development of participants.
- Sport school: Focusing on children ranging in age from 7 – 14 years old, the athletic program includes various sports activities like boxing, karate, football, and volleyball that aim to cultivate notions of teamwork and responsibility while encouraging healthy physical activity.
- Dabke group: The Dabke dance troupe is comprised of two groups: children between the ages of 7 to 17 years old, and young adults ranging in age between 17 to 25 years old. The group works to revive the popularity of Palestinian folk dance and the expression of Palestinian life through its performances. Participants of the young adult group also act as trainers for children involved and occasionally conduct seminars for others expressing interest. The troupe in its entirety performs for both local and international audiences, thus broadening the recognition of one of Palestine’s greatest traditions.
- A group of women leading discussions and activities.
- Youth leadership training program: trainings are implemented by the association to train young adults throughout Palestine how best to interact and guide children through non-formal education activities. The aim is to ensure that youth leaders will possess the necessary understanding of how to interact with and direct them in an compassionate and productive manner.
- Youth exchange: In response to the severe limitations on travel imposed upon Palestinians, the association creates opportunities for international exchange overseas for the youth of the center. Such occasions help to cultivate a deeper sense of empathy toward other cultures and simultaneously allow for Palestinian youth to serve as national ambassadors overseas, generating an understanding of Palestine and the region’s heritage that extends far beyond the constructs of occupation and conflict.

To develop the center, we plan to set up a library and a multimedia center to offer our beneficiaries larger access to literature and information and to empower Palestinian youth with a strong and independent voice.