National strategy
For the Palestinian youth sector
Youth is Our future
(2017-2022)
The National Strategy for the Palestinian Youth Sector aims at integrating the priorities of the Palestinian youth issues within the sectoral development plan for the years 2017-2022 in partnership with the concerned parties to solve the issues of the Palestinian youth in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Palestinians and the Diaspora. Palestinian youth, which deals with the following sectors:
- The sector of education and training.
- Sector of action and economic empowerment.
- Environmental health and positive behaviours.
- The sector of community participation.
- Sector of sport, culture and entertainment.
- Information and information technology sector.
The strategy was based on information obtained through workshops held with youth groups at the national level. (102 workshops with the Palestinian youth), (26 workshops in the southern governorates), (27 workshops in the northern governorates), (4 workshops in refugee camp / Lebanon).
A branch of the higher council for youth and sports in Lebanon was opened to identify the needs of Palestinian youth in diaspora.
Workshops were also held with official institutions, (the private sector and the national sector), Six workshops were held with all concerned parties from ministries and civil society organizations with the participation of the working teams of the Higher Council for Youth and Sports. and follow-up plans of all ministries and relevant bodies for review and ensure that they apply what is mentioned in the Palestinian youth strategy.
The reality of the Palestinian youth and the proposed interventions:
1- Community and political participation
Palestinian youth suffer from weak social participation. The role of youth has become more limited to contribute to the implementation of community campaigns and volunteer activities. The main reasons for the weakness of political participation are the political division which prevents the unification of youth efforts or opportunities for political and societal participation. And the policy of separation of Israel, which would lead to the fragmentation of national identity to regional geographical identities and promote the desire to migrate and Lack of sense of belonging in light of the problems of unemployment, intolerance and extremism, which lead to the reluctance of young people to participate In addition, the Palestinians of the occupied homeland and the Jerusalemite youth are subjected to an Israeli attack aimed at eliminating the Palestinian identity and stripping it of its cultural and social components. The data indicated that only 19.6% of the youth in the age group (15-29) joined the voluntary work.
- First Strategic Objective: To activate and expand the levels of political and civic participation of youth groups.
Suggested policies and interventions:
- Increasing the role of youth in influencing public life and decision-making at the national level.
2 - Activating the role of youth in the frameworks, institutions, clubs and elected youth centers.
- Increasing the participation of individuals with special needs and disadvantaged groups and their integration into society.
Second Strategic Objective: Increase awareness of the values of citizenship and civil and political rights for youth.
Suggested policies and interventions:
1- Educating youth about the international agreements and covenants related to human rights and civil and political rights and their role in achieving the goals of sustainable development (2030).
- Implement initiatives aimed at promoting and activating youth participation in civil and political life.
- Third strategic Objective: To enhance concepts and culture of volunteer work and Scout among youth and pioneers.
Suggested policies and interventions:
- Youth awareness, university students and schools to the importance of the concept of volunteering and to promote volunteer work among youth.
Forth-Strategic Objective: To enhance the concept of gender equality among youth.
Suggested policies and interventions:
- To enhance the concept of gender equality.
- Increasing the participation of girls in decision-making and within institutions and youth frameworks.
2- Sport and entertainment culture
As for the sports aspect, it suffers from many problems, the most important of which is the lack of infrastructure, both in schools and universities, where there is a clear lack of clubs, buildings and playgrounds that serve the youth. Most sports clubs and facilities are located in cities and therefore; lack of facilities in camps, youth Jerusalemite and the countryside. If clubs are available in the mentioned areas, the focus is on football without the availability of other sports. There is a clear weakness of sport sector in the Palestinian universities, as they do not give the priority to sport as a main subject, and considering it an elective subject in most of the Palestinian universities, except the Specialist in sport.
And the lack of society acceptance for women to play sports, as it is all about habits and traditions that prevent mixing and lack of awareness of parents that limit the participation of women in society in general and in the field of sports in particular, that only 6.3% of youth belong to clubs and youth centers.
- The first strategic objective: supporting sports centers and developing the infrastructure of the sports sector.
Suggested policies and interventions:
1 - Provide support for sports centers and youth clubs.
- Develop the capabilities of sports clubs and enhance the levels of governance and the programmatic and organizational structure.
- Second Strategic Objective: To provide the requirements for the advancement of the sports sector at the local and national level.
Suggested policies and interventions:
- Build capacity for athletes, players, administrators and technicians and enable them to reach an advanced professional level.
2 - Provision of equipment and needs for different sports teams and clubs and youth centers.
- Third Strategic Objective: To expand levels of participation of youth groups in sports activities and events.
Suggested policies and interventions:
1 - Encourage the involvement of young people in sports activities and their various forms.
- Upgrading, developing and providing women's sport.
- Developing the sport sector for persons with special needs.
- Forth Strategic Objective: To promote intellectual awareness and cultural and artistic level among youth groups.
Suggested policies and interventions:
- To organize campaigns to encourage reading among youth.
2 - Introducing cultural and artistic incubators to enable, refine and build talent at the governorate level.
- Fifth Strategic Objective: Sponsoring and embracing creators and enabling them to access specialized services and centers.
Suggested policies and interventions:
1 - To take care of the creative and distinguished youth groups, develop their capacities and support their initiatives
2 - Establishment of specialized centers in the care of creators and adoption of their innovations.
- Education and training sector.
The rate of Palestinian youth enrolment in the age group (15-29) is 36.9% in 2015. The Palestinian youth face many obstacles, including: lack of school infrastructure, lack of access to schools due to occupation control of some areas, in addition the phenomenon of dropping out of schools, weakness in the capacity of some educational staff, and the lack of appropriate educational means and equipment, in addition to the lack of compatibility between the outputs of education and the labour market.
- Strategic Objective 1: Improve the quality of education and to richness students with practical and behavioural skills.
- Strategic Objective 2: Enhancing training opportunities, capacity development and skills development for both genders.
- Strategic Objective 3: To enhance the culture of vocational and technical education in the society and to support job creation.
4 - Work and unemployment sector.
the percentage of an employment Palestinian youth for 2015 is 37.2% because of the problems and challenges that they face. The most important of these are the lack of suitable employment opportunities due to the weakness of the Palestinian economy, low public income and low public and private sector ability to provide suitable employment opportunities. Also, the increase of graduate’s numbers, not to mention the policies of marginalization and exclusion imposed by the Israeli occupation.
Strategic Objective 1: Enable young people and graduates to meet the needs of the Palestinian labour market.
- Strategic objective 2: to improve the economic situation of youth by creating more job opportunities for youth and stimulating the entrepreneurial environment.
- Strategic Objective 3: Improve the working environment and provide fair operating conditions for youth.
5 - Health and positive behaviours:
In recent years, the proportion of chronic diseases has increased, with one out of every 100 Palestinians youth are suffering from at least one chronic disease, according to 2015 statistics. The problem of drug abuse has been increased by the despair and frustration experienced by young people in the absence of jobs, especially in Jerusalem, as a result of facilitating the Israeli occupation and promoting it among the Palestinian youth in a systematic manner. Girls in Jerusalem also suffer from the problem of early marriage as it effects the health of girls especially at childbearing, not to mention their exposure to domestic violence by husbands, where girls are forced to leave school either for marriage or to seek work to help the family.
- Strategic Objective 1: Improve youth health and positive behaviours that stimulate healthy lifestyles.
- Strategic Objective 2: Meeting the needs of youth groups in mental health and social welfare.
- Strategic Objective 3: Raising the health awareness of students and promoting school health practices.
- Social media and information technology:
Information and technology are a major attraction for youth. both genders spend most of their time using technology, social media and internet.
Data from the Palestinian Central of Statistics (PCBS) 29.7% of the youth in the age (15-29) knew and used the Internet, compared with 23.3% who know the Internet but do not use it, while 7% of the total Palestinian youth they know nothing about it.
- Strategic Objective 1: Promote youth issues through all types of media.
- Strategic Objective 2: Developing the capabilities and expertise of youth in the technical and technological fields and scientific leadership.