International Palestinian Camp: Networking for a better future for Palestinians all over the world
About the PYN:
Who We Are
The Palestinian Youth Network (“PYN”) is an independent, nonpartisan alliance, founded by a group of young Palestinians scattered throughout the world as a result of the occupation of our homeland. Our belonging to Palestine, passion to preserve our Palestinian identity, and desire to contribute to the liberation of our land and people has driven us to build this network aimed at amplifying the voices of Palestinian youth and enhancing their role in building a better future for ourselves and our children.
Vision
To revive a legacy of Palestinian grassroots activism among all Palestinian youth around the world, promoting the youth’s active participation in our struggle and in the struggles of all oppressed and indigenous peoples. To uphold Palestinian collective consciousness and appreciation for our Palestinian national identity, and to assume responsibility towards achieving the political, social, economic, human, civic and environmental rights of the Palestinian people foremost among them the Palestinian refugee right of return.
About the Summer Camp:
In the three years of developing PYN from an idea to a tangible mobile of activism and voice for Palestinian youth globally, we have been confronted with some of the most critically challenging issues that face Palestinian activist youth internationally. As a result of 61 years of colonialism and expulsion from our homeland it is inevitable for us to experience a wide diversity of class, national backgrounds, perceptions of gender, religious beliefs, political affiliation, cultural practices, and much more. This summer camp is aimed at exploring what Palestinian identity is and how it is represented and understood among various Palestinian communities. The PYN’s first summer camp will briefly examine the history of the collective Palestinian identity and struggle for liberation to better contextualize the commonalities and diverse array of issues young Palestinians face globally. The camp will provide a space in which Palestinian youth from all over the world will meet, learn about various Palestinian communities and perspectives, to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity of Palestinian identities and to recognize collective Palestinian rights and responsibilities. The camp will also give the youth a space to learn about various pursuits of social justice as well as methods of leadership training and development. Each day of the summer camp will consist of the following:
1)Lecture on particular aspect of Palestinian heritage, culture, identity, struggle or diverse Palestinian communities.
2)A workshop on relating the day’s topic to other struggles for justice or liberation who have had similar histories as the Palestinians.
3)A group dialogue to engage in a deeper and more intimate conversation about the issues.
4)An activity that develops skill building among the youth such as leadership development or effective organizing.
Some days will be spent visiting various Palestinian community centers in Syria as well as various refugee camps and Palestinian communities in Syria and Lebanon. The academic and personal experiences in these trips will be analyzed and worked with in the curriculum of the summer camp. A detailed program will be published soon on the PYN web page (www.pal-youth.org).
The participants will arrive on Friday, July 24th and the last day of the program is Saturday August 8th 2009. Participants are accepted on the recognition that they will participate in the duration of the summer camp.
Estimated Expenses:
Participants are responsible for their own travel fees and are asked to pay $100 each for their travel, stay and food accommodations during the summer camp.
Partial scholarship will be available for a limited number of participants.
Eligibility for participation:
PYN is seeking youth who are active within their Palestinian communities in their countries of residence. The youth must be between the ages of 18 and 35, no exceptions made. The youth must demonstrate a certain level of education about the Palestinian struggle for liberation as well as an immense desire to organize among other Palestinian youth regardless of gender, political affiliation, geographic, linguistic, or cultural differences. The participants must be willing to take the knowledge they gain from this experience back to their communities to share it and must express a desire in developing national chapters of the Palestinian Youth Network in their home countries. Participation is limited based on the limited number of spaces available.
Applications should be sent to (pyncamp2009@gmail.com) no later than June 15th, 2009. You will be informed of the results of the selection procedure by June 20th, 2009 and will be expected to send your travel itinerary to the above contact no later than June 30th, 2009.
If for any reason you are no longer able to attend the summer camp, please inform us at the following contact (pyncamp2009@gmail.com) so we can ensure a replacement from the waiting list.
