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Youth Conference,
"Mitigation of Youth Problems"
Final Recommendations
Palestinian
Counseling Center (PCC)
January 2006
Participants at the
Palestinian Counseling Center (PCC) youth conference
held on December 12 and 13 2005, titled Mitigation
of Youth Problems came out with many recommendations
and suggestions for decision-makers, Palestinian
Ministry of Education (MoE) and civil society.
These recommendations came on the second day of the
conference, following panel presentations, question
and answer sessions, and general group discussions.
The youth
conference was attended by over 400 individuals
representing youth, parents and families, the
Palestinian Ministry of Education, NGOs and GOs as
well as teachers and school administrations. The
number of participants was well over what the PCC
expected and included youth from Jerusalem, Jenin,
Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron.
Three topics
identified by youth taking part in the PCC Youth at
Risk Program were identified as priority: The
Relation and Perceptions towards the Opposite Sex;
Aggressive Behaviors among Youth; and the Affects of
Israeli Occupation on Youth Creativity. Six
discussion groups were formed (two for each topic)
whereby youth discussed the three topics followed by
recommendations for improvement.
The following
recommendations are a select few from those of the
conference as well as those published in the
newsletter published following the conference. The
PCC is in the process of translating all papers that
were presented by both youth and adults as well as
all the recommendations. These recommendations will
be disseminated widely and will also be available on
the PCC web site.
Recommendation to support Palestinian youth in
Jerusalem
These are the key
recommendations by youth participants concerning the
role of occupation in limiting free and creative
thinking of youth, specifically in Jerusalem:
-
Increase educational and edification programs
through the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the
organizations that work with youth in
Jerusalem. In
addition, to clarify the problems and risks from
the youth point of view using local media
outlets and other resources.
-
To
motivate and support Palestinian organizations
that are located in
Jerusalem.
Organizations and institutions must work openly
and freely including ministries such as the
Palestinian Ministry of Educations (MoE) and the
Palestinian Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS).
-
Find work for new graduates in
Palestinian organizations and to give them
priority for job opportunities especially in
Palestinian schools.
Recommendations and
solutions: Aggressive Behaviors among Youth
-
To
develop documents for legislation (policies)
that target adverse behaviors among Palestinian
youth
-
Review and observe the
Palestinian educational curriculum to ensure
that students with special needs receive proper
care and attention.
-
To
form/establish a special committee within the
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) to focus
on youth and youth issues, problems and to also
plays an active role in finding solutions to the
problems.
-
To put pressure on the
Palestinian Authority to support youth centers
and organizations that are working in developing
the capacity of youth.
Recommendations and
solutions: The Relation and Perceptions towards the
Opposite Sex
-
To
develop documents for legislation (policies)
that prevents discrimination between boys and
girls and to support equal opportunities for
both genders.
-
Increase the number of sports and
cultural centers that provide free services and
programs for youth throughout the
West Bank.
-
To develop the curriculum
included sex education awareness programs.
-
Increase awareness raising
campaigns at schools and homes among youth and
mainly on the psychological and physical
developments during the adolescent's stage.
-
To
intensify and strengthen the society's
contribution regarding gender equality and
mainly in schools and organization.
Recommendation and
solutions for problems caused by the Israeli
occupation and how it affects youth free thinking
and creativity
Recommendation for
the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC):
-
To
specialize a budget to support the
infrastructure such as schools and
organizations. In addition, to demand support
for developmental programs such as libraries and
laborites.
-
To enforce laws and regulations
that focus on education, mainly free education
for all children at all levels and the
availability of teachers as required.
-
Specialize a budget for youth
creativity and development with a focus on
Palestinian youth political prisoners.
Recommendations for
Palestinian ministries:
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