On May 12^th, a number of training courses that aimed to train and prepare the students participating in the Young Leaders workshop were successfully concluded at the University. The students were trained on a number of subjects including: Networking, international youth exchange, social media, American media, team building, history of the Palestinian cause, events organization, cultural, ethnic and religious disputes, the Japanese paper folding art (Origami) and ethnic conflicts in the world. More than 30 students participated in the courses.

  Among these courses was the “Cultural Disputes among Different People and Ethnicities” workshop which was administered by the Dutch trainer Marioline Hummerland who familiarized the students with the concept of inter-cultural dialogue, the importance of cultural exchange among different nationalities and the necessity to take advantage of this cultural diversity to reinforce religious tolerance and civilization understanding between different nations and ethnicities.

Another course addressed western media in which Mr. Alaa Abu Dheer, Coordinator of Zajel, presented two training workshops whereby the first one discussed the image of the Palestinian cause in the United States and the mechanisms to try to change and develop this image, while the other workshop addressed the incorrect use of terms and concepts in media discourse. Mr. Abu Dheer also spoke about the importance of developing the Arab media discourse through employing proper methods, in addition to developing means to address the international public opinion in order to present and explain the Palestinian cause and the Arab issues in a much better way.

Australian volunteer Victoria Sand presented a training workshop on networking, communication, as well as social and electronic media which aimed to encourage the trainees to interact and communicate with institutions and individuals alike. Naser Toukan, a volunteer at Zajel, presented another workshop on social media in which he explained the means and methods of developing the optimal use of the means of social media.

Moreover, Toukan gave another workshop on dialogue management skills in which students were trained on making use of English communication and debate skills. Students were divided into different groups each of which gave a presentation at the end of the workshop in addition to presentations on the importance of international youth exchange.

  Further workshops included a workshop on the contemporary history of Palestine presented by Mr. Sa’ed Abu Hijleh, instructor at the Department of Geography at An-Najah, in which he spoke about the history of the Palestinian cause through presenting maps and illustrations. He also discussed the different stages of the Palestinian cause and the obstacles the Palestinian people are facing in their quest to gain freedom.

Volunteer Yuki Ongo from Japan also gave a special workshop on the Origami art in which he trained the students on how to make beautiful objects and shapes from paper. He also familiarized them with the Japanese culture and the traditions that the Japanese convey through such art.

Mr. Ahmed Maharmeh from the Human Resource Department at Palestine Cellular Communications Company (Jawwal) in Nablus trained the students on events management which included training them on how to organize, plan and follow up on events and activities.

These courses aimed to develop the students’ experience and skills that would enable them to get involved in the international youth exchange programs and other programs that seek to reinforce cultural exchange between Palestinian students and their peers in other countries around the world.