Under the patronage of Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Honourable Rula Maayah and in the support of the Vice President for International Development and External Affairs at An-Najah, the University held a launching ceremony to celebrate the inauguration of the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) entitled “Discover Palestine”, at Qaser Al-Qasem Palace on Thursday, May 21^st, 2015.

Attended by the USAID Country Director Mr. David Harden along with several honorable guests from the local and international community, the ceremony aimed at introducing the course and improving the occupation-distorted image of Palestine teaching about its people, culture and archeology. In addition, Discover Palestine aims at exploring ways of developing research projects with international institutions.

Dr. Saida Affouneh, Director of the E-Learning Center at An-Najah, welcomed the attendees and introduced the course’s mission and vision, stating that “the course aims to introduce people from all over the world to Palestine, remotely from the comfort of their own homes. “ Furthermore, she mentioned that the course is a message of peace to the whole world and it  is available on the international MOOC List, free of charge. The Center is also planning to offer the course in Arabic in the future.

Dr. Mohammed El-Amleh, Vice President of Academic Affairs, welcomed the guests and expressed his pride in this pioneering project as it paves the way towards the prosperity of Palestine's tourism, economy and trade.

Dr. Rula Maayah, welcomed the guests and stated that Discover Palestine is the first of its kind and will set a new precedent towards improving the image of the Palestinian people abroad.

-          The ceremony ended with a question and answer session, whereby guests had the opportunity to learn more about the program. After the ceremony, Dr. Mayaah toured the Faculty of Fine Arts including the Museum and Gallery.

Notes:

-          Ms. Beatrice Compodonico, EU Representative Office; Ms. Karam Halawah, AMIDEAST Nablus Office Manager; Ms. Humaira Wakili, Tomorrow's Youth Organization and Mr. Hammouda R.R. Shehada, on behalf of the Turkish Consulate General in Jerusalem; along with university vice presidents and faculty members attended the launching.

-          The ceremony was also attended by Dr. Penelope Mitchell, Executive Director of the Palestine American Research Center along with a delegation of U.S professors from various universities in the United States of America.