On Sunday 16th August, An-Najah's 'Zajel' Youth Exchange Programme held a farewell ceremony for the end of its second International Work Camp of 2015.

The camp welcomed International Volunteers from countries across the globe such as Turkey, France, the UK, Japan and Portugal, as well as many others. The camp consisted of training workshops to help students with their English conversational skills and public speaking. Workshops on the Turkish and French languages and Japanese culture were offered as well.

The volunteers were also involved in introductory sessions about different Middle Eastern topics such as the history of Palestine, refugees, Palestinian women and Palestinian literature. The programme also included field trips to Palestinian cities such as Hebron, Bethlehem and the Old City of Nablus, in addition to refugee camps, ancient ruins and the Samaritan village.

The international participants were immersed into the political, economic, cultural and social situation in Palestine through workshops and seminars on human rights, Palestinian heritage and the effects of the Israeli occupation on education in Palestine.

The farewell ceremony included several performances from the international and local student volunteers. French volunteer PeriGüler spoke about her experience of the programme, where she expressed her delight for participating and exchanging experiences with her Palestinian counterparts. She added: “the field trips were more than enough to inform me on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.

Volunteer Maria Bandeira from Belgium mentioned that she enjoyed being in direct contact with the Palestinian’s life and culture. She remarked that training students at An-Najah in public speaking had revealed things about Palestine that she previously had not known.

An-Najah student and Zajel volunteer Mahmoud Barameh said that the programme improved his leadership skills and helped develop his cross-cultural communication and problem-solving abilities. He noted: “it was great to see many different cultures work together in harmony at An-Najah”.