Zajel Youth Exchange Program, of the Public Relations Department, finished its international voluntary work camp on Thursday. The camp lasted for three weeks running from 1st - 20th August 2005. The international volunteers, that attended, worked in the Askar Development Center, where they devoted their time in order to give the children of Askar refugee camp an opportunity to develop a better psychological state from the bad conditions that they were encountering. The international volunteers were accommodated in two schools, where volunteers could interact with the local community and played football with the neighbors,The voluntary work that began every day morning, and lasted for three weeks, consisted of:
Painting: Volunteers were painting on one of the walls of the camp. The painting incorporated pictures of the children, some pictures of the disabled children and their right to life. Other paintings were done on stones and cartoons as well as posters.
Psychological Release: Some games for children were done in order to help release the tension caused by the current conditions of the occupation. The idea was to develop their abilities and self confidence by using different methods of release.
Music: Some local and western songs were sung. The international volunteers taught the local children to sing some western songs while, in return, the children themselves taught some of the local Palestinian songs that reflect the Palestinian traditions and heritage.
Drama: Children were given the chance to express their feelings and themselves in a way that empowered their self confidence.
Sports: Football games and different sports and games were played, creating a better interaction between the international volunteers and the local children.
Dabka: The traditional folkloric dance, Dabka, was performed. Folkloric songs were performed while a trainer instructed the international volunteers to perform this unique Palestinian traditional dance.
The cultural theme of the international voluntary work camp included different workshops and lectures; the goal of such activities was to create a background to the Palestinian culture and history. Some of the workshops were:
Presentation on the history of Palestine
Mr.Saed Abu Hejleh, Director of the Public Relations department, made a presentation on the history of Palestine, the root of the conflict and the important phases of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Another slide show was prepared by the volunteers of Zajel, where pictures of the Palestinian people, their heritage and culture were presented to the audience.

Slide show on the History of Nablus City

Engineer Naseir Arafat, an active engineer who takes care of the renovation projects in the Old City of Nablus, made a presentation on the history of the city. He showed old and unique pictures of the city during the Ottoman age and during the British mandate. He explained the architectural designs of some of the buildings of the Old City. He also showed the photos of some of the traditional and typical houses before and after the invasion and the destruction of the old city in 2002.

Workshop about Palestinian Woman

Mrs. Falak Khayat, a woman activist and the director of the women's defense association, came to speak about the historical background of the Palestinian women's struggle to be librated from traditions at the beginnings of the 20th century. She also presented some controversial issues within the Islamic religion, such as: polygamy and sex. A debate took place at the end of the presentation and both sets of participants, Palestinians and westerners, had the opportunity to discuss their perspectives toward each of the topics.
Mrs. Khayat began by talking a bit about her life; how she was born in Safad Town and lived in Haifa then moved to Syria and Lebanon before returning to Nablus, when she got married. She talked about her experience of getting married, e