New program allows you to become an ambassador for Palestine

Do you every think that the people you meet need to know more about the situation on Palestine? A new website and program has been launched to be make supporters of the occupied state its ambassadors, able to raise its profile.

The Palestine Ambassador drive, launched ahead of the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People which is marked today, aims to counter misconceptions and misinformation on the Palestinian issue.

The scheme is a free online programme to prepare anyone wanting to represent the Palestinian cause with valid literature about Palestine and its history.

In addition to providing the visual tools needed to learn the history of Palestine from the Balfour Declaration to the political deals which were signed as part of the numerous peace processes, “users will have access to live webinars and active discussion boards, available in English, Spanish and Arabic”.

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It is hoped the program will equip as many people as possible with the tools to successfully advocate for and defend the Palestinian cause, as misinformation eliminates the opportunity for dialogue.

With media’s coverage of the Palestine-Israeli conflict often being one-sided, specifically by media outlets in the West, it is detrimental to the progression of the Palestinians living under apartheid and the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip.

In the last ten years alone, Israel has committed a series of massacres in which whole families were wiped out in cold blood. More than 4,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, were killed and tens of thousands injured.

The Palestine Ambassador project seeks to shift the narrative that is so dominant and build experts who will “debunk myths, correct misconceptions and misinformation, and convey the injustice that has happened, and continues to happen, every day in Palestine” to ordinary individuals.

People can now register and begin the online course at a time and pace that are convenient for the learner, from anywhere in the world to become an informed ambassador for Palestine to present Palestine and the plight of the Palestinians to the world.

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Talking about the project, Palestinian Director and consultant Rawan Damen said: “This educational program is designed to encourage confidence and creativity, while at the same time forging a connection with Palestine, and a deep desire for Justice. My only hope is that every generation keeps the Palestine narrative alive.”

The initiative has partnered with a number of organisations, including the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation, the Palestinian Centre for Policy Research and Strategic Studies (Masarat), the Academy of Refugee Studies, the International Campaign for Preserving Palestinian Identity (Intimaa), Dar Al-Awda for Research and Publications, the Jordanian Engineers’ Association, Engineers for Palestine and Jerusalem, Association 302 for Defending the Rights of Refugees and Thabit Organisation for the Right of Return.