Education Program 2016 Achievements

Early Childhood Development

•  Trained 200 teachers and administrators in innovative early-childhood pedagogies.
•  Worked with 40 kindergartens in a comprehensive approach, benefiting more than 8,000 children and more than 3,800 family members.
•  Built and renovated more than 10,000 M2 of the schools in the West Bank including Jerusalem.

•  Built 30 technology labs, introduced a flagship Robotics educational program (Logo league Robotic Education) in 9 Jerusalem schools, develop 54 educational Apple applications, trained 440 teachers, and benefitted 14,500 students and faculty in the Tafkeer “Thinking Technology” program.
•  Trained 150 students from 6 schools in Jerusalem through the “Nahj” leadership and entrepreneur project.
•  Provided vocational training for 300 students in useful trades and job skills through supporting and developing new programs at the vocational schools in Jerusalem.
•  Inaugurated the second year of the “Bridge Palestine” program, with 207 high-school students receiving English classes, science, and technology modules, and pre-college counseling to prepare for applying for renowned universities overseas.

• Offered remedial education for 150 students at-risk of dropping out of school with the Learn, Inspire, Focus, and Engage (LIFE) program, which engages youth, parents, and educators.
• Offered 600 undergraduates scholarships for needy students in local universities in Palestine and Lebanon.
• Continued to support international fellowships for 120 faculty membered from 13 universities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
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• Bridge Palestine

Bridge Palestine is a national initiative to empower outstanding Palestinian students to enroll in prominent international Universities. The program offers the students multi-level and multi-year capacity building activities, aiming to develop future leaders equipped to represent their community. It instills in participants a culture of educational excellence by connecting them with role models from the Palestinian community around the world. In the first year, 400 10^th grade students from all over Palestine joined the program. The students benefitted from English language classes, exposure to university entrance exams, and modules emphasizing the importance of critical thinking, science, technology, innovation, and community initiatives. In addition, the program launched its first summer school in 2016, which focused on life skills, and career counseling and guidance. Taawon implements Bridge Palestine with the help of Al Nayzak and AMIDEAST as part of their ongoing efforts to empower Palestinian youth.

Farah Center

The Farah Center offers educational support for students with learning difficulties in Jerusalem and its suburbs. The center was funded by the Arab Fund for economic and Social Development and is a part of the College des Freres in Jerusalem. In the past year, the Farah Center’s 17 teachers, who are specialized in alternative education, served about 150 students from 6 Jerusalem schools. The center also hosted the conference, “supporting students with learning difficulties in Jerusalem: Experiences and Challenges.”

Zamala

The idea for the Zamala program was initiated by the Bank of Palestine to improve higher education teaching methods in Palestinian universities and harmonize the needs of the job market with community development. The program covers the expenses of Palestinian academics pursuing fellowships for training and research projects at prestigious higher education institutions around the world. After their time abroad, beneficiaries are expected to return to Palestine to share their experiences with their home universities. The project is funded by the Bank of Palestine and the Arab Monetary Fund through the Islamic Development Bank.

To date, The Zamala program has benefitted 120 professors and lectures from 13 Palestinian universities, and disbursed 1570000 USD. The fund benefits scholars in several disciplines including business management, economics, financial sciences, banking, health sciences, telecommunications engineering, and law. The fellows have published 42 research papers and have presented their work around the world.