Projects
The Youth Program
PsDF aspires to contribute to the growing efforts for the empowerment of Palestinian youth and the building of their capacities in order to enable them to join the labor market. It seeks to achieve this goal by helping them find decent jobs or start projects that create new job opportunities. PsDF is therefore concluding its first program in the field, titled “My Project Starts with an Idea”, which aimed to encourage youth to start their career early at the university by developing their ideas into tangible projects. “My Project Starts with an Idea” ran through 2014 and 2015, providing university students with direct and personalized guidance from experts to start their own projects or develop existing ones (held by their family members or relatives).
35 out of 470 projects were selected from eight Palestinian universities (Birzeit University, Palestine Polytechnic University, Palestine Technical University- Kadoorie, Al-Quds University in Abu Dis, Al-Najah University, Al-Quds Open University, Palestine Ahliya University and the Arab American University of Jenin) and were developed through training and firsthand mentoring from professionals. The Project’s management and coordination was conducted in cooperation with the Center for Continuing Education at Birzeit University.
At present, PsDF is preparing to launch its new program for the empowerment and development of Palestinian youth through knowledge. The program is planned for the years 2016-2017 and targets graduates of vocational institutes and centers as well as active professionals. It aims to widen the horizons of beneficiaries, provide them with greater knowledge and experience from the labor market to enhance their professional and academic opportunities and orient them toward institutions and companies that can assist them in funding their projects.