Objectives:

The Voluntary Work Department works to achieve the following goals:
Reviving and promoting the voluntary work and develop its concepts and principles.
Enhance and strengthen the voluntary work movement through encouraging the concerned parties (Municipalities, Ministries, Universities, NGOs, etc.) to facilitate the voluntary work in their districts and areas.

• To rebalance and identify the national priorities in the voluntary work so that to serve the underprivileged and marginalized sectors inside the Palestinian society.
• To raise the popular awareness, especially among the youth, on the importance of community service.
• To give equal chances for women to lead voluntary work initiatives.
• To open the Palestinians to humanitarian and civilized experiences of other nations in the voluntary work.

Achievements:

Given the short time since it was established, the voluntary work department achieved the following:
July 1999-July2000

Establishment of the internal structure of the department, enrollment of staff, equipment and plan of action. The department held intensive meetings with tens of interested people during the first two months of its establishment, aimed at building an overall perspective on the voluntary work needs in Palestine, and also to get feedback from those people on the concept of volunteerism in Palestine. These meetings included people from young leaders, voluntary work centers, civil society organizations, universities and municipalities. The number of meetings exceeded 20 in three months. Theses meetings concluded by an initial draft for the national plan for the voluntary work in Palestine.

• The department initiated contacts with the ministry of local governments, which ended by appointing one person at every municipality (114 municipality) to act as a focal point for any voluntary work initiative in the district, by providing all the necessary facilities and contacts needed to succeed the work. (see annex 1-Ministry Local Governments Resolution).
• The voluntary work department at the ministry met with the ministry of Higher Education and the presidents of all the Palestinian Universities, which was concluded by considering the voluntary work as a pre-graduation requirement for all the students in the undergraduate stage. On a later stage, the department met with representatives from the higher education institutions in order to put the necessary plans to implement the above resolution (as a result of this, Al Najah University established the Community Service Center and Al Qods University established a specialized section for the voluntary work subject).
• The department established five Voluntary Work District Committees (Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tul Karem, Jenin and Qalqilia-out of 16 planned ones), which include 40 representatives from all the municipalities, Governorate, Youth Organizations, Women Centers, Refugee Centers, interested ministries and Civil Society Organizations. (see annex2-lists of members of the five different committees).
• The department organized a two days activation seminar for young leaders from eight educational institutions in the Gaza strip (Five universities and three collages) aimed at preparing young leaders for voluntary work actions in the area .The seminar was attended by thirty participants.
• The department and in coordination with the Ramallah Voluntary Work Committee, launched its campaign on the 25th of July, announcing the start of the work of Ramallah district committee. The announcement included voluntary work day in the cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh with 350 participants, and a huge rally with the participation of the Governor, the Mayers of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, the deputy minister of Youth and Sport and the Director General of the ministry of NGO Affairs. The event was covered by all the official and local Radio and TV Stations, as well as, the printed journalism.
• The department organized a meeting in Gaza city aimed at planning for the launching of Gaza voluntary work committee, similar to the one in Ramallah. The meeting was attended by 21 participants from different partner organizations, which comprises the Gaza committee.
• The department obtained an internet domain name for its work from the Ministry of Planning and International Relations .the address of its website will be www.vw.gov.ps . It also started contacting some experts to design the homepage. However, currently the page is still under construction.
• The department and in accordance with its action plan to launch the long term and collective voluntary work in specific villages, it organized a visit to Al Aqaba village near the Jordan Valley (which is one of the most marginalized village in Palestine) to make a needs assessment for the population. The department raised these needs to many voluntary work organizations and PNA offices. As a result for this visit, many organizations carried out several activities and projects (PECDAR built a street, ministry of education built a school, the Medical Relief committees built a clinic, the Agricultural Committee organized a summer camp, the Palestinian Voluntary Work Center distributed supplies for the people and Save the Children helped in digging few water wells in the village). August – September 2000
• The department in coordination with Jenin Voluntary Work Committee launched a campaign on the 26th of September, announcing the start of the work of Jenin District Committee. The voluntary work included work in Jenin streets together with intensive work with aged and blind people, with the participation of H.E Mr. Hassan Asfour, the Ministry of NGOs Affairs, the Governor, the Mayor of Jenin, Director General of the Local government Ministry and the National Institutions’ Office, Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Women Unions and Youth Clubs. The event was covered by local Radio and TV Stations, as well as, printed media.
• A meeting in the governorate of Rafah was held in Rafah to decide the members of the Executive Committee (Secretariat) and the List of Organizing Committee and to agree upon a date to announce the establishment and to put an agenda for the committee.

Activities:

• The department organized a TV live program (in cooperation with Al Watan TV in Ramallah) for one hour, to promote the voluntary work through the media .The head of the department and a representative from the voluntary work committee spoke about the philosophy and concept of voluntarism and on potential plans and programs to activate it in the community.
• A workshop about “The Horizon of the Voluntary Work in the Palestinian Community” was held in Jenin. Members of Jenin National Committee and members of the NGOs institutions attended the workshop. Spokespeople were Mr. Ali Hassouneh; the Director of the Voluntary Work Department in the Ministry of NGOs, Mr. Kaddoura Mousa; Director General of the National Institutions Office in the North District and Mr. Samer Al-Ahmad; the Director of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees. The definition of v.w, its history and characteristics, its motivations and examples in the Palestinian Community were discussed. Moreover, the importance of the role of Jenin Committee to research and view the needs of Jenin was taken into serious consideration.
• "The First Voluntary Work Festival" took place on the 20th of August in Al-Azhar University in Gaza, it was held in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). H.E Mr. Hassan Asfour; Minister of NGOs Affairs, Dr. Riyad Al-Khudari; President of Al-Azhar University/Gaza, Mr. Mazen Izz Eddin; General Commissioner of the National Guidance, Mr. Hassan Kashef; Director General of the Ministry of Information, Dr. Rabbah Muhanna; Head of the Union Health Work Committees, Mr. Mustafa Haidar; Representative of the Progress Peace Movement inside the Green Line, Mr. Yihya Al-Madhoon; the Secretary Public Relations Committee in Al-Azhar Students Council Union addition to Coordinators, university students, members of Government Bodies, General Directors of Ministers, NGOs, representatives of the Peace Progressive Movement inside the Green Line and National Forces had participated in the festival.
• The department held a seminar at Birzeit University for youth leaders about Voluntary Work & its importance in cooperation with Tamer Institute for Community Education.
• The department organized and in cooperation with the Palestinian Center for Voluntary Work, a seminar at Al Najah University where prominent Palestinian syndicates were invited (Ghassan Al Shakaa’h; PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Fathi Arafat; Honorable president of the PRCS, Dr. Rami Hamdallah; president of Al Najah University and H.E Hassan Asfour the Minister of NGOs Affairs) to promote the ministry’s efforts and plans on voluntary work, and to announce the Ministry’s National Plan for Voluntary Work .The seminar was concluded by some important recommendations ;to honor the volunteers, to document the history of volunteerism in Palestine and the necessity of establishing a specialized database on voluntary work in the country .This seminar was attended by 200 persons representing all the interested NGOs in Voluntary Service.

Contact Details:

Ali Hassouneh
Head of Voluntary Work Department
Ministry of NGOs Affairs
Tel. :+970 2 2401370/2
Fax: +970 2 2401371