Rawan Natsheh

Youth Culture and Empowerment - Palestine (Maghreb and Middle East)

Over the last seven years Rawan has been actively involved in the fields of education and peace-building both locally and internationally. She has worked on a number of different projects for community-based youth groups and NGOs in the West Bank and Jerusalem, primarily concerned with educating school children about issues such as human rights and democracy. In addition, Rawan has participated in and organised several international youth exchange and training programmes. She is currently working on two exchange programmes within the region and will be representing PANORAMA (the Palestinian Center for the Dissemination of Democracy and Community Development) at Oxfam IYP2004.

As an Oxfam IYP2004 delegate, Rawan hopes to develop her organisation and its initiatives by exchanging experiences and ideas with other participants. She would eventually like to establish her own youth parliament in Palestine. Coming from a country with an extremely large youth population, Rawan passionately believes that young people have a vital role to play in community development and the peace process, and emphasises the importance of dialogue.

“The social and political involvement of young people is an important part of realising democracy in our country and peace with our neighbours”.