The Association of Palestinian Local Authorities "APLA" in cooperation with the Association of Women's Action for Training and Rehabilitation of Women "AOWA" organized a training workshop with the aim of enhancing the means of awareness and local community participation in supporting the local and national strategies for environmental sustainability. This will be implemented with the participation of a group of school-teachers from the local authorities targeted under the Local Authorities Network for Sustainable Development "L.A.N.D." Project (Bita, Huwwarah, Beit Liqia and Nei'lin), to be implemented with school students and youth groups from the local community.
A group of 22 teachers in addition to field health coordinators from the Directorate of Education West of Ramallah and South of Nablus participated in this training. Various topics were discussed during the two-days training focused on local and global environmental issues, environmental problems in Palestine and the factors affecting it, including climate change and sustainability. Moreover, it included means of environmental protection such as proper, efficient and friendly management of the environment, as well as proposing practical interventions for awareness activities at schools and the community. Finally, it called to change policies and strategies through lobbying and advocacy campaigns.
APLA's Executive Director, during his welcome note clarified that a major part of the project's activities and interventions target schools in particular with the aim of raising the awareness of citizens – especially the youth – on environmental issues. The overarching goal is to increase citizens participation in the initiatives promoted by the local authorities in the target areas on environmental protection and intervening to face its challenges. This is out of the belief in the role played by the youth in creating the awareness on environmental issues, forming the corner stone for enhancing the quality of environment in the local communities.
Project Director from FELCOS UMBRIA emphasized that Italian municipalities and schools seek to transfer the Italian experience through partnerships that will be established with Palestinian local authorities and schools through L.A.N.D. project. Project director said "We start to plan for the future, as teachers and students will be the main players in protecting the environment, working on solutions, launching initiatives to face environmental issues and challenges, all through joint work with local authorities and organizations in order to enhance the quality of the environment they live in".
On another note, the representative of the General Directorate of Holistic and Inclusive Health at the Ministry of Education, Amjad Hmeidat, praised L.A.N.D. project as it relies on joint planning of awareness activities at schools. Furthermore, Hmeidat pointed out that schools are more capable of expanding the awareness enhancement in the civil society as a whole through the implementation of community campaigns in the target areas. Moreover, he presented the bylaws of environmental clubs in the educational institutions in Palestine, in order to pave and facilitate its establishment in the target communities under L.A.N.D. project.
This workshop constitutes part of APLA's efforts to enhance environmental awareness and community participation in the environmental sphere. The workshop was organized under the "Local Authorities Network for Sustainable Development – L.A.N.D." project, funded by AICS, in collaboration with FELCOS UMBRIA, Union of Trasimeno Municipalities, Trasimeno for Environmental Services, Terre dell'Olio e Sagrantino, Assisi Municipality, the Water and Sanitation Commission – Umbria, and the target communities: Beit Liqia – Nei'lin and the surrounding villages, Huwwarah-Beita and the surrounding villages.
