Young Palestinians from civil society and media participate in the Berlin Dialogue Program

The program included different visits and one of them was meeting with Ambassador Dr. Kholoud Daibes, Head of the Palestinian Mission in Berlin since 2013. The meeting addressed the German-Palestinian diplomatic relations through the office of the Palestinian Mission in Berlin, and the role of the Mission in practice. The program also focused on addressing the topic of political communication and social media, which was very relevant to our participants, especially those who are very active in the field of media and social media. Therefore, we met with Prof. Dr. Jörg Müller-Lietzkow, a board member of the think tank C Netz. This think-tank deals with issues of society and digitalization. 
  The group got the chance to visit the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag), the Federal Chancellery (Bundeskanzleramt), and the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They met with parliamentary group representatives and different politicians from the CDU. The discussions focused on the political and economic role of Germany in the region, especially regarding addressing the Palestinian rights.


The program also had a part that highlighted the media in Germany and its role regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Therefore, we met the journalist Christoph Sydow who is a political editor and Middle East expert from the German newspaper SPIEGEL and other young journalists. On the other hand, the program gave a special spot for civil society organizations and international organizations in Germany. Therefore, we visited the Berlin branch of Human Rights Watch. The discussions touched upon the shrinking space for dialogue and freedom of speech.
  The program also included field trips to Potsdam and Hildesheim. In Potsdam, we visited the State Parliament of Brandenburg where we met several representatives who gave us an insight into German regional politics including the topic of election campaigns. Subsequently, we also visited the Forum for Civic Education where we met with a research assistant and the State Agency for Civic Education of the State of Brandenburg where met with the director. After a train trip to the nearby city Hildesheim, we traveled to Höxter to attend the annual meeting of the German-Palestinian Society. Our group got the chance to present different perspectives of the Palestinian youth living under occupation.
  Besondere Highlights des Programms waren die Exkursionen nach Potsdam und Hildesheim. In Potsdam besuchten wir den Landtag von Brandenburg, wo wir durch verschiedene Vertreter, mehr über deutsche Regionalpolitik einschließlich des Themas Wahlkampf lernten. Anschließend trafen wir uns mit einem wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiter im Forum für politische Bildung und besuchten gemeinem mit dessen Direktor die Landeszentrale für politische Bildung in Brandenburg. Nach einer Zugreise in die nahegelegene Stadt Hildesheim fuhren wir nach Höxter, um am jährlichen Treffen der Deutsch-Palästinensischen Gesellschaft teilzunehmen. Im Rahmen dieses Treffens hatte unsere Gruppe die Gelegenheit, verschiedene Perspektiven der unter Besatzung lebenden palästinensischen Jugend vorzustellen.
  One of the main recommendations that our group suggested after completion of the dialogue program was a call for German youth to visit the Palestinian Territories to learn about the Palestinian Territories and the conflict. Today’s generation is the leadership of the future, and therefore the Palestinian youth is trying to engage with other youth to influence future politics and current policies, in order to achieve justice for the Palestinian Territories and the Palestinian people.