English Language Department, Faculty of Arts, at Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) held a meeting entitled: “Palestinian Lobbying and Advocacy Groups on Social Media: Training and Job Opportunities”. The meeting was attended by Dr. Mahmoud Baroud – Head of the Department, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Tarabin – Deputy Head of the Department, Dr. Akram Habib and Ms. Nour Elborno, faculty members, a group of department’s students, and Pioneers & Leaders School students who participated in the workshops held by the department during the past two weeks.
The meeting aimed at introducing students to groups working in this sector, the nature of their work, opportunities to join them as volunteers and trainees, and the possibility of finding opportunities to work with them in the future.
Among the speakers was Ms. Inas Qeshta, a success story that started with joining an advocacy group as a trainee and then earned a place in the labor market. These new horizons related to the labor market are an important pillar of English Language Department, which seeks to connect students with domestic and international market.
Dr. Baroud welcomed the groups of guests and students from the university and the school, and addressed the importance of the meeting in supporting the Palestinian cause, stressing that the cause justice is a duty of every Palestinian. He pointed out the department’s keenness to seize the opportunities and capabilities of students to participate in supporting the cause in international forums. This is because the Palestinian voice deserves to be heard, and being in the language of the other making it the optimum method of persuasion.
Mr. Ahmed Abu Rezeq and Ms. Afnan Al-Masry, both English-speakers, team leaders, and pioneers working in these advocacy groups, explained that there are five groups: VPalestine, Kuffiya, Palestine Online, Palestine Sunbird, Electronic Palestine Forces. They demonstrated the teams’ work nature, how to join them, available training opportunities, and areas for participation such as: translation, proofreading, paraphrasing, news writing, and writing media content on social media.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Dr. Baroud honored Ms. Nour Osama Elborno, who works as a lecturer of translation and literature in the department, for proposing the workshop initiative with Pioneers & Leaders School, and presenting a workshop on translation and education. Dr. Baroud also honored Dr. Jumana Al-Samnah and Mr. Mutee Abu Musabbeh for presenting the two workshops on turning to Allah and preparing the correct narration in English Language for the students.
Dr. Baroud thanked the school administration for their good reception of the three trainers, and the generosity of the participating male and female students who demonstrated excellence, understanding and implementation of the explained topics.