Zajel Organizes Video Conference with Walter Payton College in Chicago

 15 December 2006

A discussion and debate on the Middle East conflict took place between the students of An-Najah National University and Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago. The video conference was organized in order to give both students from both sides a chance to debate on the hot topics of the conflict, as well as the American foreign policy involvement in the Palestinian Israeli conflict, double standards, the apartheid wall, right to education, occupation, checkpoints, peace process and the latest elections in Palestine and their implications on the Palestinian community socially and financially.

The debate began with an introduction about An-Najah National University and Zajel Youth Exchange Program, a program that works to empower dialogue between Palestinian students and international students from around the globe to exchange experiences and knowledge about social and political issues.

Andreas Culikauskas, Volunteer at An-Najah from the Lithuania spoke about the creation of a culture of non-violence, while another volunteer of Zajel, Marceline Stewart, spoke about the social and economic situation facing Palestinians today.

 Students from both sides exchanged their perspectives towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and got feed back on each topic. On behalf of his students, Mr. Luis thanked Zajel Youth Exchange Program for giving his students the opportunity to learn about one of the most important conflicts in present life. He added, I know the students are young, but they will carry this information for the rest of their lives and pass it along to their peers, I know this is a very important subject for your students and after the conference we have 30 students who feel the same way.

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