Building on Inclusion and Assessing Next Steps, 8th-10th July 2018

Following the 'Moving Forward Together' conference held in Hebron on 7th July 2018, Forward Thinking met with conference participants in order to explore practical responses to the challenges raised. To this end, the inclusiveness of the conference was stressed as highly significant due to the local and national pressures that often prevent individuals from different factions engaging with one another. In addition, participants expressed the significance of further youth engagement in the city in order to combat the growing sense of marginalisation amongst young people, and it was stated that there should be greater emphasis on encouraging youth voices. Meetings were also held with political figures of different affiliations in Ramallah. This allowed an analysis to be gained of continuing political divisions as well as providing opportunity to plan our upcoming activities. 

 

In meeting Knesset Members from Labour and Shas, we were also able to assess previous activities and identify the key areas of learning from them (including from the recent joint Israeli-Palestinian meeting in Dublin). Furthermore, these meetings provided a key insight into current political dynamics both within the coalition and the opposition.