Inspire Dreams
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Culture
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Education
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Science and Technology
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Media
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IT
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Youth
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X
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Women
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Project Duration: 2008 - Present
Start/End Date: 2008 - Present
Inspire Drams is a 501(c) 3 international non-profit organization that uses the arts, athletics, and academics to promote social change in the West Bank. Our primary target audience is Palestinian youth in refugee camps. We currently work in 6 refugee camps located within the cities of Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Nablus. In order of size, they are the Balata (pop. 41,000), Dheisheh (pop. 13,000), Askar (14,000), Jalazon (9,200), Al-Fawwar (7,000), and Al-Azzeh (1,700). Camp “I Have a Dream” is a week-long summer and winter program for refugee youth between the ages of 12-16. The program focuses on teaching non-violence, leadership skills, and career development through the mediums of basketball, soccer, theater, poetry, dance, computer-based apps and journalism. To date, camp “IHAD” has reached over +175 Palestinian youth in five refugee camps.
Partnering Organization(s):
Maysoon’s Kids
Fred Foundation
Soliya
Peace Players Intl.
Pat Tillman Foundation
Projects for Peace
Clinton Global Initiative
Inspire Dreams, Inc
Founded in US, but operations are based in Palestine. Email info@inspiredreamstoday.org.
Project Mission : By 2015, we hope to have our programs available in all 19 refugee camps in the West bank. Eventually we hope to work in Gaza as well, and consider implementing our model in other conflict areas.
Project Objective(s): None of our work is political. We do not sign onto any campaigns or petitions, nor do we advocate any specific solutions to the conflict. We believe that empowering Palestinian youth, encouraging them to pursue higher education, and presenting them with the idea that they can command agency over their own lives, is a prime objective guiding what we do. There are several organizations working on the issue of youth education in Palestinian refugee camps, and other peace-based initiatives that bring together Palestinians and Israelis on trips to Europe and the United States. However, no other camps or programs currently exist that directly engage refugee youth as potential players in the peace process. Our summer camp synthesizes the work of several organizations into one summer camp that focuses on empowerment and active citizenship. By giving our campers avenues for self-expression, and supporting them as they realize their own power to build civil society, we support the maturation of a new voice in the region and the next generation of Palestinian leaders.
Target group(s): Palestinian refugee youth aged 12-16
Geographical scope(s) of project : West bank, Palestine
Countries involved :Palestine
One page summary: Attached
US involvement/ contribution within the project :Inspire Dreams is a US-registered NGO
Achievements/progress to date: In the summer of 2008, Camp “I Have a Dream” reached more than 100 refugee youth in the Al-Azzeh and Dheisheh refugee camps in Bethlehem and the Jalazone refugee camps in Ramallah. In the winter of 2009 we returned to our original sites to offer a second series of programs, and expanded the model to refugee camps in Nablus and Jenin. So far, we have reached over 175 youth, and we aim to establish programs in all 19 refugee camps in the West Bank by 2014.
Contact person for the project :
Hammad Hammad - Hammad@inspiredreamstoday.org
Rod Solaimani – Rod@inspiredreamstoday.org
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