CAABU is delighted to be project managing UK activities for Fakhoora.org, a new global advocacy campaign working to protect and strengthen education for children and students in Gaza and the West Bank. The campaign was born during the 22 day long attack on Gaza 2008-2009, when students in Doha, Qatar, were inspired to raise awareness about the plight of Palestinians after witnessing the escalation of ongoing abuses committed against Palestinian civilians, including children and students.

The assault on Gaza also gave rise to the greatest wave of student solidarity with Palestine in the UK for over a generation and CAABU will be working on behalf of Fakhoora.org to build on the success of the student movement in British universities by supporting existing groups and helping them to develop partnerships and alliances internationally. The campaign's work will consist of capacity building and consolidating the essential work that is already being done with a view to developing a more cohesive and sustainable movement.

Our first activity was an international student conference, hosted in Doha in January 2010. This was a resounding success with over 150 students from Palestine, other Arab countries, Europe and North America attending. We will continue to support these student groups in their work in solidarity with Palestine in the coming months.

We will also be working on a range of activities in UK schools for the project - including an art competition that will be launched in January, to inspire school children to think about the effects of the occupation on people in Palestine and to get creative in aid of lifting the siege of Gaza. Entrants will be asked to make a work of art out of any materials that are, or have at one time been, banned or restricted under the blockade and to write a brief explanation of why they chose the techniques and materials they have used and what they want their artwork to express about the siege.  

The Fakhoora website is currently under reconstruction. A new, professional website will be launched in February so please be aware that much of the information on the current website is currently out of date.

If you'd like to keep updated please join Fakhoora.orgUK on Facebook or contact Aimee Shalan at shalana@caabu.org

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