MIFTAH
Friday, 29 March. 2024
 
Your Key to Palestine
The Palestinian Initiatives for The Promotoion of Global Dialogue and Democracy
 
 
 

Last month, MIFTAH was part of an official delegation to the UN Habitat III conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, held in Quito, Ecuador between October 15 – 20, 2016.

MIFTAH was represented by CEO Dr. Lily Feidy, project manager Abeer Zaghari and MIFTAH project beneficiary Dr. Rola Jadallah.

MIFTAH stands out

MIFTAH applied in March 2016 to the Habitat III conference from the specific angle of shedding light on the importance of women’s participation in urban development and promoting gender integration in urban planning. This was in partnership with the Regional programme "Strengthening Women in Decision Making in the Middle East" (LEAD). This project is implemented by Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), mandated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The application included the regional countries of Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon, in order to draw attention to issues of urban development in countries that suffer instability because of conflict and occupation and due to the repercussions of political unrest in the region.

MIFTAH was accepted from among hundreds of applicants. Only three, of which MIFTAH was one, addressed the importance of integrating gender in urban planning and development.

Gender equality in urban development

Dr. Feidy stressed on the importance of gender equality in urban development in Palestine and the most important steps for overcoming the instability in the region and promoting peace and justice. In her address, she urged the international community to take the initiative of ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine, which she said was the major obstacle threatening any chances of achieving sustainable development goals in Palestine. Feidy also said the occupation was a main hindrance to achieving sustainable urban planning in Palestinian cities and towns, which are subjected daily to Israeli occupation measures such as settlement expansion, expulsion, land confiscation, home demolitions and the construction of the separation wall. This, she maintained, has created chaos and disfigurement of Palestinian cities and historical religious and archeological sites in Jerusalem, Palestine’s future capital. This is over and above the fact that Israel’s continuous violations of the land and against the people makes urban development one of the biggest challenges to overcome and ultimately achieve.

Women’s participation in urban planning

Meanwhile, Dr. Rola Jadallah, a lecturer at the Arab-American University in Jenin and member of the Arraba municipality addressed the importance of women’s participation in urban planning in various residential and built-up areas. She is the embodiment of creating change at the urban level in her own town given her participation in a series of capacity-building programs for women LGU members in Palestine.

The role of Lebanese women in maintaining civic peace Representing Lebanon, Dr. Ramy Lakkis, founder and director of the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) showcased how the association promotes the role of women in stabilizing hosting and refugee communities in Lebanon and enhancing social cohesion in fragile urban contexts. This is important not only in light of the many challenges and obstacles that prevent women from taking on an active role in society, but also due to the difficulties that come from hosting one of the highest numbers of refugees worldwide, as is the case in Lebanon

The Jordanian “Nashamiyat Initiative”

From Jordan, the representative of the Legal Department of the ‘Jordanian National Commission for Women’ (JNCW), Jordan, Ms. Amal Haddadin and member of the local council in southern Irbid, Ms. Maha Marashdeh, both participated in initiatives of JNCW, such as the ‘Nashmiyat; initiative for empowering women. The platform ‘Nashmiyat’ is a national network of female council members, that was set up to enable and promote women in local governance. The initiatives of JNCW also have the goal of boosting women’s participation in the general context, e.g. related to the implementation of the UN Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, especially in light of the current refugee crisis in Jordan, which is one of the country’s biggest challenges.

45,000 participants

Approximately 45,000 people from all over the world, representing national and international delegations, government institutions and parties, civil society, municipalities and universities, participated in the conference. This is the first UN summit on global urban expansion since the sustainable development agenda of 2030 was adopted.

The UN Habitat III conference offered an opportunity to look into the major challenges facing the planning and management of cities and towns so they could assume their role as a vehicle for sustainable development and contribute to implementing the sustainable development goals and the Paris Protocol on climate change. The conference also defined global criteria for achieving progress in sustainable urban development and for rethinking ways of building, managing and living in cities.

The sessions were organized in partnership with GIZ, represented by its Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors, Dr. Christoph Beier. Dr. Beier commented GIZ’s program in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan, especially pointing out the success of working with female LGU members in Palestine, which prompted GIZ to branch out into Jordan and Lebanon.

The sessions attracted a considerable audience from several world countries who were clearly interested in the Palestinian cause and the challenges facing the Palestinians as a result of the Israeli occupation.

 
 
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972-2-298 9490/1
972-2-298 9492
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