Volunteering for Peace CC in Palestine together with United for Palestine CC, Palestinian Peace Society CC, Palestinian Women for Peace CC and Palestinian Youth for Peace CC organized a workshop entitled “Environmental Awareness of Palestinian Youth” on Saturday, July 30th 2011 in Hebron. Funding was made possible by the Environmental Satellite Seed Grants.
The workshop began with an introduction by Tareq Altamimi, URI Global Trustee and Coordinator for the Volunteering for Peace CC. He gave an overview of URI's environmental activities throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Each participant introduced themselves and spoke a little about their interest in the environment. Dr. Taleb Alharithi, an Environmental Engineer, spoke about the harmful practices that people engage in which result in the destruction of the environment. He talked in detail about waste treatment.
A rich discussion followed about drinking water, factory pollution, waste treatment, burning, dust, and harmful chemicals. The video “Greening the Desert II: Greening the Middle East” was then shown, followed by a discussion on the similarities in issues experienced from village to village throughout the region. Four working groups presented potential solutions to the environmental problems confronting them.
The group will stay in touch through social media to encourage one another to continue focusing on the environment, and seeking solutions.
