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Closing ceremony “TOT Entrepreneurship Education in TVET and Solutions in the context of COVID-19 and Beyond”

Ramallah 14 July 2021 UNESCO Ramallah in close cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research conducted a Training of Trainers ToT for technical vocational education and training TVET Master trainers in technical colleges in three governorates North South and Middle for six days 46 training hours in total This training aimed at equipping the master trainers with the necessary skills and expertise to ensure mainstreaming of the entrepreneurship education in TVET curricula and to enhance the skills of their students youth to facilitate their access to the world of work This initiative is part of UNESCOs 3Years Youth Employment in the Mediterranean Project YEM with funding from the European Union The overall objective is to support national authorities together with the private sector the TVET providers and the youth organizations in the South Mediterranean region in understanding and anticipating labour market changes with a view to inform the design implementation and evaluation of relevant TVET policies strategies and programmes aimed at increasing youth employment and entrepreneurship In his opening remarks the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Prof Mahmoud Abu Mouis applauded the generous support of the EU to the YEM project and warmly thanked UNESCO for their continuous support to Higher Education in Palestine Mentioning the fact that students enrolling into Higher Education Institutions can either choose to go to the academic or to the Vocational and Technical tracks he emphasized the importance of entrepreneurship education in higher education to become a separate stream within the newly established Technical University He also recommended that this training should be followed by practical applications where real projects are materialized to ensure integration in the labour market and achieve real success The EU representative Mr Odoardo Como Head of Section at the European thanked UNESCO and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for the organization of the training and reiterated the continuous support of EU to youth in Palestine through the different interventions and partnerships including YEM Project Ms Noha Bawazir Head of Office and Representative of UNESCO to Palestine highlighted the critical importance of strengthening entrepreneurship and digital skills among youth recalling that it is an important pillar within the YEM project She also emphasized that should be mainstreamed in TVET curricula to increase youth employability and facilitate their access to the world of work Furthermore Mrs Bawazir reiterated UNESCOs commitment to support TVET as a future career pathway for youth as a response to address the high unemployment rate and commended the outstanding level of cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education with great acknowledgment to the generous support of EU UNESCO consultant and one the of the trainer Mr Hasan Hamed briefly presented the outline of the training and stressed the active participation of all trainees He also summarized recommendations for future interventions as a follow up to the training where more focused training is required and expanded to include more areas in Palestine including Gaza This was followed by feedback from three of the trainees who expressed their appreciation for the informative sessions Although very condensed they all confirmed the importance of the issue especially in qualifying them to transfer the knowledge to their fellow colleagues and their students they also emphasized the need for longer and more focused trainings in the future Finally the event was concluded with agreement to follow up on the various recommendations mentioned related to enhanced entrepreneurship skills towards quality TVE in Palestine For more information on UNESCOs activities in Palestine please visit httpsenunescoorgfieldofficeramallah and visit us on UNESCO National Office for Palestine For more information on this project please contact Ms Sonia Abu ElEzam Senior Programme Officer at the Education Unit of UNESCO National Office for Palestine at sezamunescoorg

UNESCO and the Ministry of Education organize a major conference towards developing the Palestinian educational system 29-30 June 2021 Ramallah

UNESCO Ramallah Office and the Ministry of Education jointly organized a conference using a hybrid modality of online and inperson participation over two consecutive days The conference entitled Development of the Palestinian Educational System Achievements Entitlements and Perspectives gathered on the 1st day some 200 online participants with representatives from ministries civil society organizations and educational stakeholders The conference presented the realities facing the Palestinian educational system policies associated with it and offered regional and international approaches to foresee the ability of the system to respond to new and existing challenges The Conference allowed for national regional and international experiences to be shared and discussed

UNESCO and Japan Sign a Milestone Agreement for the Benefit of Palestinian Youth during COVID-19

Ramallah 22 February 2021 the Government of Japan and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO signed an Arrangement Letter at the Representative Office of Japan to Palestine to support a UNESCOled pilot project titled Developing Digital skills and Education for Sustainable Development through Distance Learning in Palestine Phase I

February 22, 2021

UNESCO supports distance learning to implement the National Response Plan of the Ministry of Education in Palestine

In response to the current health crisis the Palestinian Government ordered an immediate nationwide closure of schools on March 15 2020 as an emergency measure to prevent the spread of COVID19 The Ministry of Education MoE estimated that more than 143 million children of school age were to be confined to their homes which included primary and secondary students as well as preschool children To mitigate the effects of the national lockdown and the disruption of education new venues were explored worldwide including online courses delivered through the internet and TV broadcasts The Ministry of Education MoE in Palestine developed a National Response Plan to mitigate the effects of COVID19 on the students through distance learning to ensure the provision of education through TV broadcasts and the internet The National Response Plan is currently being implemented with the support of the UNESCO Office in Palestine along with key education partners including UNRWA Save the Children and UNICEF To ensure timely implementation of the distance learning component of the National Response Plan UNESCO supports the development of the eplatform of the Ministry of Education in Palestine known as Tammal meanwhile upgrading of the Ministry of Educations website in Palestine The MoE established Tammal as an interactive eplatform for children in April of 2020 to share information with them and to stimulate them intellectually encourage them to reflect on several questions and form ideas and opinions for selfreflection UNESCO supports the MoE to improve Tammal into a robust and userfriendly eplatform with enhanced features to ensure the interaction with students in both Arabic and English The updated eplatform will enable students teachers parents and school principals to post their feedbacks regarding the shared material serve as a discussion space to all registered users encourage positive thinking and innovation for the active episode topics and allow users mainly children to express themselves UNESCO also supports MoE in upgrading its website with improved content and design and ensuring better communication with students and other stakeholders in both Arabic and English interfaces To ensure sustainability UNESCO also provides capacity development to concerned officials of the MoE to handle adequately the programming needs content management and to further develop the website

October 26, 2020

Determination Schools in Palestine: Between ambitions and challenging realities

The opening of determination schools at some hospitals in Palestine is regarded as a paramount achievement of the Ministry of Education in Palestine The cooperation with the Ministry of Health to provide a space of hope for Palestinian students at hospitals demonstrates a responsibility to serve hospitalized children and students asserting their rights to obtain quality health care and quality education regardless of their situation

September 13, 2020

Reaching a Coordinated Response Plan The Education Sector Working Group Partners meet virtually to discuss the School Re-opening Plan

In todays highly volatile and everchanging situation we face a dire emergency with challenges posed by the Covid19 pandemic This health crisis has created complex dynamics that are far greater for any single organization to solve alone Around the world reopening schools with a safe learning environment for children remains one of the most daunting challenges for restarting national economies

August 24, 2020

COVID-19 in Palestine: how distance learning will help student continue education

To help contain the spread of the coronavirus the government of Palestine announced the State of emergency on March 5 2020 and requested the closure of all schools and universities in Palestine as a protective measure to avoid the spread of the Corona Virus known as COVID19

Sector Strategies and Monitoring and Evaluation Report presented in the first Education Sector Working Group in 2020

Launch of Skills Forecasting Model Results

Ramallah 13 Feb 2020 UNESCO Ramallah Office in partnership with The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute MAS held the launch event for the Skills Forecasting Model in Palestine which was opened by His Excellency the Minister of Education Dr Marwan Awartani This initiative is part of UNESCOs 3year Youth Employment in the Mediterranean YEM project with funding from the European Union The project addresses the issue of youth unemployment in the region by improving skills anticipation and assessment systems the quality and relevance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training TVET and by fostering regional cooperation among beneficiary countries including Palestine The initial results of the Skills Forecasting Model were also developed in partnership with MAS in 2017 and provided an anticipation of occupations needed in the Palestinian Labour market for the next 5 years The current results are an update based on new data provided by the Ministry of Education Ministry of Higher Education Ministry of Labour and the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics involving all other relevant national and international stakeholders including GIZ Enable and ILO In his opening remarks HE Minister Awartani confirmed that the discussion on skills forecasting had a perfect timing given the Technical and Vocational Education and Training policy changes in Palestine He stressed the importance of empowering students with the skills needed in regional and global markets as well as Palestinian market The Deputy Minister of Labour Mr Samer Salameh highlighted the necessity of forecasting skills due to the skill gap in the Palestinian labor market He further reiterated the need of changing admission policies at universities to rely more on skills rather than results of the secondary exams The EU representative Mr Odoardo Como and the TVET Director General at the Ministry of Higher Education Dr Ahmad Othman highlighted the importance of the project and expressed their hope that results of the skill forecasting model would be used in policy making MAS Director General Mr Raja Khalidi praised the unique partnership between MAS three ministries and UNESCO He also stressed a lack of a clear economic policy linking required skills in the labour market with education and noted the importance of improving the data on skills demanded in the labour market In his welcoming remarks UNESCO OfficerinCharge Head of Office Mr Junaid SoroshWali highlighted a high rate of unemployment due to the mismatch between supply and demand as well as the skill gap between the graduates and the skill needed by employers He offered that the results will contribute to reducing unemployment and directing youth to TVET as a future career pathway by informed policy decisions building on this skill forecasting model A presentation by Mr Hiromichi Katayama TVET Programme Specialist at UNESCO Headquarters focused on global and regional trends in TVET as well as an introduction to the YEM project including a skill forecasting activity MAS research team presented the methodology and results of the model and top jobs in demand and imbalances in occupations during the upcoming three years in Palestine During the following session three line ministries and youth organization Leaders intervened on how they will build on the results of the model to inform their policies This was followed with some questions and answers and further ideas on the model application from partners and a wrap up session which included next concrete steps facilitated by Ms Lina Benete Head of Education Unit at UNESCO National Office for Palestine For more information on UNESCOs activities in Palestine please visit httpsenunescoorgfieldofficeramallah and visit us on UNESCO National Office for Palestine For more information on this project please contact Ms Sonia Abu ElEzam Senior Programme Officer at the Education Unit of UNESCO National Office for Palestine at sezamunescoorg

February 17, 2020

UNESCO and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Support Universities` Efforts to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

December 18, 2019

“Young Teachers, the Future of the Profession” highlighted at this year’s World Teachers’ Day Celebration

October 30, 2019

Agreement signed between UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture to support the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Palestine.

September 4, 2019

Education partners in Palestine renew their commitment to the education sector by signing the Partnership Principles at the Education Sector Working Group

September 4, 2019