Today Al Fakhoora, a programme of Education Above All Foundation, unveiled an Impact Assessment of the Dynamic Futures Programme, which has been active in Gaza since 2009 in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The report showcases the outstanding results achieved impacting the lives of Palestinian youth in terms of interpersonal skills and employment opportunities. The most significant outcome of the Dynamic Futures programme is the economic empowerment given to Palestinian youth: 73% of alumni were able to obtain job opportunities, both short and long term.

Overall, 580 students have benefitted from the Fakhoora Scholarship programme, including a balanced male/female representation of 550 undergraduates and 30 graduate students. Participants engaged in a variety of life skills trainings and volunteering activities, reporting that they felt an increase in self-confidence as well as a strong sense of pride. Further, participants reported that they had developed skills in communicating with, and leading, others.

Speaking of the experience, one student expressed the benefits of the programme explaining that it helped in: “breaking the barriers of fear, shame, confusion and lack of personal skills and self-confidence”.

Farooq Burney, Director, Al Fakhoora, said: “The Al Fakhoora programme truly empowers Palestinian youth to become leaders of their communities and globally through education. We are proud to see the direct impact of our academic programmes and trainings on the lives of youth in Gaza. The results unveiled today are very rewarding and encouraging. We will more than ever continue our efforts to support the education sector in the Gaza Strip”.

The report takes a holistic approach to assessing progress over the past five years of the programme, taking into account responses from former participants, participating educational institutions, implementing partners and other stakeholders. The key quantitative and qualitative results highlighted below speak for themselves.

Evaluation of quality of education:

• 214 participants have successfully completed academic programmes;
• 75% of students’ achieved a GPA range between outstanding to very good; High GPAs are partly due to the security felt by the students, allowing them to fully concentrate on their education;
• 21 classrooms benefitted from new IT equipment;
• 42 academic staff were trained over four courses and 140 hours of instruction;

Evaluation of student affairs:

• 82% of students are very satisfied by the services provided by student affairs managed by Al Fakhoora house.

Evaluation of leadership development:

• 90% of students think the programme helped them to highly value the importance of voluntary work, particularly needed in a context like Gaza;
• As a result, 44% of students are already involved in community services;
• The Virtual Majlis experience was a lifetime experience for 80% of Gazan youth.

Al Fakhoora’s Dynamic Futures project aims to provide 1000 scholarships by 2016 and is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People. Students are selected through a rigorous selection process, which takes into account financial needs and academic grades but also their leadership potential. This project is part of Al Fakhoora’s efforts to unlock the potential of a new generation of marginalised youth to become educated, professionally skilled and inspirational leaders of the future.

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