The Youth Times Newspaper

When Palestinian young people get together – just like their peers the world over – they want to talk music, movies and fashion. In the offices of PYALARA and The Youth Times, teens not only get to talk about these topics but are also given the opportunity to report and write on them. Why is this kind of story-telling so important? Because it gives young Palestinians growing up under harsh conditions the chance to express themselves, be creative and have fun.    

Music and fashion are just two of the topics that the young contributors write about. They also cover local political topics, health issues and problems they see in their communities, such as trash burning and pollution. A recent story focused on the horrific experiences of women during an Israeli attack on the neighbourhood of Al-Zaiton in eastern Gaza Strip. In the same issue, an editorial by two 14-year-olds – entitled ‘PUNKS…When Today’s Teens Live the 70s’ – discussed ‘punk’ aesthetics and what it meant for young Palestinians to adopt this style. 

No matter what the subject, however, the most important element is that the stories told in The Youth Times are diverse and focus on topics of interest to youth.

The monthly publication covers all areas in OPT and focuses on several thematic sections: the economy, politics, sports, arts and literature, health and education. Every issue also features a poem, as well as a centre section on a different ‘hot topic’ for youth each month. The majority of the articles are written by youth volunteers and edited by staff.

An inclusive production process

Production of the newspaper begins at a monthly meeting with the young writers in several locations, including Gaza, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Hebron and Bethlehem. An average of 20 volunteers attend the meetings at each location to brainstorm about main topics, issues, and new trends and ideas they want to explore in the next issue. The meeting is facilitated by one or two of the staff sub-editors, who help to organize the working process and follow up with the volunteers as they conduct research, schedule and conduct interviews, and write their stories.

All of the major decisions about the content of each issue, including layout and photographs, are made during these monthly editorial meetings.

PYALARA believes in giving youth volunteers as much responsibility and input as possible, allowing them to follow their interests without any pressure to pursue particular political issues or perspectives. It is an approach that begins with in-depth training that goes beyond reporting and writing skills, and has proven to foster dynamic and versatile thinking – while also developing leadership skills based on positive change and open communication.

Training for youth volunteers

The foundation for all PYALARA’s work is an intensive three-month training programme, which every youth reporter and volunteer goes through. Over 70 volunteers are trained to work in different areas of the organization each year, including The Youth Times newspaper, ‘Alli Sowtak’ (Speak Up), a two-hour weekly TV programme broadcast on satellite television throughout the Arab world and the Programme for the Well-Being of Youth, a peer-to-peer youth counselling effort focused on the psychosocial, physical and socio-political health of young people.

Youths are recruited to join PYALARA through a wide-ranging network of schools and local organizations. During the training, they spend several hours a day together, first gaining experience in two main areas: drama and social training. This aspect of the training develops social and emotional balance by teaching participants communication skills and how to use acting, dance or music to express their emotions. It also teaches them how to be thoughtful listeners, encourages them to be open to different views and ideas, and allows them to use their own speech and diverse ways of communication to express their perspectives from a standpoint of understanding, rather than anger or negativity.

As a Palestinian in a tense environment, explains Rania Attallah, head of training at PYALARA, it is easy to become versed in political opinions. But it is difficult to use history, listening skills and positive speech to express your political views. And it is even more difficult to have a chance to express yourself outside of the political context.

To lay a foundation for creativity and personal expression, volunteers at The Youth Times take photography and creative writing workshops before learning more specific aspects of journalism. Their final training is in reporting skills. This is important, says Attallah, because it allows young people to learn first how to voice their opinions and speak from an emotional perspective – and then how to keep those views separate from straight news reporting, which must be balanced.

After completing the training programme, volunteers are invited to attend The Youth Times meetings and become a part of the editorial team. While it is up to the young people to decide on their activity levels, PYALARA stays connected to each of them through Facebook, e-mail and regular phone calls. Many of the active youth volunteers often call or visit the office just to chat with the sub-editors, use the small library housed at the main Al-Bireh office or help with various office tasks. Contributors assigned to do stories for the next issue of the paper work closely with sub-editors during the research and writing process.

Humble beginnings

PYALARA and The Youth Times were founded in 1999 by four young journalists in their twenties – including current editor-in-chief Hania Bitar – who were struggling to distribute their stories to mainstream news outlets, which mostly focus on political topics. These burgeoning reporters realized the need for youth-produced news. The Youth Times started out as a small project using humble donations as start-up funds. It was based on a desire to create a space for young people to share their stories and talk about the issues that affect their lives, beyond the overwhelming topic of the political situation and the occupation.

“We never had this kind of space as young people,” says Eman Sharabati, communications officer at PYALARA. “Young people never had this kind of platform to talk about their own issues. The Youth Times newspaper has always been connected to youth rights. It was founded as a tool for young people to reach their own rights – their political, economic and social rights.”

PYALARA now works with the Palestinian Ministry of Youth, Ministry of Education, UNICEF and a wide network of local organizations, NGOs, schools and universities to recruit Palestinian youth volunteers across the region and distribute the newspaper. While the main office is in Al-Bireh, PYALARA also has branches in Gaza and Nablus, and conducts training in other cities such as Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

In its 10-year history, the group’s impact has been wide and deep. The Youth Times reaches an average of 120,000 readers. Beyond this readership, the PYALARA programme has a lasting effect on the young people involved. Atallah recalls that after a recent training, she received numerous phone calls from parents who told her stories about their sons or daughters making positive changes in their lives. These changes included studying more, taking responsibility about plans for the future and even using public transportation from Jerusalem to Ramallah – a major obstacle for many young Palestinians who fear passing through military checkpoints.

“This was a huge obstacle that they had overcome,” says Atallah. “So this programme is really about confidence. These youth are learning how to express themselves. They are learning how to become advocates for themselves.”

Long-term impact

In addition to the immediate effects on youths who go through training, the long-term impact on young people is an integral part of PYALARA’s vision. Almost half of the association’s 30-person staff consists of former youth volunteers, who were trained to be reporters as high school students.

Sharabati, now 23, began volunteering when she was 17. She remembers the initial impact that PYALARA had on her life: “I became a proud person because my messages were being distributed all over the West Bank and Gaza. It’s really given me this power to be an active person in this society, and to think more about the issues and problems that we should work on as young people.”

The team at PYALARA and The Youth Times hope to expand their network of youth reporters globally, using the newspaper and other media to strengthen international relations among young people. In the past, they have been able to support several international exchange visits in order to give young Palestinian reporters experience in other countries. PYALARA hopes to build on these efforts, growing a cadre of young Palestinian ambassadors and continuing to participate in an international network of young people supporting youth rights.

Visit PYALARA's website to learn more: http://www.pyalara.org.

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Youth Profile: Izz Abu Mezar

Just eight months ago, fifteen year-old Izz Abu Mezar applied to become a volunteer for PYALARA and The Youth Times newspaper. Now, several times a month Izz travels forty minutes from where he lives in Jerusalem to the city of Al-Biereh in order to spend much of his free time at The Youth Times office. There, he works hard on his stories and hangs out with the youth of PYALARA, which he calls “one big family.” He loves the fact that everyone at PYALARA is young, cares about each other and the wider culture, and that everyone works together towards the common goal of helping the community.

Writing for The Youth Times, Izz has written in-depth research stories focused on health issues, including a piece on disabled people and another on the recent outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus. Through his research, he has discovered a passion for medical topics and has decided to become a doctor.

Through PYALARA and The Youth Times, Izz has learned great research and reporting skills, but he has also gained the necessary confidence and responsibility he needs to reach his goals. Writing is a way to relieve stress, says Izz, because he writes about the things that he thinks about and the things that worry him. Doing research and getting ideas down on paper is a way to express himself, and give back to his family, friends, and the community.

Media Magic Digest recently talked with Izz about his participation in The Youth Times and the role of media in creating change in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Q. What has it meant for you to be involved in The Youth Times newspaper and PYALARA?

Actually, it gave me more confidence, more knowledge and more friends, it allowed me to discover my interests and showed me how I can be a responsible and a useful person in the society … and I feel happy to be with them.

Q. Why do you think it is important for young people to create media?

It’s important because young people have the ideas of the old time and the ideas of this time, so they create media that is good and likeable for both young and old people. In addition, it is also important for young people to have the freedom and places to express their opinions and share their thoughts in a society where they comprise the majority of the population, like in ours.

Q. When you imagine a world fit for children, what would that world be like?

I think it would be like a funfair, a quiet world without wars, without any bad persons, without any problems, it would be a paradise …”the world of peace.”

Q. What specific issue or issues do you think are the most important to young people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) today?

Maybe the issues that are the most important to young people are those which talk about their problems, about technology, about Jerusalem and their cities, and about the diseases.

Q. How do you see the role of the newspaper in social change?

I see it has a perfect role in making social change. For example when we publish a topic about drugs and about any bad thing all of the youth who read the newspaper maybe they will change their mind about drugs when they read the side effects of them …

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