UNESCO and Taawon Sign a Framework Agreement to Formalize Cooperation Efforts

Ms. Noha Bawazir, Head of Office and UNESCO Representative praised the framework agreement with Taawon by stating “UNESCO and Taawon share similar values, and support common objectives within their respective mandates, covering sectors such as culture and education. The agreement will scale up the existing the organizations’ relationships, and will be building on their mutual programme priorities”. Ms. Bawazir emphasized the importance of building synergies and the need to capitalize on UNESCO’s competencies and comparative advantage within its mandate as it relates to the agreement.

The partnership will be implemented in close coordination with Palestinian National Commission for Education Science and Culture.  Ms. Yara Al-Salem, General Director of Taawon, emphasized “the importance of this agreement with UNESCO, in support of education and culture in Palestine”.  

Ms. Al-Salem commended the support of UNESCO for a number of cultural heritage preservation projects that Taawon had implemented in the past, in addition to supporting community awareness activities in this field, expressing hopes that the agreement will contribute to creating projects and partnerships that will benefit Palestinian people, especially in the education and culture sectors.

Through the signed agreement, UNESCO and Taawon will build on the established organizational cooperation to attain Palestinian needs in the areas of Education and Culture, and closely cooperate to support distance education, higher education, development of education and vocational training programs, and implementation of projects for the preservation and protection of cultural heritage and diversity of cultural expressions. Both organizations aim to jointly perform community outreach and mobilize partners from civil society and the local community for the achievement of their strategic goals and program priorities. Furthermore, both organization will collaborate to reaffirm the role and visibility of this partnership nationally.

About UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO develops educational tools to help people live as global citizens free of hate and intolerance. UNESCO works so that each child and citizen has access to quality education. By promoting cultural heritage and the equal dignity of all cultures, UNESCO strengthens bonds among nations. UNESCO fosters scientific programmes and policies as platforms for development and cooperation. UNESCO stands up for freedom of expression, as a fundamental right and a key condition for democracy and development. Serving as a laboratory of ideas, UNESCO helps countries adopt international standards and manages programmes that foster the free flow of ideas and knowledge sharing. UNESCO Ramallah is the National Office to Palestine, you may learn more about the organization by visiting https://en.unesco.org/fieldoffice/ramallah

About Taawon

Taawon is an independent institution registered as a branch in Palestine. Established in 1983 with the initiative of a group of Palestinian and Arab economic and intellectual personalities, to become one of the largest institutions operating in Palestine and refugee camps in Lebanon, where it touches the lives of more than a million Palestinian annually, half of whom are women, with an approximate investment of 800 million dollars since it was founded, implementing development and relief programs in its areas of operation. You may learn more about the organization by visiting: https://www.taawon.org/en/content/our-story