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New Portal Connects Palestinian Youth to the World
The GLP is launching a new portal to provide an online gateway for Palestinian youth to connect with the world. This “one-stop shop” will allow young people in the West Bank to access digital libraries, online communities, English-as-a-Second-Language training materials, and a wealth of other digital resources.
The portal will also feature an online environment for collaboration through moderated discussions, blogs, RSS Feeds and various other tools, in addition to a job-search function to give users access to local employment opportunities.
The technology for the Palestinian Youth Portal is based on the Global Learning Portal, a Global Development Alliance open-source platform operating for four years. AED will implement the portal with the assistance of USAID, the Palestinian Information Technology Association of Companies, or PITA, a non-profit trade association. The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership will also contribute to the project.
“After an initial assessment in July 2008, it was clear that there was a strong need for a comprehensive, multifunctional on-line portal to support youth-development activity in the Palestinian territories,” says Robert Schware, managing director of the portal. “By partnering with PITA and other stakeholders, we are able to design a networking solution that will enable the Youth Development Resource Centers along with prospective partners, to manage their organization and also provide an area for the youth to access and share information.”
