Palestinian Vision Organization, under the supervision of the Welfare Association and with support from Bank of Palestine, launched “NAHJ” project to support school entrepreneurship in the schools of Jerusalem; the project aims to promote the concept of entrepreneurship for students at primary stages in school, in an attempt to instill a new dimension that aims to strike the interest of students, advance their options, and direct them to new available choices.
The project’s preparatory phase began by organizing visits to governmental and non-governmental schools through the Ministry of Education in order to form groups and select appropriate times for training sessions. The schools selected are Ali Ibn Al-Khattab School for Males, Al-Nithamiyya School, Al-Nahda School, Ibrahimieh College, Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi School, and Freres School.
The project targets 150 students within the age group of 13-15 years old, studying in the eighth and ninth grades at the targeted schools. 25 students with higher entrepreneurship tendencies will be selected for training sessions conducted in the Old City, Sur Baher, Beit Hanina, Sawwanah, and Sheikh Jarrah.
At a later stage, the project will target 15-20 Academic Counselors and Administrative Employees at the targeted schools, to train them as committees for administrative and technical support and enable them to provide support related to the design, development, and management of entrepreneurship projects, in addition to provide support to the mechanisms of monitoring and evaluation and other related mechanisms.
Mr. Rami Naser Eddin, Executive Director of Palestine Vision stated that “”NAHJ” project aims to develop the reality of entrepreneurship for students in schools, and enhance their entrepreneurship skills, knowledge, and tendencies, for entrepreneurship to become a destination to consider for the generations at the primary stages”.
The projected is funded with support from Bank of Palestine, due to its role in supporting and prioritizing development projects in Jerusalem, in the hope that the project achieves great success despite the pressure experienced in the Holy City; this confirms the Bank’s interest to support and finance one of the most important development sectors, which is the education, youth, and innovation sector, based on the principle of social responsibility that the Bank dedicates 5% of its annual net profit for, on annual basis.
Mr. Ala’a Tarshan, Project Manager at the Welfare Association, stated that “the idea of the project originated from the belief in the need to incorporate entrepreneurship education within the scope of formal education system, in order to focus on higher order thinking skills and critical thinking skills, problem solving, innovation and promotion of intellectual development, development of social, practical, and spiritual aspects, and the development and support of the education system, in order to promote entrepreneurship for children, in addition to the skills, knowledge, and directions that allow to supplement and strengthen the development process”.
The project is an opportunity to contribute in advancing the knowledge of the younger generation about the various business, economic, and social sectors, in which the students can choose in the future and provide them with the opportunity to experience the establishment of a new business and receive training on how to establish the business, build planning and marketing plans, management skills, innovation and creativity, in addition to networking, building relationships and other skills.