As part of AAUP’s commitment to promoting scientific research and participating in international academic forums, representatives of the University participated in the annual Palestine Forum in its second session 2024, which was held in the Qatari capital, Doha.
The participation included two research papers, the first by Ms. Rola Shahwan, Director of the Library and Archives on the University’s Ramallah campus, and the second was a joint research between Dr. Ayman Yousef, Professor of Political Science at the University, and Mr. Mustafa Sheta, Director of the Freedom Theater and graduate of the Master’s Program in Conflict Resolution and Development, who is currently imprisoned by the occupation.
Ms. Shahwan’s paper was titled: “Using looted Palestinian archives in Israeli documentaries,” during a session devoted to discussing ways for retrieving looted Palestinian archives stored in the archives of the occupying state. Ms. Shahwan highlighted the way followed by the occupying state in dealing with looted Palestinian archives. The occupation prevents Palestinian researchers from accessing the looted documents, while making them available for Israeli knowledge producers, including documentary film directors, who use such documents to support their narrative. Ms. Rola also participated in directing a special session on the use of archives as a primary source of knowledge in academic institutions and presented practical proposals, including adopting a course on the concept of archives in the colonial context.
For his part, Dr. Yousef presented a research paper titled: “The Crisis of Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations in the Context of Restoring Civil Society in Palestine.” The paper addressed the structural crises that the Palestinian civil society is going through, focusing on non-governmental organizations and the difficulties they face, such as those related to external funding, government policies towards civil society, in addition to conservative tendencies in the Palestinian society.
These participations come within the framework of the University’s keenness to achieve academic excellence and exchange experiences in order to achieve research and scientific progress.
