Occupied Palestinian Territories—The British Council in Palestine is proud to announce five grants under its new project for storytelling, resilience and youth Empowerment; “Sard” to expand its English and Empowerment work and respond to communities'the growing needs to of empower young people and adults through English language and related life skills development.
SARD is a programme designed specifically to encourage Palestinians to share their story and the stories of their culture and heritage with each other and with the world. Through this programme, English and the art of storytelling come together as tools for self-expression through different mediums.It was inspired by the stories that came out of projects delivered by partners in our 2024-2025 Language for Resilience programme.
By working with local and UK partners, SARD will reach different communities across Palestine including Gaza, the Northern West Bank and refugee camps. These projects will reach hundreds of youths, supporting their English language learning, to building their resilience and fostering inclusion.
Shahida MacDougall, British Council Director in Palestine, commented “This project is brilliantly and thoughtfully adapted to meet the emerging needs of the Palestinian communities, bringing together diverse local and international stakeholders to work collaboratively and learn from each other, delivering impactful outcomes while capturing the true spirit of the empowerment programme”
SARD will support a range of projects that will be completed by November 2025, including:
Animated Stories from Al-Jalazoun
This is a creative initiative designed to empower youth in Al-Jalazoun Refugee Camp through stop-motion animation. Developed by MasnaAl-Rusoom Al-Mutaharrika (Almasna) in partnership with Space Foundation, the project offers 14–16-year-old boys and girls the opportunity to tell their stories, reflect on their experiences, and connect with the world using the universal language of animation.
Amplifying Palestinian Voices: A Literature and Podcast Initiative
This is a creative education project led by the Tamer Institute for Community Education. Focused on the power of language and storytelling, the initiative aims at providing 200 Palestinian children and young adults in Gaza and the West Bank the tools needed to express their lived experiences using the English language and through podcast production.
Resilient Voices: Empowering Palestinian Youth Through Digital Storytelling
Resilient Voices, led by Dr Ahmed Kamal Junina, seeks to support 50 Palestinian youth in Gaza aged 18-30, including those displaced by conflict, through English language training and digital storytelling. The program brings together an experienced team of trainers from Palestine, Australia, Taiwan, and Spain, with extensive expertise in linguistics, education, and mental health. A public digital archive will preserve these narratives.
“You Must Live”: A Storytelling Masterclass for Future Palestine
This programme, led by a core team of Amir Garmroudi and Aisja Hamed, develops and facilitates a programme of storytelling masterclasses in the form of co-learning sessions in English for budding Palestinian storytellers.
LINEs to the Future (LINEs2F)
Led by the University of Glasgow, this is part of the LINESforPalestine project, which has been supporting students and academics in Gaza since early 2024. LINES2F fosters collaboration between undergraduate students at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG, Palestine) and the University of Porto (Portugal) through sci-fi storytelling and filmmaking. 50 students from Gaza and Porto will work in small, mixed groups to make short science-fiction films guided by online workshops.
www.britishcouncil.org
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British Council Announces New Grants for Storytelling, Resilience, and Youth Empowerment in Palestine