Shoruq Organization sets up the first Debate Club in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, as part of its Advocacy Program.

  • Shoruq Organization sets up the first Debate Club in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, as part of its Advocacy Program.


Shoruq Organization sets up the first Debate Club in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, as part of its Advocacy Program.

On December 27, 2020, Shoruq Organization opened the first Debate Club in Dheisheh Refugee camp in Bethlehem as part of its long-running Advocacy Program, which aims to enable refugee youth to express themselves independently and advocate for their fundamental human rights and liberties. The first meeting of this important initiative was attended by 21 young Palestinians, the majority of whom were refugees and females. Shoruq Debate Club (SDC)  plays a pivotal role in enhancing and developing the Palestinian youth’s overall knowledge regarding a variety of crucial topics, fostering their skills of communication and interaction, promoting the values of mutual respect, and utilizing dialogue as an effective means to reach peaceful solutions to social, economic, and political disputes. 


Notwithstanding the ‘competitive’ nature of debate, SDC constructs a rather friendly atmosphere that provides young individuals with the fruitful opportunity to freely express their opinions and thoughts about a diverse range of controversial topics, including “taboos” without any censorship. This directly stems from Shoruq’s firm belief in the significance of freedom of expression and its positive impact on the development of societies, which ultimately leads to an ideal democratic paradigm for Palestinians.


The clear negligence and absence of the vast majority of politically–and socially–active young Palestinians in the local decision-making process has prevented the youth from fully exercising their democratic rights, including the vital right to freedom of expression. Drawing from this serious problem, Shoruq Organization decided to open this debate club that serves as an outlet to enable the youth to engage in fruitful discussions with others by presenting their own arguments, defending their opinions, and refuting the arguments of their opponents, which all help in fostering Palestinians’ critical thinking, research, and analytical skills.