European Union Workshop

This week at the Palestinian Farmers’ Union we were fortunate enough to be invited to a European Union Civil Society Workshop. The workshop was hosted by the EU and provided a chance for civil society organisations (CSOs) across the West Bank and Gaza to discuss possible approaches and priorities to boost inclusive and economic growth in Palestine. Due to their not-for-profit nature, CSOs are expected to integrate social values and human rights into business and are therefore key actors in the development of a sustainable Palestinian economy.

The EU stated the following six fundamental approaches to boosting economic growth in Palestine:

• Inclusive and sustainable growth – poverty reduction through the inclusion of low income communities, in a sustainable manner
• Social enterprises – seeking to serve the community’s interest (social, societal, environmental objectives) rather than profit maximisation
• Green economy – improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities
• Corporate Social Responsibility – companies voluntarily going beyond what the law requires to achieve social and environmental objectives
• Decent work – availability of employment in conditions of freedom, equality, human security and dignity
• Occupation Safety and Health – health and welfare of people engaged in work employment

With these approaches in mind, representatives from across the CSO sector in Ramallah and Gaza (the latter communicating via live video stream), discussed four main topics posed by the EU:

1.      CSOs role and capabilities

2.      Geographical and sector areas of intervention

3.      New approaches to business, inclusive and sustainable, and green

4.      Implementation modalities including EU support

Feedback was presented back to the EU, with a clear emphasis on the importance of CSOs within the Palestinian economy. It was detailed that CSOs have the capacity to merge the private and public sector who can then share expertise and best practices. Furthermore, CSOs have potential to work with universities and technical colleges to develop initiatives. Discussion moved towards the type of businesses within Palestine, of which the majority are informal and not officially registered. By organising these informal businesses beneath the umbrella of cooperatives, ideas can be collated and key issues can be advocated by one representative body, with the aim to make positive change.

Following the workshop, the EU has since put forward a call for proposals, launched by the European Training Foundation (ETF) for entrepreneurial communities. The call will identify good practice of locally-anchored partnerships in fostering skills, entrepreneurship and job creation. This is an amazing opportunity for the PFU to promote their beliefs and share previous project successes. It is hoped that the PFU will be able to provide the ETF with ideas for upcoming projects that may help shape the future for farmers and Palestinian society as a whole.