Who Are We

Ibn Rushd Unit for Educational Development was founded on September 2007 at Birzeit University; it is an institute that seeks to host educators, researchers, teachers and students in Palestine and the region, to influence educational thought, practices and policies, and fostering leadership.

The unit aims to cultivate intellectual capabilities- integrative learning across contexts and over time, critical thinking, problem-solving, open-mindedness, and creative thinking- on the one hand, and moral and civic responsibility on the other hand.

The Unit's activities are based on beliefs in the values of rationality, inquiry, service, freedom, justice, peace, democracy and human rights.

Why Ibn Rushd

Abu `l-Walid Muhammad Ibn Rushd known to the West as Averroës, was born in
Cordoba, in southern Spain in 1126 and died in 1198..He believed that human beings
are rational and can learn, that nature is intelligible and its interpretation a legitimate
task of humankind; and that science and divine revelation need not be at odds. Ibn
Rushd great importance lies in his synthesis of ideas, in mating connections. He was a
doctor, a judge and a philosopher. He understood and developed Greek thought, and
consequently influenced modern Western thought. His idea that society is perfectible
and his discussion of how society can and should be changed inspired the thinkers

of the Renaissance, such as Tomaso Campanella and Sir Thomas .More, to produce their
theories of utopia, or the ideal state. The notion that this ideal is something definable,
and that it can be attained through human endeavor and wise leadership- rather than
only as a matter of God's grace or mere good luck-has inspired reformers and socially
conscious governments to the present day. His defense of rationalism and the

outspokenness of his social criticism makes him one of the most important Arab

Islamic scholars. His scholarship is exceptionally important for educational thought today.

The Need for the Unit

Ibn Rushd Unit for Educational Development was launched with a clear understanding of the problems and obstacles facing education in Palestine, and hence will strive to affect fundamental and real changes in all areas of education by implementing long-term programs that would initially bring about small changes, but would in the long run accumulate to promote fundamental change

Ibn Rushd Unit actives cover the following five interrelated areas in the field of education:

research and consultancies

development of appropriate curricula, pedagogy and assessment methodology

publishing and disseminating educational research results, best practices and innovations

networking and coordination among Palestinian educational institutions and NGO's, and

 between them and other local and international organizations

advocacy and policy making in the local community and at the international level