Birzeit University's "Rebuilding Hope" Wins Academic Freedom Award

The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) awarded the Academic Freedom Award to Birzeit University's ‘Rebuilding Hope' initiative, which supports higher education institutions in the Gaza Strip, along with the Education for Gaza Students Initiative at An-Najah National University.

Birzeit University shares this honour with all the volunteers who contributed to the success of the initiative, as it considers what it has done as part of its moral and national responsibility. The university emphasised that the award is well deserved by Palestinian higher education institutions and academics in the Gaza Strip, who, despite the wounds, pain and destruction of educational institutions during the wars, are still working hard to complete their mission and provide education to students in besieged Gaza.

Birzeit University's ‘Rebuilding Hope’ initiative is centred on two main concepts: "Support" which aims to support higher education institutions in Gaza through joint action, and “Rebuilding Hope,” which seeks to build a possible life in Gaza despite the challenges. The initiative encompasses three main pillars: Strengthening infrastructure and institutional collaboration through partnerships with universities in the Gaza Strip; improving university education through staffing and distance learning support; and finally, transformative research through collaboration between Birzeit researchers and their peers at international and local universities to support reconstruction efforts.

The award is a symbolic prize given annually to initiatives and individuals who contribute to academic freedom around the world, and the association has thousands of scholarly members.