First Community Awareness Workshop About the Circular Economy- Hebron City

10 Nov 2022

Birzeit University had implemented the first community awareness workshop within the project “Promoting Upcycling in Circular Economy through Innovation and Education for Creative Industries in Mediterranean Cities (INNOMED-UP)” project in collaboration with seven European Union academic, research, and professional institutions, in addition to Palestine, Jordan and Tunisia, represented by the cities of Hebron, Nablus, Amman and Tunisia and funded by the European Union,

The community awareness workshop was launched on Wednesday, 3 November 2021 in the Hall of Saleh restaurant.

The number of participants reached about 53 persons, representing the official institutions in the city of Hebron, the local community, and SMEs.

The community awareness workshop program was opened by the vice project manager and the project communication officer Dr. Mohammad Jawabreh, he welcomed the presence, and stressed the importance of cooperation for the continuation of the project. He also gave an introduction to the project's activities and future activities. and he pointed out that the project pursued to realistically reflect products and implement the pilot ideas proposed by craftsmen in the development of urban spaces in the Old Town/Hebron.

Representatives of the project’s advisory committee and official institutions also participated in the opening speeches, as Eng. Yousef Al-Jabari, Deputy Mayor of Hebron Municipality, Mr. Mohsen Zalloum, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and member of the Advisory Committee, Mr. Imad Hamdan, Director of the Reconstruction Committee in Hebron, member of the Advisory Committee, and Mr. Bader Al-Da'our, Head of the Hebron traditional handcraft gathering, all of them they emphasized the importance of the project and their full readiness to cooperate for the success of the project and the development and promotion of the culture of recycling industries in the city of Hebron.

This was followed by presentations related to the circular economy in terms of its reality and challenges in Palestine, where Eng. Majed Al-Srai’ from the Joint Services Council for Solid Waste gave a presentation on the reality of waste in Palestine - solid waste as a model: the experience of the Joint Services Council for Solid Waste Management - southern West Bank, and Mr. Sami Abu Arqoub, Director General of Tourism and Antiquities, gave a presentation on the reality of traditional and handicraft industries - facts and challenges. A film was shown during that, which was produced by Birzeit University, including excerpts about the products and method of work of the craftsmen participating in the project.

The professor at Palestine Polytechnic University, Mr. Malek Salhab, gave a presentation and a film about the concepts and principles of the circular economy, and Ms. Salam Dudin from the Environmental Quality Authority also gave a presentation on the role and impact of traditional and recycled craft industries on society and the local and national economy.

Birzeit University, and a member of the advisory committee, also presented the training sessions that the trainees obtained during the project.

Three films were shown that reflect success stories of the circular economy in Palestine.

The awareness workshop was concluded, the project manager Dr. Shadi Al-Ghadban and thanked the attendees. then Engineers Association, Hebron Branch, was honored for their efforts in making the training program successful and then distributing certificates to the SMEs.

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