Prime Minister celebrates Media Development Center winning UNESCO-Japan award for sustainable development 

The Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Ishtayeh applauded the Media Development Center's efforts to effect positive social change and develop information literacy in a special ceremony organized to celebrate the center recently being awarded the UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development for their project "Media and Information Literacy for Sustainable Communities."

With the Media and Information Literacy for Sustainable Societies project, the Media Development Center aims to contribute to societal change through youth empowerment. The project focuses on developing media literacy through dialogue, cooperation, and hands-on learning and training among youth.

Attending the ceremony, which was held on January 18, 2022, were Birzeit University President Dr. Beshara Doumani; President of the Palestinian National Committee for Education, Culture and Science Dr. Ali Zaidan Abu Zuhri; Representative of Japan to Palestine Masayuki Magoshi; Head of Office and UNESCO Representative in Palestine Noha Bawazir; and Head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate Nasser Abu Bakr.

Dr. Doumani lauded the center’s accomplishment, noting that it reaffirms Birzeit University’s commitment to fostering the Palestinian community and contributing to its development.

Dr. Ishtayeh congratulated the Media Development Center for their achievement, adding that such an accomplishment serves as a testament to the strength of Palestinian individuals and institutions and their ability to compete internationally and attain the best awards.

Dr. Abu Zuhri pointed out that excelling in international platforms through creativity could enable Palestinians to overcome any and all challenges, while Bawazir explained the importance of integrating media and information literacy into the educational process to steer societal change, adding that this represents one of the key missions of the organization.

The UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development is granted annually in recognition of the outstanding contributions of three organizations to education for sustainable development.