In May 2021, MoreThanAJob project, launched a call for proposals for sub-grants to be awarded to the Social Solidarity Economy ‘SSE’ institutions and entities to support cooperation between Social and Solidarity Economy actors and Public Administration (PA) actors in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Greece and Italy to support social and labour inclusion of vulnerable groups, with an emphasis on creating jobs and supporting young people and women.

A high standard of 15 proposals was received from several institutions in Palestine, and after careful evaluation of all applications, MoreThanAJob team, announced the 2 winning projects in Palestine during a workshop titled" Launching MoreThanAJob Sub-Grant Projects in Palestine” organized by MoreThanAJob Project's Partners in Palestine: Nablus Chamber of Commerce & Industry and An-Najah National University on 23th November, 2021.

The workshop included the participation of the main (PA) actors and representatives from the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Labor, and representatives from the Palestinian Fund for Employment and Social Protection for Workers and the Economic Empowerment Program. It was also attended by the coordinators and representatives of the sub-grant projects in Palestine.

During the workshop, Dr. Imad Brik, EU-projects' coordinator, pointed out that the submitted proposals were evaluated locally and regionally by external evaluators who selected the best two projects in creating new employment opportunities for vulnerable, and unemployed people ‎in Palestine.

The first winning project titled" Orjuwan: Fostering The Economic Empowerment of Fresh Female Graduates (From The Marginalized Areas) and Preparing them to Enrol in the Labour Market" aims at empowering 50 Palestinian youth through professional programs in the field of graphic design and digital marketing, fostering their capacities of self-employment, providing networking opportunities and encouraging their entrepreneurship.

The second winning project titled "Economic Empowerment of Poor Women from Less Fortunate Families" aims at empowering women from disadvantaged backgrounds who financially support their families by making homemade products or other domestic activities. Through this project, these women will be involved in training activities and programs on how to make their homemade products financially rewarding.

As part of the workshop, the General Manager of the Chamber, Isam Abu Zaid, gave a presentation that included an overview of practical methods and strategies to improve employment policies, foster job creation among the marginalized groups in Palestine, and prepare the labor force considering the development needs and productive sector demands.

The workshop resulted in a number of recommendations, the most important ones are strengthening partnership and coordination among various stakeholders, partnering and networking with the private sector, changing the intervention approach from relief to empower targeted populations, enhancing the legal environment, promoting research and evidence-based analysis, and strengthening the capacity of state institutions.

At the end of the workshop, a policy brief of these recommendations was handed over to the participants to obtain their feedback accordingly.

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