activism Archives - YaLa Press

سارة حجازي – Sarah Hegazi. Her life, her death, her legacy

Author: By Sarah Hegazi's friends, from Egypt, Syria Lebanon
Published: June 17, 2020
Categories: in Arabic, Civil Activism, Current Events, Egypt, English, French, Gender and LGBTQ, Hebrew, Human Rights, Identity, Lebanon, Syria, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, LGBTQ, LGBTQrights, Queer, Sarah Hegazi

(English, Hebrew & French translations follows) سارة حجازي، ناشطة مثلية نسوية ثورية مصرية، دافعت سارة وناضلت من أجل حقوق الإنسان كلها وعن كل مضطهد في مختلف العالم أعلنت سارة عن ميولها المثلية 2016 بكل جرأة في مجتمع يكره التعددية ويخاف من الإختلاف. وفي عام 2017 صممت وأدرات وشاركت سارة بحملة ” بعنوان “ادعم الحب” دعماً […]

Mirror by Mahmoud, Palestine

Author: Mahmoud, Palestine
Published: May 21, 2019
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Culture and Heritage, Current Events, English, Friendship, Human Rights, Identity, Israel-Palestine, Palestine, Religion, Special Edition Archive, Tolerance, Travel
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, burma, palestine, peaceactivism, religion, Travel, traveling

It was the end of January 2018, the time of year that people in the Middle East expect snow. Alone in my studio apartment in Bethlehem, I remembered images of family gatherings, wearing our warmest clothes, enjoying creatively prepared sweet warm dishes, gathering around a wood stove. We took the warmth from each other while […]

Far Away From the Square by Fatima, Egypt

Author: Fatima, Egypt
Published: May 1, 2019
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, Democracy, Development, Education, Egypt, English, Human Rights, Politics
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, altahrir, Civic Activism, Civil Society, egypt, protest, tahrirsquare

I tell this story from the blurry memories of my younger self. I do remember that it was a time when the whole world seemed to stand still. Tomorrow was so unpredictable then. Yet somehow, and despite everything, it looked much brighter than before. What seemed like just another mundane Tuesday coinciding with my very […]

My Ambassador of PEACE by Tamar Shemesh, Israel

Author: By Tamar Shemesh, Israel
Published: March 19, 2019
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Culture and Heritage, Current Events, Democracy, English, Human Rights, Identity, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Life Style
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, music, peacebuilding

“We need to separate between two things. There are policies and actions of my government that I don’t agree with. On the other hand, Israel my home, and I love my home”. Achinoam Nini. NOA, Achinoam Nini, is an International well-known vocalist and musician, Israeli peace activist and my example of a brave woman. She […]

Video | The Quest against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by Bisharo A, Somalia

Author: By Bisharo A, Somalia
Published: February 6, 2019
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Culture and Heritage, Current Events, Development, Education, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Religion, Videos
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #takeaction, activism, Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, Humanity, inspire change, International day, news, Video, YaLa Africa, yala young leaders

FGM is practiced in Somalia and in more than 28 countries worldwide. It is a harmful cultural practice which will take years to eliminate but it must all start with us, our families and the community showing an effort to stop it This is just one example of the important work produced […]

Keep Moving Forward by Soheyb, Algeria

Author: By Soheyb, Algeria
Published: November 27, 2018
Categories: in Algeria, Civil Activism, English, Friendship, Identity
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, identity, life, perseverance

A year ago I was eating lunch with my best friend. We were sitting at one of those cheap local restaurants because we didn’t have the time or money to go somewhere fancy. At the time we were applying for the same scholarship, which is given to those who demonstrate leadership ability. My chances of […]

Mental Health Week by yaniv, Israel

Author: By yaniv, Israel
Published: October 10, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Current Events, Education, English, Human Rights, Identity, Israel, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, Humanity, Inspiration, Mental Illness, news, solidarity, World Mental illness Day

Today is the World Mental Health Day. Today is the first day of an entire week marking the “Mental Health Week” in Jerusalem. Throughout this week, 19 different events will be taking place in various locations across the city’. Ranging anywhere between movies, lectures, tours, and interfaith food-making classes. Everyone is welcome to take part […]

The Box By Khaled K, Syria

Author: By Khaled K, Syria
Published: August 2, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Education, English, Human Rights, Media, Syria, Travel
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #endviolence, activism, Humanity, Inspiration, life, politics, storytelling, syria, SyrianCivilWar, syrianyouth

Five years ago, I was living in a box. Not literally a box, but an extremely small room. When I lived inside this box, I lived like an animal in a cage. My life was controlled by other people. There were eighty people in this small box, all so close together that we were almost one. […]

A Personal Journey of Global Responsibility by Naama, Israel

Published: December 19, 2017
Categories: in Civil Activism, English, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, earthquake, haiti, Haitiearthquake2010, help, Humanity, israel, kenya, solidarity, Travel, uganda

Even as a small child, I was always drawn to the pictures of people in dire need of help. I wished to be involved and to provide any sort of contribution to these individuals. While I never thought I could save the world, I wanted to do everything in my power to make life easier […]

Community Gardens by Lucas, Palestine – photo essay –

Published: April 26, 2017
Categories: in Civil Activism, Education, Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, change, children, community, farming, garden, initiative, local, palestine, traditions, youth

This summer I took these photos of a group of youth volunteers, who were creating a community garden. We worked very hard and we painted with the children, as well as taught them how to plant and care for this garden. Sadly, I’m not there now to see what it looks like. Farming has always […]

My Future Trip To Beirut, by Itamar Hauser, Israel.

Published: April 5, 2017
Categories: in Education, English, Lebanon
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, coexistence, diversity, education, Friendship, identity, israel, MiddleEast, peace, peace activism

Growing up in Israel one quickly learns what the attitude towards “the Arabs” is. And you guessed right – it’s not always a positive one. Even though Arab-Israelis are 20% of the country’s population, when you grow up in Tel-Aviv, you don’t really see any Arabs and you certainly don’t have any Arab friends if […]

Suffering Beauty by Wiem, Tunisia – photo essay –

Published: March 20, 2017
Categories: in Civil Activism, Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, change, ecosystem, Nature, tourism, tunisia, yalayoungleaders

What is fair and what is not? Who gets to define that, control it or supervise it? Who gets to install it in this world? We sometimes tend to forget, or more likely, we tend to neglect some of the world’s most generous gifts: nature. Ain Drahem is a place known for being one of the […]

On a Quest in Search of Purpose by Tom Sagiv, Israel

Published: March 19, 2017
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Friendship, Human Rights, Identity, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, change, coexistence, diversity, education, hope, identity, IsraelPalestine, MiddleEast, peace activism, tolerance

Another day of work comes to an end. You survived the last two hours of your shift; glancing at the clock every few seconds wishing the hands would go just a bit faster. 12:00, the office doors swish behind you as you walk out, fast enough to not waste another unnecessary moment there, but slow […]

It’s not too late to save war-torn Yemen by Yazeed Mohammed, Yemen

Published: February 1, 2017
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, Friendship, Human Rights, Tolerance, Yemen
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, Civil War, Human rights, peace activism, yemen

Now it has been over 22 months, or almost 2 years since civil war broke in my country, Yemen, the poorest state in the Middle East. A war that savagely kidnapped the lives of thousands of civilians, as the latest UN reports confirmed the death toll to rise over 10,000, and wounded to about 50,000, […]

I am Not a Minority | Alia Sito, Jordan

Published: November 8, 2016
Categories: in Civil Activism, English, Human Rights, Identity, Jordan, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, jordan, middle east, Minorities

28/July/2016 A few days ago there was a workshop that included a meeting about minorities in Jordan, the included minorities in this workshop were: Caucasians (Chechens and Circasians), Kurds, Pakistanis and Druze. I received the invitation as a Jordanian activist from Chechen ancestry living in Jordan. The topic of the workshop seemed interesting and caught […]

Yala Young Leaders: Five years of changing lives and growing a family of young peace builders by Maroi Ech-Charkaouy from Morocco

Published: June 22, 2016
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, English
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, change, MENA, MiddleEast, morocco, peace, yala young leaders, yalayoungleaders

At the end of 2012, I was feeling down for many reasons: studies, I had no goals in life, I had hardly any friends, but I mainly felt that I was not able to trust anyone. I was basically living day to day waiting for something new to happen. I was once part of this […]

Five years after the Jasmine Revolution- 2 blogs by YaLa Citizen Journalists from Tunisia

Published: May 10, 2016
Categories: in Civil Activism, Current Events, English
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, arabspring, change, jasminerevolution, religion, revolution, traditions, tunisia, women rights, yala young leaders

Tunisian Women Five After Years of the Jasmine Revolution by Marwa Belkhiria, Tunisia Prior to the revolution, the Tunisian woman was a role model for the women of the Arab region. When the newspapers and TV programs would speak about the rights given to Tunisian women in comparison with other countries, I used to feel […]

The Personal Airspace of Being Me – Moriya Rosenberg, Israel

Published: December 21, 2015
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Identity, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, change, coexistence, identity, israel, tolerance, youth

With half-shut eyes I drew the curtains open to find out that the world is covered in a blanket of white. Majestic stillness and a lofty silence, broken only by the sounds of the flowing river outside the window. Amazed, I asked myself how I got to Narnia and when my memory finally woke up […]

WELCOME TO EARTH by Sarah Perle, Israel

Published: December 9, 2015
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, change, independenceday, israel, peace, terrorism, willsmith, yala young leaders

Everyday I open the News, I read and hear about Paris, Beirut, Bamako, Tunis, Sinjar etc. And somehow I keep thinking of “Independence Day”. Not the national holiday, but the extravagant American movie from the 90’s. It was one of my first strong movie experiences. I loved it! I was ecstatic before even seeing it. […]

Say Salam, say Shalom, make a change in the holy land… by Mohamed Sheriff, Gaza, Palestine

Published: November 19, 2015
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Past Special Editions, Tolerance
Comments: 1 Comment
Tags: activism, children, future, israel, palestine, salam, shalom, yala young leaders, youth

I will start with the words of the prophet Mohammed who once asked his followers: “Do you want me to tell you about something you can do to spread love among you?” He said, “Spread the Salam (Salutation) among you.” I now have a new mission in my life thanks to a Jewish child […]

Tag: activism