yalayoungleaders Archives

Whose Responsibility is it?

Author: Ma’ayan
Published: December 24, 2024
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, Education, English, Human Rights, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Latest Articles
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Tags: #thinkactyala, activism, change, coexistence, conflict, discovertheregion, education, family, hope, Humanity, identity, Inspiration, israel, IsraelPalestine, love, MENA, palestine, peace, peace activism, peacebuilding, tolerance, women, womenforpeace, yala young leaders, yalayoungleaders

“You are not an observer, you are a participant.” ― Thích Nhất Hạnh. There is a moment when you can’t sit still anymore. An energy bustling from within you makes you speak or take a step. You are standing in line and hear a conversation you think could be different if you were part […]

Why I No Longer Talk to Westerns About Peace (And what can be done to start talking about it again)

Author: Anonymous
Published: December 16, 2024
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, English, Friendship, Identity, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Opinion and Analysis, Travel
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Tags: change, conflict, identity, israel, IsraelPalestine, peace, peace activism, peace privilege, peacebuilding, sociology, the west, Travel, war, womenforpeace, yala young leaders, yalayoungleaders

While traveling and especially while hiking, sleeping in hostels or guest houses, you talk to all sorts of people. It was mid-April, probably the best season in Northern Spain, and my first meaningful conversation on the Camino del Norte was with an Irish author, just before descending to a beautiful coastal town named Zarautz. It […]

The Ever-Moving Kind by Ala Oueslati, Tunisia

Author: By Ala Oueslati, Tunisia
Published: February 5, 2018
Categories: in Current Events, Education, English, Human Rights, Identity, Life Style, Travel, Tunisia
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Tags: change, common, Humanity, MENA, thingsincommon, Travel, Tunsia, understand, yala, yalayoungleaders, youth

The world has never been as connected as it is today. We defied space – and soon maybe time – and made it easier than ever to cross the border, travel thousands of miles away, discover a land far away from home, and meet people different from us. This is the world we have known […]

My Journey towards education and humanity by Sarah, Egypt

Author: by Sarah, Egypt
Published: January 31, 2018
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Education, Egypt, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, change, education, egypt, facebook, hope, israel, learning, MENA, online, palestine, peace, peacebuilding, yala, yalacampaign, yalayoungleaders, youth

YaLa Young Leaders changed me. When I noticed the Facebook ads for the page the first time, I was about 22 years old and in my 6th year of medical school. It was interesting; the page was suggested by Facebook because one person I was following liked the page. I think it was a good […]

Death and All His Friends – YaLa in Jordan

Published: January 21, 2018
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, English, Friendship, Human Rights, Jordan
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: conflict, enemies, family, fear, israel, IsraelPalestine, israelpalestineconflict, occupation, palestine, peace, tragedy, trust, understanding, yala, yalayoungleaders, youth

Nothing prepares you for that moment when someone looks you in the eye and tells you they have lost a loved one to this war. No psychology degree can teach you how to keep your lungs and heart going when you know you’ve got nothing… Nothing to say or do that could bring their mother, […]

Beyond the Headlines – The Investigation of the near and far

Author: Ala Oueslati, Tunisia
Published: August 16, 2017
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #takeaction, conflict, Humanity, Media, news, syria, SyrianCivilWar, yalayoungleaders

The war in Syria? Who hasn’t heard of the war in Syria? A carnage so painful to witness, yet impossible to ignore. We didn’t own a TV to watch what happened in Syria every day. We did however, have something better than TV: WIFI. It is as quick as asking a genie for another wish. […]

Nabatean Civilization by Ashraf, Palestine – photo essay –

Published: April 26, 2017
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, Human Rights, Identity, Photo Essays, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: coexistence, diversity, history, hope, identity, IsraelPalestine, nabatean, peace activism, tolerance, yalayoungleaders

From the north of Damascus to the south of Ola, and from the east of Sham and Naqab to Gaza and Sinai, they built an Empire. The Nabateans were smart people. They worked on copper mining , agriculture, and trade. They established sophisticated systems and lifestyles in this region thousands of years ago. At the time, these […]

University Life by Imen, Tunisia – photo essay –

Published: April 26, 2017
Categories: in Education, Friendship, Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: education, future, tunisia, university, yalayoungleaders, youth

In the middle of this small community also called “university,” I like to share with you a part of my everyday life, sometimes I even spend almost all the day there. With these strange people whom I meet almost everyday yet I only know a few among this group. These beautiful individuals shown in the pictures […]

People, Culture, Traditions by Kaoutar, Morocco – photo essay –

Published: April 26, 2017
Categories: in Identity, Photo Essays
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Tags: diversity, identity, love, morocco, peace, tolerance, traditions, yalayoungleaders

I decided to share with you these pictures about my people, my country, and my culture. This includes women, men, youth, landscapes, monuments, outfits, and traditions. When I think of my country, I always think of ‘simplicity’. People in my country are simple. We want a better life, and we try our best to work […]

Photo Essay | نهج الباشا Pacha Street

Author: Khaoula, Tunisia
Published: April 6, 2017
Categories: in Civil Activism, Gender and LGBTQ, Photo Essays
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Tags: change, education, empowerment, genderequality, tunisia, women, womenforpeace, yalayoungleaders, youth

Pacha Street is one of the main veins of the Medina. It starts from Zeitouna Mosque towards Bab Swika. Everyday hundreds of kids and teens pass through Pacha Street to go to the Bacha high school or to Ben Achoor library to study and prepare for their exams. In the previous century, Ali Pacha built […]

Photo Essay | Tribute to Kabylian Women

Author: Belkacem, Algeria
Published: April 5, 2017
Categories: in Algeria, Education, Gender and LGBTQ, Identity, Photo Essays
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Tags: algeria, children, education, family, identity, traditions, women, yalayoungleaders

A tribute to older Kabylian women, pillars of tradition. The Kabyles are an ethnic subgroup of the Berber people, today still living in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. They are the oldest known people of Northern Africa. The Kabyles speak a Berber dialect, Taqbaylit, which is a language without script. Since eternity, knowledge has been passed on […]

Photo Essay | Bedouin Communities

Author: Farah, Palestine
Published: April 5, 2017
Categories: in Current Events, English, Human Rights, Palestine, Photo Essays
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Tags: area C, bedouin, conflict, identity, israel, palestine, settlements, yalayoungleaders

These pictures were taken in three Bedouin communities in Area C of the West Bank, which are under threat of displacement: Khan Al-Ahmer, Abu Nawar and Susiya. Khan Al-Ahmer and Abu Nawar are located in what is called the E1 corridor, which separates the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. Plans have been […]

Love and Sympathy by Motasem, Syria – photo essay –

Published: April 5, 2017
Categories: in Education, Photo Essays, Syria
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: children, love, syria, values, yalayoungleaders

Love and sympathy are embedded within us. I went to the zoo many times in my life and I haven’t felt anything special while I am there before, but this time was completely different. Although I went with my cousins who kept on saying to me “Come, let us have fun and take a look at […]

Youth by Mohammad, Palestine – photo essay –

Published: April 5, 2017
Categories: in Identity, Photo Essays
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Tags: change, children, family, identity, palestine, yalayoungleaders

That was the past time and that was the beautiful time. It is the innocence, purity and serenity. When we were children, we calculated the days and years to become senior maturity. When we became bigger we wished to become children again. When we pass the places that carry a lot of memories and stand […]

Yarmouk Refugee Camp by Feras, Syria – photo essay –

Published: April 3, 2017
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Photo Essays, Syria
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: abandoned streets, hope, hunger, refugees, syria, yalayoungleaders

The siege of 2014. 170 incidents of death out of hunger. Yarmouk refugee camp- south of Damascus. I remember when a woman told me that she felt the milk she drank from her cup moving through her veins. She told us that the Halva we gave her was the most delicious Halva she ever tasted. […]

The Sea by Rania, Palestine – photo essay –

Published: March 27, 2017
Categories: in Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: beauty, children, israel, palestine, sea, Travel, yalayoungleaders

I stood in front of that sea. The atmosphere was so kind and the kindest thing was the sound of the waves. I felt so relaxed, far from all the life troubles. It just takes looking at the beautiful scenes around you. The beauty, the sea, and the sun flirting with each other and the […]

Clandestine Attitudes by Rima, Tunisia – photo essay –

Published: March 23, 2017
Categories: in Gender and LGBTQ, Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: family, genderequality, religion, traditions, tunisia, women, women rights, yalayoungleaders

This is a series of pictures taken from different hidden parts of an Arab girl’s diary. Most women I have known in my country are having two or even three parallel lives so that they can satisfy their family and the society’s expectation and then a “clandestino” life where a woman can think about herself […]

Alsherak Bread by Nedall, Palestine – photo essay –

Published: March 21, 2017
Categories: in Identity, Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: bedouin bread, Food, palestine, tradition, women, yalayoungleaders

These pictures are of women making saj bread, which we call ‘alsherak’ in Arabic. This kind of bread is very common in the Middle East and larger Arab world, especially in Bedouin societies. The ingredients are flour, water and a little salt. Mix them together, cut the dough into small pieces and then put one […]

Deserted Landscapes by Sandra, Tunisia – photo essay –

Published: March 21, 2017
Categories: in Current Events, Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: deserted, hope, landscapes, Nature, photography, tourism, traditions, Travel, tunisia, yalayoungleaders

I really loved this exercise because I enjoy photography so much. Let me begin but guessing what your first reaction would be after seeing these pictures. You are probably going to say: ” Well, she didn’t take pictures of women, children or taxi drivers…” Indeed, I didn’t. I have taken pictures of landscapes, because I want to […]

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 […]

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