The initiative to launch a programme of academic cooperation with the Palestinian universities was taken at an international solidarity conference convened by several European universities - members of the Coimbra Group - at the University of Sienna in August 1991 when most Palestinian universities were closed. Soon afterwards, at a ceremony held in Jerusalem, on 1 November 1991, the rectors and presidents of twelve European universities (Barcelona, Coimbra, Granada, Krakow, Leiden, Leuven, Louvain, Namur, Pisa, Salamanca, Siena, and Viterbo) and their colleagues from six Palestinian universities (Al-Quds, An Najah National, Birzeit, Bethlehem, Gaza Islamic, and Hebron), signed an agreement to officially launch the Programme for Palestinian European Academic Cooperation in Education (PEACE).

PEACE is based on the principles of the right to education and the right to culture, as proclaimed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966), the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960), and on the right to academic freedom, as defined in the Lima Declaration on Academic Freedom and Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Education (1988) and the Magna Charta of European Universities (1988).

The initial financial support received from the European Commission to fund study abroad for Palestinian students as well as the constant support of UNESCO were instrumental in setting up the PEACE Network and developing its activities. An office of the Programme was established at UNESCO, in Paris, in 1995. Other international organizations and foundations have extended support to PEACE activities, especially to its Scholarship Scheme. But the major support comes from its member universities.  In addition to paying a membership fee and providing grants for the Palestinian students, they seek financial support from their national authorities, from foundations, and from the private sector to fund PEACE activities.  The decision making bodies of the PEACE Network are the General Assembly and the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee meets regularly (at least once a year) while the General Assembly meets every other year - alternatively at a Palestinian and at a European university – to examine the report of activities and to plan future action. An office of the Programme was established at UNESCO, in Paris, in 1995.

Several international conferences devoted to specific topics of higher education development in Palestine were organized jointly with the General Assembly meetings: Academic Cooperation in Support of the Palestinian Higher Education Institutions (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 18-19 November 1994); The Role of Higher Education in the Context of an Independent Palestinian State (Nablus, 7-9 November 1996); Five years of Autonomous Rule in Palestine. The Role of International Cooperation in Higher Education (Ghent, Belgium, 23-24 April 1999); University Cooperation for the Progress of Civil Society in Palestine (Bethlehem, 25-27 February 2005); Research Development at Palestinian Universities (UNESCO Paris, 4-5 November 2007). They were very well attended and have given fresh impetus to the PEACE Programme by extending its membership and the range of its activities.

The Network counts at present (March 2010) 64 members: 52 European and 12 Palestinian universities. It cooperates closely with the major NGOs of higher education: the International Association of Universities (IAU) the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), tne European Association of Universitie4s (EAU), the Association of Arab Universitites ( AAr U), the Community of Mediterranean Universities (CUM), etc.).

OBJECTIVES OF THE PEACE PROGRAMME

As an interuniversity network which seeks to promote international academic cooperation with the Palestinian universities, PEACE focuses its action on those areas in which international cooperation has made full proof of its efficiency, notably by contributing to raising the quality, efficiency and relevance of teaching and research at Palestinian universities and enhancing their institutional and staff development. This it does mainly through facilitating study abroad for Palestinian graduate students and for young academics, to upgrade their training and return to teach at their universities of origin. It also facilitates staff exchanges helps set up academic programmes at Palestinian universities. In keeping with the spirit which lead to its foundation,  PEACE seeks to play also a much wider role as a means of international opening, of overcoming difficulties and isolation, and of removing entrenched tensions and animosities that have accumulated during long years of turmoil. The PEACE Programme pursues these goals in a spirit of genuine academic solidarity, with the aspiration to make a contribution  - as suggested by its acronym - to the peace process in the Middle East.

ACTIVITIES OF THE PEACE PROGRAMME

Its action is focused on the following main areas:

1. Faculty Development and Academic Mobility

PEACE has set up a sscholarship scheme, aimed at supporting Palestinian postgraduate students and young academics to upgrade their training abroad and to obtain higher degrees (mainly PhDs). Some 170 of them have been offered this possibility over the nineteen years since its creation and a large number are now teaching at universities in Palestine. The number of grants has grown considerably over the last 3 years, especially after 9 PEACE candidates had been awarded Erasmus grants for PhD studies within the framework of the EMU Project coordinated by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, one of the most active member universities of PEACE.

During the current academic year (2009-2010), 27 Palestinian students are at European universities on grants or other arrangements facilitated by PEACE. It is envisaged to have 25 Palestinian PEACE grantees per year over the next four academic years thus reinforcing the role of the Scholarship Scheme as the main line of action of PEACE and a major contributor to academic staff development for the Palestinian universities.

2. Academic Programmes and Research

• Centre of Excellence in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Birzeit
University (ECCE-Birzeit). Initiated by a group of well-known mathematicians and physicists from Europe and the USA and based on broad international cooperation and support, the Project is aimed at enhancing teaching and research capabilities in these academic fields. (For details of the project see http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/ifk/ecce). A UNESCO Chair and Network for Mathematics and Theoretical Physics was set up in 2007 at Birzeit University to serve as a focal point for the Centre.

• Centre of Advanced Studies and Research in International Cooperation and Development in Palestine (CASR-ICD). Initiated by the Universities of Pavia and Sienna, with support form the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research, this project has started with a Master Degree Programme at the universities of Bethlehem and Birzeit. The envisaged Centre is meant to help develop such programmes at the other Palestinian universities as well.

• E-Learning and Open and Distance Education at Palestinian Universities. This project is meant to help respond to the pressure for increased access by growing numbers of secondary school graduates, to enhance the quality of programmes and develop new ones in priority areas for national development and, more importantly, to help surmount the difficulties caused by the frequent closures of institutions and the daily ordeal for both students and academic staff to reach their campuses. The Project builds on work done within the framework of the Avicenna Project (http://pleiad.unesco.org/portal/), executed by UNESCO with financial support from the European Commission.

• Teacher Education. Through this Project, PEACE will seek to associate its member universities to the execution of UNESCO’s major Palestinian Teacher Education Initiative which is in the process of being launched. It is also envisaged to set up a UNESCO Chair on Information Technologies and Teacher Education, to help coordinate and execute the project.  

At the same time, PEACE wishes to resume and reinforce its participation in several projects which had been interrupted because of international mobility difficulties, notably: Water Resources Management, Microelectronics and Computer Science and Business Administration and Law.

3. Bilateral Cooperation Programmes in Support of Palestinian Universities

Many PEACE Programme member universities have initiated comprehensive cooperation programmes with Palestinian universities on a bilateral basis and have submitted them to their national authorities and to other donors for financial support. The role of the PEACE Programme is to provide links between such bilateral initiatives and cooperation arrangements, so as to assure mutual reinforcement and increased impact of action in favor of Palestinian universities.

FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR THE PEACE PROGRAMME

An International Conference on Research Development in Palestinian Universities was held at UNESCO, Paris, on 4-5 November 2007. It was attended by over 70 participants - rectors, vice rectors, senior level academics, directors of international relations offices and students - from 37 higher education and research institutions in Europe and the USA. The proposals and recommendations that emerged from its debates will serve as guidelines for the future action of PEACE to promote research at Palestinian universities. The 7th Session of the General Assembly of PEACE, which followed immediately after the International Conference, examined the Report of Activities over the period 2005-2007, taking note of the significant achievements of the PEACE Network whether they concern the Scholarship scheme or the launching - or preparing the ground for the launching - of several academic projects. It also adopted the Plan of Action for 2008-2009, which sets as a target to reach the figure of 25 Palestinian PEACE grantees per academic year and to begin implementation of several academic Projects.

PEACE has emerged as an efficient and cost-effective inter-university network for channeling international support to Palestinian higher education and research. The member-universities of the PEACE Programme look forward to the moment when conditions will have been created for Palestinian higher education institutions to function normally, in an independent Palestinian State, living in peace and security with all countries in the region. They are working with the conviction that their action contributes to drawing that moment closer in time.

For further information, visit the PEACE website (www.peace-programme.org) and contact Prof. Dumitru Chitoran, Advisor to the PEACE Programme Office at UNESCO, or Ms Evelyn Maib (email: Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. ).

Background: Founded in November 1991 when the Palestinian universities were closed by military order upon the initiative of the Rectors and Presidents of 12 European universities, members of the Coimbra Group and by their colleagues of 6 Palestinian universities. Initial financial support received from the European Commission to fund study abroad for Palestinian students and subsequent constant support by UNESCO were instrumental in consolidating the incipient network developing its activities. Other international organizations and foundations have extended support to PEACE activities, especially to its Scholarship Scheme. But the major support comes from its member universities.  In addition to paying a membership fee and providing grants for the Palestinian students, they seek financial support from their national authorities, from foundations, and from the private sector to fund PEACE activities. 

Soon after UNESCO launched its UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, PEACE became one of the major UNITWIN Networks (Cf.  …in the list of networks).

The PEACE Network has at present 61 members: 50 European and 11 Palestinian universities. (See attached the list of member universities). Its decision making bodies the General Assembly and the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee meets regularly (at least once a year) while the General Assembly meets every other year - alternatively at a Palestinian and at a European university.

Objectives and Activities of the PEACE Programme

As an interuniversity network PEACE focuses its action on contributing to raising the quality, efficiency and relevance of teaching and research at Palestinian universities and on enhancing their institutional and staff development. PEACE has emerged as an efficient and cost-effective inter-university network for channeling international support to Palestinian higher education and research.

In keeping with the spirit which led to its foundation, PEACE seeks to play also a wider role as a means of international opening, of overcoming difficulties and isolation, and of removing entrenched tensions and animosities that have accumulated during long years of turmoil. PEACE pursues these goals in a spirit of academic solidarity, with the aspiration to make a contribution - as suggested by its acronym - to the peace process in the Middle East.

It pursues this action along three main lines:  

1. Staff development of Palestinian universities and academic mobility

This it does mainly through its Scholarship Scheme, which facilitates study abroad for Palestinian graduate students and for young academics to upgrade their training and then return to teach at their universities of origin. During the current academic year 2009-2010, 29 Palestinian students pursue studies (mainly leading to PhD degrees) at European universities on grants facilitated by the PEACE Programme.

It also facilitates staff exchanges and helps set up academic programmes at Palestinian universities.

2. Development of Academic Projects and promotion of Research

The most important achievements in this respect include:

Centre of Excellence in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Birzeit University, Palestine (ECCE-Birzeit). Initiated by a group of well-known mathematicians and physicists from Europe, this project is a major academic undertaking, based on broad international cooperation and support to enhance teaching and research capabilities in these fields. A UNESCO Chair and Network for Mathematics and Theoretical Physics was set up in 2007 with UNESCO support at Birzeit University to serve as a focal point for the Centre. An international Workshop of the Center was held on 28-30 July 2008 at Birzeit University.

Centre of Advanced Studies and Research in International Cooperation and Development in Palestine (CASR-ICD). Initiated by the Universities of Pavia and Siena, with support form the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research, this project has started with a Master Degree Programme launched initially at the university of Bethlehem.

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) at Palestinian Universities. The project builds on the Avicenna Project, by further developing the capacity of the Avicenna Knowledge Centre at Al Quds Open University, while enhancing infrastructure facilities and service capacities for ODL at the other Palestinian universities. The ultimate goal is to establish a Virtual Palestinian University, working in close partnership with the traditional universities and based on strong ties with similar institutions abroad.

Preparing and submitting projects within the framework of the existing programmes of the European Commission (TEMPUS and Erasmus) which are open to Palestinian universities. The strength of the PEACE Network resides in its 61 member universities.

Major event for 2010 :

International Conference on International Academic Cooperation, an Efficient Tool to Enhance the Quality of Teaching and Research in Palestinian Universities, to be held in November 2010, in Hebron, West bank or at the University of Sevilla, should conditions not allow to organize it in Hebron.  

Having in mind the celebration of  2010 as the International Year of the Raprochement among Cultures and in order to secure wider visibility to the event, they decided  to devote a special session of the Conference to the Role of the Universities in Promoting Dialogue among Cultures and Civilizations.  Efforts will be made to place the Conference under the auspices of UNESCO, of the UN Alliance of Civilizations and to organize it in cooperation with the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures.

For further information, visit the PEACE website (www.peace-programme.org) and contact Prof. Dumitru Chitoran, Advisor to the PEACE Programme Office at UNESCO ( Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. ).