The Teacher Creativity Center launched, Saturday 3rd/December/2011, the three-year multi-phase project “Yes She Can” in Deir Amar Elementary School. 

The aim of this project is to create space in the public sphere for girls, helping them fulfill their practical needs and thereafter strategic needs. 

The trial implementation of this project started with 22 girls to be trained in determining their practical needs and linking them to their strategic needs; thereafter, the project will be implemented in 9 additional villages, such that youth women figures will be trained in gender issues, advocacy mechanisms, and community-based methodologies. Subsequently, the project will be evaluated on the 9-villages level to be modified and expanded to include 120 villages over a period of three years to eventually become a long-term project reaching the maximum number of villages possible. 

The selected girls will be trained sufficiently so that in the future they will train other girls in advocacy skills and gender issues. These groups will work on specific projects related to their practical needs in cooperation with civil society organizations. 

It is worth noting that the trial project was initiated in Deir Amar School, with 22 participants who were trained in gender issues, team work, and campaign-management skills. 

After discussing thoroughly the basic needs the girls find necessary for them, the first step in the training was determination of practical needs within the village’s context, and eventually decided that the need for a gym and cultural girls clubs is crucial.  

Ms. Hala Qubaj, coordinator of the project, emphasized that the center will continue to follow-up the action of these girls in cooperation with the school administration and community, such that the next step would be organizing meeting with the parents to introduce the idea of the project, its importance, and positive impact on the girls; also, the local media will be notified to advertise the idea and support the girls in their action, and cooperation with the Women Affair Technical Committees will be to train the girls in feminist issues.  

Intesar Hamdan, director of the social responsibility program at the TCC emphasized that this project is part of other projects aiming to increase the participation of parents, youth, and the community in improving the education environment; other projects included empowering parents’ councils, develop educational media supporting civic education, and establishing local educational councils so that collectively, all these projects, will accomplish the goals of the program. 

Hamdan added that the project “Yes She Can” stemmed from the National Campaign for Education, implemented by the center the previous year. It became evident after the implementation of the activities of the campaign that women have numerous unfulfilled practical and strategic needs; additionally, a high percentage of women are still passively, instead of actively, participating in the decision-making process and that feminist participation in policy-making is still very weak. Hamdan emphasized that the project seeks to empower women to acquire skills and knowledge to eventually be able to fulfill their needs. 

Refat Sabbah, general director of the Teacher Creativity Center, clarified that he hopes that via the implementation of this project to accomplish tangible projects facilitating serious change in feminist reality. Sabbah added that it is expected that numerous civil society organizations will support this project, and particularly the community in which the project is being implemented.