Yalla Change 6 Launch with 60 Trainees Driving Change in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The Social Developmental Forum launched the sixth season of its Yalla Change program simultaneously in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, marking the notable first-time inclusion of northern governorates in the program, in partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid – NPA.
The Forum held the Yalla Change 6 training in both locations from September 27 to October 4, 2025, with the participation of 60 male and female trainees—40 in the Gaza Strip and 20 in the northern West Bank—alongside a select group of highly skilled and distinguished trainers who provided participants with a comprehensive theoretical and practical learning experience.
Intensive Training Days
The training spanned six intensive days, totaling 36 training hours, and covered a range of topics including: communication skills, community leadership, facilitation and civil dialogue, human rights, active citizenship, and leading recovery and development.
This was complemented by focused training on community initiatives—teaching how to design them using the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach—along with advocacy and policy influence, action plan development, and digital media.
Through this comprehensive journey, the participants completed the six training days, emerging ready and equipped to lead a series of community initiatives and advocacy campaigns addressing pressing and critical issues within the local context of Palestinian society.
A Remarkable Experience with Youth
Project Coordinator Nedaa’ Abu Erjela stated: “The Yalla Change experience, coming after two years of genocide and starvation, is undoubtedly exceptional. During the coordination and selection of training topics, based on a study we conducted on youth needs, we recognized their points of interest and anticipated their intelligence and community strength. After the first training day, we saw these energies transformed into activities, ideas, and a tangible presence demonstrated throughout the training hours.”
The youth’s energy, interaction, and ability to compartmentalize the external situation confirmed that focusing on them and emphasizing their inclusion in recovery and development plans is our direction for the upcoming period.
Nedaa’ Abu Erjela, Project Coordinator
Meanwhile, Suhayb Abdatt, Project Coordinator Assistant, shared: “The Yalla Change experience in the West Bank was an unforgettable human moment, where feelings of joy blended with hope, and features of unity and belonging were vividly drawn.”
The most impactful moment was when the camera opened, gathering the faces of youth from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on a single screen. Distances vanished, the siege was broken, and we all felt we were one body and one soul, living the same dream.
Suhayb Abdatt, Project Coordinator Assistant
Reflecting on her experience, Bisan Abu Zaid from Gaza shared: “Yalla Change is the program that truly reflects me and my ideas. It empowered me to connect with so many young creative energies, reinforcing my belief that youth are the most capable of leading change. Their efforts, however small, will undoubtedly create an impact.”
For his part, Hassan Herzallah stated: “Yalla Change was an inspiring experience that embraced exceptional youth potential and provided us with knowledge that opened new horizons for thinking and creativity,” expressing his happiness at being selected for the sixth season, and noting that the journey with the program will continue as he becomes part of the change.
In the West Bank, Mohammed Abu Arrah reflected: “Yalla Change taught us youth that change isn’t waited for – it’s created. That the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are a united homeland that cultivates revival from pain.”
When we asked Lujain Abu Diab, a trainee from the West Bank, for her perspective, she expressed: “In Yalla Change training, we didn’t just learn how to create change – we realized we are the very seeds of change itself. That every idea and every voice can paint a future filled with more justice and hope… It’s a space that helps you discover your capabilities and believe you truly can make a difference, even with small steps, because it’s always the beginning that creates transformation.”
A unique experience filled with enthusiasm, learning and positive interaction. It opened new horizons for me to develop my skills and share ideas with inspiring youth, where I truly felt the spirit of change and genuine teamwork.
Kenda Ghannam, Participate in Yalla Change 6
A Meeting Between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
During one of the training days, a joint session brought together Yalla Change trainees in the West Bank with their colleagues in the Gaza Strip, who remain under the fire of a genocide that has persisted for two years. It was a profoundly national and human moment, filled with layered emotions.
The meeting began with introductions between the two groups, aiming to build a communal bridge of understanding—one that could convey and explain their realities, making the experience in each location clear to the other.
Reflecting on this, colleague Abdatt noted: “In that moment, I realized the project had achieved its true essence: to be a bridge for hearts before being a bridge for ideas.”
A Long Journey of Change
The Yalla Change program is recognized as one of the SDF most prominent and essential training initiatives. Implemented over several years through training and campaigns focused on active civic participation and advocacy, this season coincides with the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and seeks to highlight numerous issues related to the daily suffering in the territory.
Since its launch in 2017, Yalla Change has emerged as a leading youth program in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, remaining the Forum’s most vibrant and impactful youth intervention. It has empowered over 400 young men and women from various governorates, supporting their active community roles and leadership at both local and national levels, including influencing public policy.
Through Yalla Change, the Forum aims to contribute positively to young people’s lives by enhancing their participation in social and political life, creating safe spaces for expression and constructive dialogue with peers and decision-makers, and expanding opportunities for meaningful engagement and youth rights advocacy.
This season, the 60 graduating young leaders are set to directly participate in implementing 6 community initiatives and several advocacy campaigns. The program responds to the urgent need to empower Palestinian youth across regions to lead recovery efforts and address the devastating impacts of the genocide that began in October 2023.