For the FIRST TIME in Gaza, youth and the municipal council are at the same table

Young people meet and converse with the Municipal Council

For the first time in the Gaza Strip, young people participate in the Municipal Council meetings of the Municipality of Gaza as a unique opportunity for young people to get acquainted with the structure and work of the council. A number of youth of Social Developmental Forum programs attended the weekly Municipal Council meeting and discussed the most important interventions of the municipality with the members.

The Municipal Council is a supervisory body that works to define the policies that govern the work of the municipality and accountability through specialized committees, and this was the first direct opportunity for youth to get to know more about the structure of its work within the municipality.

The council discussed in its meeting several items, most notably development projects and road maintenance, follow-up developments of the waterfront, and the involvement of youth initiatives and developments in preparing the new structure of the municipality.

This meeting represents a great step towards enhancing transparency, access to information, accountability and the right to expression. We hope that it will be a first step for greater youth cooperation with the municipality and promoting youth participation in local councils.

On the participation of youth in the meeting, Dr. Yahya Al-Sarraj, the the president of Gaza municipality, said: “Social Developmental Forum has strong initiatives with Gaza municipality, including this meeting. We are pleased with this meeting as we want the municipal council to be open and interested in informing the youth about the council and its mechanism of thinking and vision to develop this dear city.

It was also unique that SDF covered the meeting through live broadcasts via its Facebook page to ensure higher transparency and to ensure that all citizens are informed about the work of the municipality and the municipal council.