As the Palestinian people continue to resist Israeli violence, aggression and occupation following a renewed bombardment of Gaza, Qatar Foundation (QF)’s Education City Speaker Series will turn its focus on how their voices can – and should – be heard by the world.
The latest edition of the platform for dialogue on topics shaping the world takes place on June 30, where it will examine the Palestinian struggle through the eyes of activists, writers and a leading Middle East journalist.
Among those participating in the virtual discussion, titled 'Amplifying Palestine’s Voice: Reality, Resilience, and the Right to Freedom', is Mariam Afifi, a Palestinian activist and musician who became a symbol of courage after being pictured smiling while being arrested during a protest against Israel’s forced eviction of residents of occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.
She will be joined by writer and researcher Mariam Barghouti, who lives in the Palestinian city of Ramallah; Palestinian-Egyptian writer, academic and former lawyer Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, a Palestine and anti-racism advocate; and Jamal El Shayyal, an award-winning Al Jazeera senior correspondent with a track record of exposing human rights abuses.
With some of the speakers sharing personal experiences from Palestine in the wake of recent attacks and events in Sheikh Jarrah, the panel will discuss the suppression of freedom of speech, the global media narrative surrounding the Palestinian struggle, and how people around the world can help give Palestinians a voice. The discussion will be moderated by broadcast journalist Ghida Fakhry.
The Palestine-focused event will be the ninth edition of the Education City Speaker Series since it switched to online form last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The platform reflects Qatar Foundation’s commitment to dialogue as a force for positive change, and its belief that new perspectives can be gained, and solutions to global challenges found, through dialogue; and is designed to give people in Qatar and from around the world an opportunity to hear from, and engage with, experts and thought leaders from a wide variety of fields and with a sweeping range of experiences and insights," a press statement noted.
Since the Education City Speaker Series was first hosted online in April 2020, tens of thousands of local, regional and international viewers have tuned in to discussions on topics ranging from how the world responded to Covid-19, the pandemic’s impact of mental health and vaccine development, to racism and white privilege, regenerative development, national identity and how people can become change-makers.
'Amplifying Palestine’s Voice: Reality, Resilience, and the Right to Freedom' takes place from 6-7pm Doha time on June 30, with a 40-minute panel discussion being followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer session. The audience will have the opportunity to pose
their questions to the speaker.
Viewers watching on Microsoft Teams will be able to access Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Italian subtitles, and the event will also be streamed live on QF’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels.
For more information, and to register, one can visit www.qf.org.qa/ecss
