The Jerusalem Community advocacy network signed a memorandum of understanding with Al-Quds Open University at the latter’s headquarters in Ramallah.

On behalf of the University Dr.Younes Amer signed the memorandum and Dr. Riad Amin on behalf of the JCAN board.

The signing was implemented in the presence of the Vice President for Administrative Affairs Dr.Marwan Darwish along with Dr.Israa Abu Ayash the Director of AL-Izarieh branch of the university. Also present were Dr. Ala Al-Shakhshir Assistant to the President and Ms. Lucy Hishmeh the Director of Public Relations.

The memorandum included the holding of workshops in the area of community awareness in Jerusalem and the surrounding neighbourhoods.  In addition to human resource development and community and social awareness among the students, in order to participate in the social work in Palestine and in developing private programs, and in providing the opportunities to the student of the family and social development faculty, to get training in the centres of the organization in order to integrate them in the social work to serve the civil society.

The memorandum emphasised the importance of developing the culture of legality and spread them amongst the university student body and the Jerusalem community at large.

Furthermore, it stressed on introducing legal and advisory services which covers all the sectors of the Jerusalem Communities, in particular, the peripheralized segment of the society. It high lights the needs of these segments and the negative ramifications which are intern the results of the ignorance of their rights, and to connect the work of JCAN with the university teaching program.

This could be implemented through the teaching of same legal and social topics, that affect the life of the individual Palestinian in general and the Jerusalemites in Particular.

Dr. Amr stated at the fringe of the signing that Al-Quds Open University is a Palestinian National Academic Institution that offers teaching methods within the philosophy of open university, and it encourages scientific research and renders services to society through engagement in order to achieve permanent sustainability and help improve the conditions of the Jerusalemites.

This memorandum emboldened the development of the relationship by enhancing social work and development of the services to help the residents of Jerusalem in their steadfastness and in their defiance the siege of Jerusalem.

However, Dr. Amin on his part said that JCAN is a non-Profit Palestinian organisation, registered officially in Jerusalem and has three branches:

1: Al-Tur
2: Sour Baher
3: Kufr Aqab
    and it specializes in legal services that empower the residents of Jerusalem especially those who are neglected and their rights have been abused at all levels: socially, economically, culturally and politically which culminate in their abject poverty destitution and neglect.