U.S.-Palestinian Partnership Newsletter August

Since its inception in December 2007, the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership (UPP) has made significant progress in its efforts to improve the daily lives of the Palestinian people. U.S. private sector and U.S. government leaders have joined in partnership together with Palestinians in the West Bank in an effort to promote sustainable economic development through job creation and education, which are essential to fostering regional peace and prosperity. As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice noted at the UPP launch, "The peace and security that we seek in the Middle East requires the active engagement of private citizens, civil society groups, and the business community."

Palestinian Business and Investment Forum U.S. business leaders will learn about key Palestinian investment opportunities at an October 14 conference convened by the UPP and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Palestinian ventures featured at the event will represent some of the top job-creation projects exhibited in May at the Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) in Bethlehem.

The May PIC, hosted by Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad, highlighted opportunities in the financial, agriculture, ICT, infrastructure, manufacturing, and tourism sectors. Prime Minister Fayyad announced to the approximately 1500 attendees that business deals worth an estimated $1.4 billion had been made between Palestinian and international partners.

The UPP facilitated the active participation of U.S. businesses including Cisco, Intel, Marriott and the Coca-Cola Company. Booz Allen Hamilton provided pro bono, strategic support to conference planners in the development, preparation, and execution of the event. A Presidential Delegation to the PIC was led by Deputy Secretary Robert M. Kimmitt of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Walter Isaacson, UPP Chairman.

In advance of the PIC, Secretary Rice hosted a meeting with UPP leadership and U.S. private sector executives, highlighting the importance of private sector investment in Palestine and providing an opportunity for the public and private sectors to discuss challenges, successes and opportunities in the West Bank.

Youth Development and Resource Centers
With UPP support, four Palestinian youth centers will be expanding vital programs, including IT skills, English language training, athletics, job preparation, leadership development and opportunities for service learning. The centers, based in Nablus, Hebron, and Ramallah, will benefit from significant programming and facility enhancement, creating comprehensive Youth Development and Resource Centers(YDRCs).

These centers will be part of a broader network of more than 60 Palestinian Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) affiliated centers which will also benefit from revised standards, network-wide training and professional development, and internet connectivity. This network will directly serve 7500 youth and indirectly support 25,000 community members.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has pledged $7 million to support the Partnership’s youth center efforts, and global industry leaders with a demonstrated track record of success, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Cisco, and Intel, have already committed significant resources to support the YDRCs.

One of the first initiatives the Partnership has committed to implementing in the YDRCs is BasketPal, a capacity-building basketball club for at-risk children that currently reaches 500 boys and girls in Tulkarm and Ramallah. The program was created by PeacePlayers International, an innovative U.S.-based organization that uses sports to unite and educate youth in divided communities. With assistance from the Partnership and private sector, PeacePlayers seeks to expand the BasketPal program in key cities in the West Bank.

A New, Effective Way to Give to Palestinians
UPP supports the development of the American Charities for Palestine (ACP), which marshals the expertise of the U.S. private sector and the American philanthropic tradition. ACP will mobilize private donations from the United States and then partner with USAID in programming funds toward ongoing USAID projects and activities in the West Bank and Gaza, particularly in the areas of health and education.  This arrangement aims to improve Palestinians’ health and education services, expand local expertise, and pursue partnerships for sustainable Palestinian development.

In addition to providing direct financial support to Palestinian charities, ACP also seeks to facilitate connections between American health and education institutions and their Palestinian counterparts. This "twinning" process will be designed to help build the capacity of West Bank institutions through knowledge transfer and financial support from American charities and private sector institutions. ACP was launched by UPP Co-Chair Ziad Asali, President of the American Task Force on Palestine.

For more information about the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership, please visit www.uspalestinianpartnership.org or email info@uspalestinianpartnership.org.