"Generations of Liberation" in Beirut puts Palestinian youth at the heart of the struggle for awareness and return
The conference organisers stressed that building an effective role for young people requires investing in their awareness and abilities and strengthening their capacity to organise and work collectively
FiMED – Follow-up
The Lebanese capital Beirut hosted the "Generations of Liberation" conference on Saturday, with the participation of youth and student delegations from several countries, representatives of Palestine solidarity movements and attendees from the Palestinian camps in Lebanon. The gathering focused on strengthening the role of young generations in Palestinian work and developing their organisational and community capacities.
The "Palestine International Centre" organised the conference at the Al-Jinan Hall of Al-Batoul Secondary School under the slogan: "If we do not have the ability to liberate Palestine today, our responsibility is to prepare the generation of victory and liberation". It aimed to provide a space for dialogue and communication among young Palestinians in the camps and the diaspora, and to encourage them to take the initiative and engage in issues related to Palestine.
The organisers stressed that building an effective role for young people requires investing in their awareness and abilities, strengthening their capacity to organise and work collectively, and bringing Palestinian generations in the camps and the diaspora together in shared spaces.
Abu Bakra: the generation of liberation is here today
Activist Khalidiya Abu Bakra, speaking on behalf of the Alternative Palestinian Revolutionary Path Movement, said the concept of "Generations of Liberation" is not about a future generation but about the Palestinian generation of today, and called on young people to shoulder their responsibilities and take part in working for the liberation of Palestine and the return to it.
"When we speak today about generations of liberation, we are not talking about a generation whose turn will come in the future. We are talking about you, a generation that exists today and must take its place now in the struggle to liberate Palestine and return to it," Abu Bakra said.
She noted that supporting young generations is one of the priorities of the Alternative Palestinian Revolutionary Path Movement, through encouraging young people to organise themselves, take the initiative and assume responsibility.
She also saluted Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the territories occupied in 1948, as well as male and female prisoners, calling for continued commitment to the Palestinian cause and the right of return.
Raafat Murra: awareness and organisation are the basis for building the generation of liberation
For his part, Hamas's head of public outreach, Raafat Murra, said the importance of the conference lies in bringing together young Palestinians of different ages and from different camps and building links between them within a shared vision.
He added that preparing the generation of liberation requires raising young people's awareness of the Palestinian cause and strengthening their connection to it, organising workshops that help build bonds and cooperation among them, and establishing mechanisms for collective work.
Murra said the presence of young people from the camps reflects, in his assessment, a level of responsibility towards the Palestinian cause, describing the conference participants as part of the generation that will carry the responsibility of the coming phase.
Abu Shaheen: the Beirut conference is a message to the occupation
In a video address, Islamic Jihad official Ali Abu Shaheen said bringing together young Palestinians from different camps in a single conference reflects, in his words, this generation's commitment to the Palestinian cause and its readiness to shoulder its responsibilities.
He added that the participation of young men and women in the conference is, in his view, a message to Israel that the current Palestinian generation has not abandoned the cause of Palestine and sees a role for itself in its future.
International presence and a call for boycott
The conference included speeches by activists and supporters of Palestine from various countries, focusing on sustaining international solidarity with Palestinians and raising awareness of what participants described as Israeli violations against Palestinians in the Palestinian territories and the diaspora.
One of the conference's themes addressed boycott campaigns as one of the popular and economic tools that Palestinians and their supporters can use to put pressure on companies that participants consider supportive of Israel.
Participants reviewed examples of boycott campaigns that have targeted global companies, including McDonald's and Starbucks, calling for these campaigns to be expanded and for greater public participation in them.
Youth at the heart of the Palestinian scene
The "Generations of Liberation" conference reflects a trend among Palestinian and youth bodies in the diaspora towards giving new generations a greater role in public work, combining awareness-raising, training, organisation and communication between the camps and the diaspora.
The conference comes amid changing political and humanitarian conditions facing the Palestinian cause, and the challenges these pose for young generations in preserving Palestinian identity and memory, strengthening ties between Palestinians at home and in the diaspora, and developing tools for civil and popular action.
