Young people's delegation to Israel and Palestine

20 August 2005

The idea of a YMCA / Y Care International young people’s delegation to Israel and Palestine came to me as I listened to Terry Waite give the Y Care International 20th Anniversary Lecture early in 2004. He had recently returned from a visit to the Middle East with the charity – his first since release from captivity in 1991.

Young people experiencing life

I wanted young people from home to have the opportunity to experience the life that young people have as they try to develop their lives and careers in the very particular circumstances of the West Bank and Israel, and to find out about the ways in which the YMCA supports them.

I hoped young people would see things with a fresh and open mindset, and make their own judgements about life in the Holy Land. I learned that Y Care International wanted to embark on a project involving young people and politicians learning about the situation in Palestine and the work of the YMCA there, so we joined forces to organise a delegation.

No trauma tourism

It was important for us to take care that the project did not become ‘Trauma Tourism’. We guarded against this with careful preparation, including reading, discussion, talking and following the news.

Each day of the visit also included sessions for reflection in a relaxed and open way, to give all young people the opportunity to express their feelings.

• The unique insights of members of the delegation have now been published in a Y Care International magazine called: ‘Palestine: In Their Own Words. Views from Young People on a Y Care International Delegation’