PS4L on Youth Projects Amid COVID-19

Palestine: Sports for Life (PS4L) was hosted in a virtual workshop titled "Strengthening Youth's Resilience to Violence Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in The State of Palestine". This workshop was organized by the Live Up, Line Up! campaign of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It brought together representatives of the Ministry of Education, Higher Council for Youth and Sports, NGOs active in the field of youth development (PS4L and Palestine Red Crescent Society), UNODC and UN agencies (UNFPA, UNRWA) and members of UN Thematic Group on Young People; as well as independent (guest) speakers from academia and/or those representing the donor community. This online workshop was open for the public to participate and ask questions in; it was a platform to learn about interventions directed towards the development of youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PS4L Facilitator and northern area program supervisor, Yumon Masri, represented the youth and PS4L's mission in improving and developing youth. She effectively reflected the perspective of Palestinian youth amid the pandemic and the importance of having physical and virtual activities available in Palestine. She discussed how PS4L initiates many sports for development activities, campaigns, and workshops for the Palestinian youth. She covered how PS4L knew they had to transition to online platforms by accommodating to the challenges that came with online interventions. As an NGO based in Palestine that focuses on sports for development, PS4L was able to do multiple interventions for the Palestinian youth such as, organizing in-person activaties while following COVID-19 safety measures, initiating online campaigns on the importance of nutrition and physical activity, and providing educational online lessons on youth development and societal issues.