Last Sunday we celebrated young Palestinian app developers during the Palestine Mobile App Fair. The fair was inaugurated by the Minister of Education and Higher Education, H.E. Dr. Sabri Saidam and attended by the advisor of the Prime Minister, Mrs. Khayrieh Risass, next to the Head of Development Cooperation at the Consulate General of Belgium, Mr. Eric De Muynck; representatives of the Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA), student, parents and teachers.

Many students, teachers and judges worked hard to make the event succeed, by implementing scientific projects in schools, creating mobile applications for mobile devices and by contributing to the development of the creativity and the scientific research competencies of the students.

H.E. Dr. Saidam stressed the necessity to adapt technology to serve human needs. He was pleased with the students' creations, which reflect the Palestinian quest for development and innovation, while praising the ministry’s achievements in many technological areas.

Mr. De Muynck congratulated all the students and teachers on behalf of Belgium, Norway, Finland, Germany and Ireland, the partner countries of the Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) who supported the event. He expressed his gratitude to be able to meet the bright Palestinian minds who developed great applications, noting that “nowadays there are no more barriers between digitalization, technology and education. For the younger generation it all comes naturally. They are the hope of the nation, showing that creativity overcomes boundaries”. He also mentioned Belgium’s long-standing cooperation with the Ministry in e-Learning and digitization.

During a tour of the exhibition, showcasing 62 projects (of which 38 created by girls), the participants had the chance to present their work. Afterwards, the ceremony started to announce the winners of fair.

First place went to Jenna, of the Madassa Secondary Girls school in Qalqilya. She created an app for children with autism. After she visited a center that works with children with autism, she saw the trainers sometimes had problems to get the children to concentrate. That’s when she came up with the idea to create an app that contains techniques to bring the kids’ concentration back with music and games.

Other participants also focused on attending to the Palestinian society’s needs.

Manar from Hebron created an app to connect car drivers and citizens in marginalized areas, where public transport is not frequently available, to minimize the time people need to wait in the street.

Raghad Jamal Ali Hanoun from Tulkarem created an interactive educational app about the digestive system.

Liin from Tulkarem also focused on the body by creating an app connected to a device that can be put on the spinal cord to monitor movements and indicate when you’re posture needs to be corrected.

And finally, Basil from Jenin took 3 months to create a machine that brings drawings from your phone to life.

The fair is a yearly event to showcase the brightest and most creative Palestinian minds in mobile app development.