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Palestine
WorldSkills is the largest vocational skills
competition in the world. It is aimed at raising interest for vocational
training, showcasing excellence in some 50 different domains as diverse as
pastry making, painting, graphic design etcetera.
This year WorldSkills takes
place in Abu Dhabi from 14 to 19 October; young people from 75 countries will take
part in the skills competition. For the Palestinian youth it is the first time
they have the opportunity to participate.
Sobheya Abumusallam is a 21-year old graphic designer
from Nablus. She won the silver medal at the first PalestineSkills National
Competition. Ibraheem Qawasma is
a 20-year old graphic designer from Hebron. Ibraheem won the gold medal at the first
PalestineSkills National Competition.
As part of their preparation for the WorldSkills
competition, Belgian experts are mentoring Sobheya and Ibraheem and the other
members of the Palestinian graphic design delegation.
"In
the past, it wasn’t considered appropriate for Palestinian women to become
graphic designers, but slowly this mentality is changing, and international
competitions like WorldSkills strengthen this process," says Sobheya.
Youth
unemployment is very high in Palestine. Vocational training has proven to be
one of the most successful ways of tackling this issue. That is why the Belgian cooperation
focuses its efforts on support to technical and vocational education and
training centres.
As part of this cooperation, the Palestinian delegation of
students and experts in graphic design that will compete in Abu Dhabi, is travelling
to Belgium from 17 to 31 March. Recognising the importance of this cooperation,
the Palestinian representation in Belgium has invited the students and the
local experts to discuss this issue.
During
their time in Belgium, they will meet with representatives of Belgian training
centres (Syntra and IFAPME).
They will also compete in the Startech’s Days, the
Belgian national WorldSkills competition, taking place in Brussels on 20-21
March, as a preparation for the international WorldSkills competition later
this year in Abu Dhabi. Afterwards (22-31 March) they will get a tailor-made
training from the Belgian expert from the Centre
de competence Forem Cepegra in Charleroi.
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