February 16, 2007

 ACT Program Succeeds in Reaching Out to 25,000 Students

 in the West Bank and Gaza

 A preliminary evaluation of the Anti- Corruption Training Program ACT implemented by AMAN Coalition in cooperation with CHF International showed the importance of working jointly with UNRWA, Private, and Government school administrations in supporting teacher’s initiatives in  implementing activities pertaining to teaching integrity to youth. Results showed the importance of conducting more specialized training courses for teachers on how to integrate anti-corruption concepts in the learning process.

AMAN’s Program Director, Mr. Nidal Hasan said that the program had shown a remarkable success in its first phase of implementation. He explained that ACT aims at providing Palestinian youth with an understanding of corruption and how to combat it through transparency, accountability, and integrity. In order to achieve this goal, ACT adopts the ‘train-trainer’ TOT method through training high school teachers on how to introduce anti-corruption concepts in the learning process.

ACT will present anti-corruption programs through guest speakers, role play debates, contests, and fact-finding trips for high school students; stories and games for summer campers; and a course for university students. ACT will also help in initiating a virtual library at AMAN and launch a pilot print and electronic newsletter.

 Ms. Frosse Dabit, Program Coordinator, said that the program aims at accomplishing three main objectives; teaching young people to identify and limit corruption, supporting civil society by creating secondary, summer camps, and university programs on accountability, transparency, and integrity, and building the capacity of the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity AMAN by expanding its public outreach capability.

 She explained that ACT had succeeded in reaching out to around 25,000 students age group 14 to 17 distributed all over West Bank and Gaza and in training over 100 teachers.