Culture Program

Culture Program

Culture is defined as all spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional attributes that characterize a specific society or a social group, and it includes arts, literature and ways of life. Culture also includes basic human rights, value systems, traditions, beliefs and culture that give a person their ability to think about themselves.  

NAWA designed the Culture Program as a tool to empower children, teenagers and youth to increase their access to knowledge and information by:

•    Providing library services (subscription – free reading – external lending – photocopying – current awareness service) at all NAWA centers.
•    Conducting folk and global storytelling sessions using different techniques like shadow and light.
•    Holding Book Club because it provides a suitable and encouraging reading atmosphere and helps children to grow mentally and connects them to their cultural identity. 
•    Implementing training courses in scientific research and creative writing topics.
•    Offering heritage events to the sound of folk dances to introduce Deir Al Balah folklore and promote the culture of Palestinian heritage.
•    Taking part in national reading campaigns in association with other institutions working with children to raise awareness of the importance of reading.
•    Organizing cultural evenings and hosting local writers and poets.
•    Hosting visits from schools, kindergartens and the working institutions in Gaza where children enjoy diverse cultural, art and environmental activities.
•    Organizing recreational, cultural and educational trips where children spend a whole day visiting historical buildings and treating water at environment facilities in Gaza. 
•    Preserving the (intangible) heritage through specialized training courses about the mechanisms of collecting oral heritage, and preserving the (tangible) heritage by restoring the Al Khidr Monastery to become a vital library, which receives hundreds of children and parents.