العربيةThe Gaza 5K is an annual family-friendly walk/run fundraiser held by the UNRWA USA National Committee (UNRWA USA) in various American cities. It was first held in 2012. The Gaza 5K benefits mental health services provided by UNRWA for Palestinian refugee children and their families who have endured years of trauma because of the blockade, ongoing violence, tense security situations, and protracted socioeconomic crises in the Gaza Strip. This year’s Gaza 5K returned to the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this month for the first time in five years, attracting about 823 participants and raising money close to the $300,000 target for the event.
Expanding Gaza’s IT Ecosystem
The event highlighted UNRWA’s Digital Futures theme, which sees Gaza as having the potential to be the Silicon Coast of the Middle East and helping Palestine refugees receive life-enhancing mental health care. Despite the difficulties they face every day, Palestine refugees are dependable, strong, and prepared for new business opportunities. The highly skilled and diverse workforce in Gaza’s information technology industry is a prime example of this.
“The Digital Futures theme promotes tapping into the existing pool of human capital in Gaza to create new income-generating opportunities for Gaza-based youth while also solidifying the educational and career development pathways needed for a sustainable IT ecosystem over the next few decades,” said Mara Kronenfeld, Executive Director of UNRWA USA.
“Provision of basic services to Palestine refugees is something that UNRWA has been doing for over 70 years, but it is important that we continue exploring more developmental and sustainable solutions for young people and try to navigate ways of providing livelihood opportunities. We realize it is not easy, and this is why UNRWA is not going to be alone,” said Amal Khatib, Deputy Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, during a panel co-hosted with TechWadi on leveraging tech ecosystems to support economic growth in Gaza.
“Many Palestine refugees in Gaza want to be software engineers. With all the border restrictions that they live under, they see digital as the borderless means of working,” said Kaan Cetinturk, UNRWA CIO and Director of Information Management and Technology Department, reflecting on an encounter with 12-year-old students writing codes at one of UNRWA girls’ school.
A Success Story: UNRWA IT Service Centre (ITSC)
Since its establishment in 2020, the Centre has served the remote tech support and outsourcing requirements of UNRWA and the larger United Nations system. Its staff is made up of local Gaza-based IT graduates and young professionals, most of whom are Palestine refugees.
UNRWA and the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) have been working together successfully for the past couple of years. Due to this collaboration, Palestine refugees are recruited locally to work for UNRWA as staff on challenging, extensive projects for other UN organisations.
Given Gaza’s excellent and diverse workforce, there is significant potential to expand this model and others to private clients. UNRWA wants to build a supportive environment through digitalization that will help close economic gaps and improve the standard of living for Palestinian refugees.
“Gaza is full of skilled, educated, and passionate IT graduates. The partnership that UNRWA’s IT Service Centre established with UNICC has created a huge opportunity to tap into the potential of youth in Gaza and strengthen their capabilities. By investing in the human capital of Palestine refugees, UNRWA and UNICC actively contribute to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We need support from all our donors and the private sector to be part of this successful journey,”
You can now watch the full Techwadi event, ‘Silicon Coast: Expanding Tech Ecosystems in Gaza to Support Economic Growth,’ on YouTube. The event video is embedded below.
