The World Education Forum in Palestine was officially opened yesterday (28th October) at an opening ceremony at the Ramallah Cultural Centre, following the solidarity march through the centre of the city. The ceremony included speeches from representatives of Palestinian and international movements, and was followed by a traditional Palestinian music and dance performance by children and young people.
Speaking to a packed auditorium, the general coordinator of the WEF, Omar Assar, described the presence of international visitors as being of enormous importance to the Palestinian people as a gesture of solidarity, and said that managing to organize the WEF in Palestine despite the extreme challenges and obstacles posed by the continuing Israeli occupation was an important victory.
Mustafa Bargouthi described the WEF as a key part of the international struggle for justice and peace. Invoking the words of Nelson Mandela, who upon his inauguration as president of South Africa said “our freedom will not be complete until the Palestinian people are free”, Barghouti urged participants to join the global Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign (BDS), arguing that a broad international campaign similar to that which eventually brought down the South African apartheid regime is the only way to defeat the Israeli occupation. Presenting his vision of united and diverse Palestine, Barghouti denounced the remarks recently made by Angela Merkel about the failure of multiculturalism, insisting that there is place in the world, and in Palestine, for multiple cultures.
Intesar Al Wazeer of the General Union of Palestinian Women spoke of the worsening situation faced by the Palestinian people due to Israel’s policies of land confiscation, settlement expansion and apartheid. She highlighted the particularly negative impact of the occupation on women, who are frequently subjected to sexual harassment at checkpoints and prevented from accessing education and health services.
Representatives of international organizations congratulated the Palestinian organizers and commended the Palestinian people for their hospitality and resilience. Pierre Beaudet of Alternatives International described the will of the Palestinians to continue struggling despite the enormous obstacles they face is a great source of inspiration for people all over the world who struggle for justice. Moema Miranda of the World Social Forum International Council said that the struggle of the Palestinian people is also the struggle of the alterglobalisation movement and that a free Palestine is necessary to make another world possible.