Palestinian Environmental Parliament For Youth (PEPY)

• The main aim of the project is to emphasis on the role of children in changing the world from different points, and be active in making decisions and share democracy that would affect the human lives in general.
•  From this point of view, the idea of creating environmental parliament was established, hoping it would achieve the desired results in maintaining and enhancing the environment and its role in the lives of the nations. 
• Goal and Purpose: The Goal of this program is to stress on the fact that Democracy should be the air for the nations to breath, and become a practice that is implemented in the everyday life from attitudes and beliefs. The purpose of this program is to create and train students, who are the future of each nation, about democracy, be leaders in their schools and society, and walk in a path that would secure their future in different ways, and group them in one voice through this parliament, for the world to hear their message and act upon it.
• The target groups of this program are students between the ages 12-16 from different forms of schools, from Public, Private and UNRWA. This target groups was chosen upon their ability to understand and analyze information and data much gracefully than other ages with more concentration about the environment. In this way, this program is supposed to affect their attitudes and behaviors in a better way, and have the environmental protection as a habit of their everyday life.    
• (Psychologically- these ages are more flexible in changes than other ages, this is due to their need to build their personalities and shape it up).
• Objectives: based on the above, this program is suppose to achieve the following objectives:

  i.To create environmental democratic students, who would have the ability to change situations and make a difference in their lives, as well as the society itself?

 ii.To conducts studies about the environment and other difficulties faced by the Palestinian children, that would help in developing hypotheses and decisions to face such problems and give the best recommendations accordingly.

 iii.To increase the environmental awareness among the students, in general, and be able to affect their attitudes and behaviors that corresponds with the fine environmental teachings.

 iv.Establish a communication network with other organizations and related regional and international parliaments that have to do with the environment and its degradation and affects, directly, the human and child rights, and do follow up to it.

• Working Mechanisms:

       I.There would be environmental clubs in each school, according to their location in the different districts.

       II.There would be special programs in the different kinds of Media in the country.

       III.Contact with the local and international organizations and keeping them informed with the environmental situation in the area.

       IV.Implement programs that would enhance and increase the environmental education and awareness among the students and households about their rights in living in a clean and healthy environment.

      V.Influence the decision makers on local and international levels, whom are involved directly with the environment and it components and have a clear affect on the children lives.   

• The program would include students form the environmental clubs that PWLS had already established in many schools in the different districts. These students would be chosen upon specific criteria such as leadership qualities, discussion skills, good communication skills, have enough knowledge and experience as well as willing to learn more and have an open mind, as well as have the ability to be flexible with changes.
• Preparing the idea and the main concepts with implementing them is going to take a maximum time of 1 year.