Dear Friends,
After several previous attempts, in May of 2006 several of us came together
with the idea of establishing a national umbrella organization for all
Palestinian Canadian organizations across Canada. The national body would serve
as a strong and united Palestinian Canadian voice when speaking to the Canadian
government, media and public. Teleconferences were held in May and July of 2006
and an internet list serve was established to facilitate our work. Please see
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Nidah/ . The Nidah group sent an invitation to
Palestinian community leaders and organizations across Canada to participate in
this effort, and Palestine House hosted the first national conference January
27-28 of 2007.
An Interium Organizing Committee was elected and has been holding meetings to
prepare for our next national meeting. The Interium Organizing meeting is made
up of representatives from across Canada: Eyad Alnuwieri, Palestinian Community
Centre, British Columbia; Susan Howard-Azzeh, Niagara Palestinian Association,
St. Catharines, Ontario; Wael Ghanem, Palestinian Association of Hamilton,
Ontario; Hazem Jamjoum, Executive Director Palestine House, Mississauga,
Ontario; Samir Ishaq, Canada Palestine Association of London, Ontario; Hani
Naser, Association of Palestinian Arabs of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; Laith
Marouf, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights-National Office, Montreal,
Quebec; Omar Shaban, Students for Palestinian Human Rights, Waterloo, Ontario;
and Yacoub Amash. The Interium Organizing Commitee have met in Hamilton and
London, and will be meeting in St. Catharines Saturday, April 14.
The next National Conference will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 5 and 6,
in Ottawa. Invitiations are being sent to the executive of all Palestinian
Canadian organizations across Canada. If you are aware of a Palestinian
Canadian organization that has not been invited, please let us know. We want
this to be a broad and inclusive endeavour.
At the national meeting we will finalize our structure, decide on the
membership accrediation process, approve our draft constitution and by-laws,
and choose our official name. 3 to 6 months later we hope to host our Founding
Convention with speakers and invited dignataries. Working papers will be sent
to all Palestinian Candian organizations for discussion with their membership
prior to the Ottawa Conference.
If you would like further information on this important initiative please
contact your local Palestinian Canadian organiziation, contact one of the
Interium Organizing Committee members, or reply to this email.
Wa sallam, Susan Howard-Azzeh
Niagara Palestinian Association
and
member, Palestinian National Voice Preparatory Conference.
Susan's English as a Second
Language Blog http://suzansesl.blogspot.com (updated weekly)
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