The ActforPal members’ meeting on March 28 began with a screening of the Palestinian song “Stand up for the Revolution” followed by a welcome by Chair and co-founder Professor Dina Matar, who reminded attendees of the organic and activist nature of the network and its mission to support scholars and students in Gaza and elsewhere in Palestine in the face of Israel’s genocide and erasures.

Co-founder Dr. Afaf Jabiri then eloquently spoke of the loss of many brilliant academic minds in the genocide before she gave an update on one of ActforPal’s flagship initiatives, the Student-at-Home Scholarship Programme. This initiative has recently completed its first phase, providing funds drawn from ActforPal’s membership fees to support 18 master’s students in Gaza to complete their education.

The students were chosen from almost 600 applications through a rigorous and fair selection process. Co-founder Dr. Wesam Amer emphasised that through such programmes, ActforPal can assist in rebuilding communities in Gaza by supporting students and teachers amidst the systematic barriers and erasure of Israel’s scholasticide. Dr. Amer spoke of hopes to expand the programme to doctoral and postdoctoral academics in the future.

Attendees then received updates on two new and complementary programmes, for sponsorship and mentorship of graduate scholars in Gaza. Members of ActforPal’s Rebuilding Higher Education in Gaza working group detailed the potential for individual, organisational, and EU-level fundraising and described the initial pairing of the scholarship recipients with experienced academics in their field worldwide, who will provide intellectual and career guidance.

Finally, representatives from each of ActforPal’s other working groups—Awareness and Narrative Shaping, Media and Communication, Finance, and Membership—gave briefings on their various activities over the past year, including the production of webinars and the promotion of news, opinion, and network activities on ActforPal’s website and social media channels.

The meeting ended with calls for members to share their skills as appropriate, and we continue to welcome existing and prospective members to join us in this work.