- Title: Palestinian students compete for prestigious Hult Prize
- Date: 15th January 2017
- Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JANUARY 13, 2017) (REUTERS) BUILDING WHERE COMPETITION IS HELD PEOPLE TALKING STUDENT GROUP OUTSIDE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED INSIDE STUDENT TALKING TO TEAM MATES TEAM 'SOULVIVE' PRACTICING FOR PRESENTATION ONE OF 'SOULVIVE' TEAM MEMBERS, AREEJ ASHHAB, PREPARING FOR PRESENTATION JERUSALEM (JANUARY 15, 2017) (REUTERS) ANGLE OF A FRAME (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) 'SOULVIVE' TEAM MEMBER, AREEJ ASHHAB, SAYING: "What motivated me to enter this competition is my mother being a refugee from Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem. She was born and raised there, and I remember when I was young, I used to go to the refugee camp to visit my grandmother or my aunt, in which it (the camp) was an unfamiliar world that I wanted to discover, and with all the difficult circumstances and misery that the people lived in they had some kind of hope and a beautiful spirit within the camp. But unfortunately, they didn't have a platform to embrace this spirit, so as a 'Soulvive' team member, I see potential in our project that can make a difference." ASHHAB POINTING AT MAP MAP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) 'SOULVIVE' TEAM MEMBER, AREEJ ASHHAB, SAYING: "Our project was about having workshops in the refugee camps, which will be arts and crafts workshops, in which the refugee can tell his story, he can work and build pieces, instead of waiting for an external power to change his situations." RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JANUARY 13, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF 'SOULVIVE' TEAM MEMBER, MURAD ZUGHAYAR, PRESENTING 'SOULVIVE' TEAM MEMBER, JOANNE ABU DALU JUDGES LISTENING TO PRESENTATION NATIONAL DIRECTOR, THAWRA ABU KHDEIR, TALKING TO TEAMS AND JUDGES JUDGE GIVING FEEDBACK TEAMS SITTING IN HALL STUDENT AT HALL JERUSALEM (JANUARY 15, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ABU KHDEIR ON DESK USING LAPTOP ABU KHDEIR TYPING ON LAPTOP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) NATIONAL DIRECTOR, THAWRA ABU KHDEIR, SAYING: "This year, the crisis that was presented by the competition (to find solutions for) is restoring the dignity and rights of refugees in five years time? My role was to announce this question and this competition in universities in Palestine, whether in (universities in) 48 borders, or 67 borders. There has been a lot of interest since almost every Palestinian has been through this experience, the refugee experience, if it is not him then it is his parents, and if not his parents then his grandparents. As a result, 11 teams from all over Palestine gathered in one place in Ramallah." RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JANUARY 13, 2017) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE SIGN READING (English): "HULT PRIZE" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COMPETITION JUDGE, RABEA ZIOUD, SAYING: "It is very encouraging to see all this energy in Palestine, to see young people who are still in university, they are producing ideas that are a solution for global crises, crises that we live every day, such as the refugee crisis and other crises and seeing this in young people gives hope." HULT PRIZE PALESTINE POSTER BUILDING
- Embargoed: 29th January 2017 15:25
- Keywords: Hult Prize Palestinians competition refugees
- Location: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK / JERUSALEM
- City: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK / JERUSALEM
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0015Z6XB2T
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Students from the Palestinian Territories have taken part in the annual international Hult Prize for the second year in a row.
Eleven university teams competed in the first stage of the annual international competition.
The 2017 Hult Prize is themed "Refugees - Reawakening Human Potential" focusing on restoring the rights and dignity of 10 million refugees by 2022.
The competition organised by the Clinton Global Initiative and the Hult International Business School, will secure a one million dollar investment in the winning startup.
Competitors gathered in a small hall to present their social enterprise idea to a panel of five judges.
A group of architectural students from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem made it through to the second stage.
One of the team members, Areej Ashhab, said she was motivated by her mother's refugee experience in the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.
"She was born and raised there, and I remember when I was young, I used to go to the refugee camp to visit my grandmother or my aunt ...with all the difficult circumstances and misery that the people lived in they had some kind of hope and a beautiful spirit within the camp. But unfortunately, they didn't have a platform to embrace this spirit, so as a 'Soulvive' team member, I see potential in our project that can make a difference," Ashhab said.
Her team, Soulvive, aims to set up arts and craft workshops in refugee camps around the world, enabling them to generate an income in return for their products.
The team also hopes to develop an online shopping portal to give greater access to consumers.
This year's national director, Thawra Abu Khdeir said there has been so much more interest in the region as most people can identify with the refugee crisis.
"My role was to announce this question and this competition in universities in Palestine, whether in (universities in) 48 borders, or 67 borders. There has been a lot of interest since almost every Palestinian has been through this experience, the refugee experience, if it is not him then it is his parents, and if not his parents then his grandparents. As a result, 11 teams from all over Palestine gathered in one place in Ramallah," Abu Khdeir said.
One of the judges, Rabea Zioud said that the energy and imagination of young Palestinians had impressed him.
"It is very encouraging to see all this energy in Palestine, to see young people who are still in university, they are producing ideas that are a solution for global crises, crises that we live every day, such as the refugee crisis and other crises and seeing this in young people gives hope," Zioud said.
The winning team will be competing with universities from around the globe this March in Dubai for the second stage of the competition.
There are a total of three stages.
The winners of last year's Hult Prize was a team of students from Nairobi who came up with the concept a 'Magic Bus', an off-line app for bus drivers in rural communities.
Former US President Bill Clinton selects the competition topic and announces the winner each September. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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