Birzeit, Palestine - The Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Palestinian Museum opened “Young Perspectives: Palestine in Focus” at the Museum. The opening was attended by Mohammad Salem, Director General for Student Activities at the Ministry; Hania Nazzal, Director General of the Birzeit Education Directorate; Nadine Toukan, Director of Cultural Activities; and Obour Hashash, Public Engagement and Production Manager at the Museum, as well as representatives of both institutions, educators, pupils, and their families.
The exhibition features around fifty photographs taken by school pupils from across the West Bank, capturing the places and everyday details that shape their lives and surroundings. Spanning cities, villages, and communities from al-Jiftlik and the northern Jordan Valley to Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Salfit, Birzeit, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron, as well as several Bedouin communities, the photographs offer a varied portrait of Palestine as the pupils see and experience it.
Across the photographs, mountain landscapes and fields, flora and waters, villages and everyday scenes reflect what caught the pupils’ attention. Some take on added resonance as growing restrictions make many of these familiar places harder to reach, reshaping Palestinians’ relationship with landscapes long woven into everyday life.
Mohammad Salem, the Ministry’s Director General for Student Activities, noted that creative activities help pupils develop, strengthen their sense of belonging, and give them space to express themselves and discover their talents. He added that the General Directorate of Student Activities is developing activities centred on creativity and innovation, giving pupils a more active role in creating content. Photography, he said, is “a visual language that preserves moments and places and reflects people and society”. He encouraged pupils to keep photographing Palestine and the details of everyday life, building a visual record of the present for future generations.
Sarah Zahran of the Museum’s Yasmine and Laila Qaddumi Education Unit described the exhibition as a recognition of children’s active role in cultural production, giving their work a place in the Museum. She also highlighted that “Young Perspectives: Palestine in Focus” is part of a broader approach the Museum is developing and building on with teachers across the education directorates through workshops, exhibitions, and learning experiences, expanding pupils’ participation and deepening their experience of creating work and responding to their surroundings.
The photography competition, now in its second year, is organised by the Ministry’s General Directorate of Student Activities in collaboration with education directorates. This year’s selected works are on view at the Museum for two weeks.
