Bisan Information

The goal of the Bisan Center is to strengthen the institutional and organizational capacity of Palestinian grassroots organizations and social movements as a means of promoting sustainable and democratic development in Palestine. Bisan employs five strategies to carry out this mandate: institutional and human resource development; community awareness and mobilization; advocacy on public policy issues; coordination and networking; and service provision. The center's development philosophy is rooted in the understanding that self-reliant, sustainable and democratic development must be based on the development of local human resources on the one hand, and institutional and organizational development on the other. In implementing this approach, Bisan works with communities to promote democratic practices, reduce dependency, and improve local organizational capacity to meet community needs. Bisan emphasizes work with marginalized groups like refugees, women, the poor, the unemployed, and rural populations. We believe that in developing human resources and institutional capacities the center enables Palestinians to more effectively implement developmental projects that are responsive to community needs and priorities. Indeed, participatory practices are at the core of all of Bisan's work. Our work is initiated in response to articulated community needs rather than the traditional top down modernization approach to development. Bisan facilitates this process of bottom-up development by promoting the formation and development of community organizations like women's committees, local committees, youth clubs, and general assemblies. OPERATIONALLY, THE CENTER IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PROGRAM AREAS: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, POLICY RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY, AND CAPACITY BUILDING AND NETWORKING. WITH A STAFF OF 19 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES AND A CORE OF GROUP OF ASSOCIATES, VOLUNTEERS AND PROFESSIONALS, BISAN SEEKS TO DEVELOP AND MOBILIZE HUMAN AND MATERIAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS DEVELOPMENT ISSUES AND PROBLEMS. It is worth mentioning ...