2022- Election Simulation Project in Schools of Persons with Disabilities (PWD)

With supporting funds from the European Union (EU), CEC implemented the Election Simulation project in Schools of PWD during the second semester of the academic year 2021- 2022. 326 students (both females and males) from 10 schools specialized for hearing and visual impairments in the West Bank and Gaza, benefited from this project. The schools were selected based on previously set criteria that answer to the project objectives. The CEC then provided training for the teachers participating in the project, being the students’ supervisors throughout the simulation.

The project started with a theoretical part, in which the teachers explained to the students about the importance of elections, its legal phases and stages, and the rights of PWD to participation in the elections and the political life. Then in the practical part, the project focused on building the students’ skills to perform a simulation of the elections on the course of 6 school periods. Each period simulated one of the stages of the electoral process, in a way very similar to the national elections. The students themselves organized the electoral process and the observation, playing the roles of both candidates and voters, with supervision by their trained teachers. The practical election simulation took place as follows:

1. First period: Calling for elections.
2. Second period: Voter registration.
3. Third period: Candidacy.
4. Fourth period: Electoral campaigning.
5. Fifth period: Polling, counting, and announcing results.
6. Sixth period: Assessment of the Electoral Simulation.

326 students (males and females) from grades 5 to 11, benefited from this project in the participating schools that are affiliated with the Ministry of Education and some private organizations specialized for PWD. Among those beneficiaries, there were 167 students with hearing impairment, and 159 students with visual disability. The project also included training 26 teachers (males and females), 5 of whom had hearing and visual impairments.

The project contributed in increasing the level of electoral knowledge for the students from 48.7% before the project to 78.4% after the project.

The project, which is implemented for the second time after it was first implemented back in 2016, was a great success. The outcomes exceeded the planned objectives of consolidating the importance and right of PWD to participate in the elections, to include also consolidating children’s knowledge of the political rights of PWD, and positive interaction during all stages of the electoral simulation. Which greatly serves the CEC’s approach of adapting all the available tools and resources to insure that disability does not create any obstacles for any citizen to practice their political rights and participate in the elections.

The project in pictures

Voter Education Project in Schools (2021)

As a continuation for the previous useful experiences which had positive impact on students and teachers since 2008, the CEC has worked in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and with supporting funds from the EU, to implement the “Elections in My School” project, which targeted 9^th graders.  The project ran through the first semester of the 2021/2022 academic year, as it was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The project included 60 schools in the WB and 40 schools in Gaza Strip. These schools were selected in cooperation with the MoE based on previously set criteria. The main aim of the project was to enhance the electoral culture among the students of Grade 9, and it was achieved through implementing an Election Simulation that resembles the real-life national elections.

After selecting the schools, CEC provided training for Social Studies teachers (103 teachers- f/m) through workshops all over the WB and GS. The training provided the teachers with the needed skills to perform the Election Simulation in schools on the course of a whole month presented in 6 school periods in each school.

Around 10,500 students (f/m) from the targeted group participated in the simulation. Noting that, 9^th grade was chosen for the project because its curriculum for social studies includes a unit on elections and political participation.

Similar to the success achieved in previous years, this project achieved its expected outcomes of raising the awareness and knowledge for the targeted students about the elections and political participation.

 The project in pictures.

Voter Education Project in Schools (2017)

As a continuation for the previous useful experiences which had positive impact on students and teachers, the CEC has worked in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and with supporting funds from the EU, to implement the “Elections in My School” project, which targeted 9^th graders.  The project ran through the second semester of the 2016/2017 academic year. The project included 59 schools in the WB and 41 schools in Gaza Strip. These schools were selected in cooperation with the MoE based on previously set criteria. The main goal of the project was to enhance the electoral culture among the students of Grade 9, through implementing an Election Simulation that resembled the real-life national elections.

After selecting the schools, CEC provided training for Civil Education teachers (116 teachers- f/m) through 5 workshops (3 in WB and 2 in GS). After the training, the teachers managed to guide and supervise the students in performing the Election Simulation in schools on the course of almost 2 months presented in 6 school periods in each school. Around 9,500 students (f/m) from the targeted group participated in the simulation. Noting that, 9^th grade was chosen for the project because its curriculum for Civil Education includes a unit on elections and political participation.

It is worth noting; that the project included some schools specialized for people with hearing impairment. This lies within the general scope of the CEC about the necessity of including PWD in all its projects and activities related to elections and political participation.

This project achieved its expected outcomes of raising the awareness and knowledge for the targeted students about the elections and political participation from 40% before the project implementation to 77% after the implementation. According to the pre and post questionnaires that were used to measure the increase in knowledge and awareness level for the participating students.

The project in pictures

Voter Education Project in Schools (2016)

In cooperation with the Ministry of Education & Higher Education, and with supporting funds from the European Union, the CEC implemented the Voter Education project in schools as an extension to the previous projects implemented in the framework of raising electoral awareness among school students in the West Bank (WB) and Gaza Strip (GS).

The project was divided into 2 sections:

First: Learning through Elections – Second Grade: this project aimed to create electoral awareness among 2^nd grade students by adopting the Integrative Learning method, considering the importance and effectiveness of education during childhood. The students learned traits of 5 animals, in order to elect a King out of these 5 animals later. This activity was performed in-class after providing the suitable training for the teachers and the supervisors to take on this activity with the students. The class teachers implemented the project with their students throughout the semester by integrating the curricula of 5 subjects that the students learn (social sciences, natural sciences, Arabic language, mathematics, and art education). It is worth mentioning that this project was implemented simultaneously between the schools in WB and those in GS (60 schools in WB and 40 schools in GS), benefiting around 9000 second graders of both sexes.

Second: Ninth Grade project: aiming to enhancing electoral culture among almost 10,000 students of the 9^th grade throughout the first semester of 2016. The project was done by performing a simple, easy, and comprehensible Election Simulation for the students in 100 schools (60 in WB and 40 in GS).

Voter Education Project in Schools (2014)

The CEC implemented the Voter Education project in schools for the year 2014, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education & Higher Education and the Friends School, with supporting funds from the European Union. The project was implemented in the West Bank (WB), in addition to implementing it for the first time in Gaza Strip (GS).

The project was divided into 2 sections:

First: the awareness project for Second Grade: this project aimed to create electoral awareness among 2^nd grade students by adopting the Integrative Learning method. The students would learn traits of 5 animals, in order to elect a King out of these 5 animals later. This activity was performed in-class after providing the suitable training for the teachers and the supervisors to take on the activity with the students. It is worth mentioning that this project was implemented simultaneously between the schools in WB and those in GS (100 schools in WB and 26 schools in GS), benefiting around 10,000 second grade students of both sexes. (Press here to view the list of the participating schools)

Second: Ninth Grade project: aiming to enhancing electoral culture among almost 7,000 students of the 9^th grade, by performing a simple, easy, and comprehensible Election Simulation for the students in 100 public schools in the WB. (Press here to view the list of schools).

Voter Education Project in Schools (2013)

The CEC implemented the Voter Education project in schools for the year 2013, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education & Higher Education and the Friends School, with supporting funds from the European Union. The project was considered an extension to the previous projects implemented in the framework of raising electoral awareness among school students in the West Bank.

The project was divided into 2 sections:

First: spreading electoral awareness among Second Grade students in 21 schools (20 public schools and 1 private school). By adopting the Integrative Learning method, the students would nominate one animal to be elected a president for the animals, after learning their traits. This activity was performed in-class with the students after providing the suitable training for the teachers and the supervisors (20 educational supervisors and 48 second grade teachers) for this purpose.

Second: aiming to spread and enhance electoral culture among 9^th grade students and their Civil Education teachers in 61 schools (60 public schools and 1 private school), by performing an Election Simulation practiced by the students themselves with supervision by their trained and qualified teachers. The simulation was done over 6 school periods in the course of 6 weeks.

 Pictures of the Voter Education project in Schools 2013– 9^th grade

 Pictures of the Voter Education project in Schools 2013– 2^nd grade

Voter Education Project in Schools (2009)

The CEC implemented the Voter Education Project in Schools for the year 2009 in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE)and UNRWA, with supporting funds from the European Union. The project came as an extension to the voter education projects in the Palestinian local community, specially among the youth.

The project was based on the idea of spreading cultural awareness among students of Grade 9 and their Civil Education teachers in 107 schools, through performing an Election Simulation by the students themselves with guidance and supervision by their teachers. The simulation was done over 6 school periods in the course of 6 weeks. The scope of beneficiaries for the year’s version of the project expanded to include some private schools and UNRWA schools in addition to the MoHE schools; almost 8,600 students (m/f) along with 126 teachers (m/f) participated in the project.

 Pictures of the Voter Education project in Schools 2009

Elections Education in Schools Project–2008

This project, financed by the Foundation for the Future, furthered the CEC’s efforts to educate the Palestinian people, especially Palestinian youth, on elections-related issues. The CEC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Education to reaffirm both parties’ readiness to cooperate for the benefit of this project and also to reiterate previous cooperation. The CEC, for its part, made a considerable effort to educate Palestinian society on the electoral process. The project targeted ninth-grade students in 106 schools throughout the West Bank, including Jerusalem, through civic education textbooks. The teachers, trained by CEC staff, supervised mock elections conducted by the students during the summer term, which emulated all stages of the electoral process, from voter registration to the announcement of results.

The project was divided into four stages:

First stage: 15 September to 28 October 2008

Coordinating with the Ministry of Education to select the schools where the project would be carried out, planning and preparing the materials needed for the following six weeks.

Second stage: 1-2 November 2008

Training the teachers on how to conduct mock elections; introducing teachers to the vision and objectives of the project; preparing, printing, and distributing materials to the electoral districts as planned. The Ministry of Education delivered the materials to the schools.

Third stage: 3 November to 15 December 2008

Implementing the project, delivering an introduction to the electoral process in Palestine, conducting mock elections in selected ninth-grade civic education classes.

Fourth stage: 15 December 2008 to 25 January 2009

Evaluating the project and preparing the final report.

Main objectives of the project were:

• To raise the Palestinian youth awareness about the electoral process

    By distributing 65,000 brochures on the elections to ninth- grade students in the West Bank, including Jerusalem.

• To underline the meaning of elections through mock elections

    1. To conduct mock elections for approximately 10,000 students.

    2. To distribute 500 promotional posters to 106 schools.

    3. To distribute gifts to the students who participated in the project.

• To improve elections education among ninth-grade civic education teachers:

    1. To conduct training workshops for 150 teachers about the electoral process.

    2. To provide targeted teachers with printed guidebooks and manuals to use as references.

 Elections in Palestine Guide 

The project in photos

Youth Leadership Elections in Summer Camps–2007

During the period 22 July and 12 August 2007, the CEC implemented a project entitled "Youth Leadership Elections in Summer Camps".

The CEC carried out this project in order to enhance elections education among Palestinian youth and promote the idea of democratic participation, not only in theory but also in practice.

The CEC signed a memorandum of cooperation with the National Committee for Summer Camps at the Ministry of Youth and Sports to implement the project in 22 of its summer camps across all West bank districts, including Jerusalem.

The main principles of the project were:

1. Practical application

The project relied more heavily on practical application than theoretical explanation, in keeping with the summer camps’ focus on field activities. Participants were first introduced to a simple explanation of electoral concepts and then engaged in practical implementation.

2. Simulation

The project was implemented through phases similar to those of any real electoral process such as the forming of an elections commission, voter registration, candidate nomination, campaigning, polling and the announcement of elections results. Participants engaged in the same procedures followed in real elections, even using the same forms and ballot boxes.

3. Participation

All project activities, such as elections administration, observation and participation, were implemented by the participating campers themselves. Camp administrators appointed nine students as the elections commission to manage the mock elections. They also chose observers to monitor the electoral activities. The campers themselves engaged in registration, nomination, campaigning, voting and finally announcing the election results. The CEC supervised the implementation of the project in cooperation with camp administrators.

4. Comprehensiveness and standardization

The project was implemented in 21 summer camps in all West Bank districts with identical standards, procedures, timelines and forms. A total of 1294 registered for the project, 999 of whom participated in electing 198 candidates. Voter turnout amounted 77.2 percent.

At the beginning of the project, the CEC published 50,000 brochures entitled "The ABCs of Elections" which were distributed to all participating summer camps. The brochure presented the theoretical context of the project and provided the participants with a general overview of elections in Palestine.

 The project in photos

 Final Report