The regional seminar gathered activists and researchers from non-governmental organizations and civil society, from Arab countries and elsewhere: Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Syria and Norway. Representatives of the International Organizations like Save the Children (SC), UNICEF, UNHCR, ICRC and USAID also participated in the conference’s activities for two working days, as well as representatives of local ministries and governmental institutions.
The Conference addressed a number of issues linked to the domain of children living under difficult circumstances in the Arab region, such as child soldiers, child trafficking, child labour, imprisonment, displacement and migration, psychosocial trauma related both to short term displacement as a result of war or inter-generational trauma for long term refugees and human rights violations.The Conference succeeded in bringing together a healthy mix of researchers with representatives of donors and civil society organisations which could benefit from the research. Overall presentations and studies were based on focus groups, theoretical background, case studies, qualitative and quantitative methods.
Presentations at the seminar:
Ziad Abdeen, Radwan Qasrawi, and Shibli Nabil, Al-Quds Nutrition and Health Research Institute, and Mohammad Shaheen, Center for Development in Primary Health Care, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine: Psychological reactions to Israeli occupation: Findings from the national study of school-based screening in Palestine. 2008, The International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development.
Dr.Jalal K Damra, Institute for family Health (ed.): Anxiety and maladaptive disorders in refugee children and adolescents
Sumaya Y. Sayej RN MSN Ph D, AL-Quds University: Palestinian children in armed conflict.
Submitted to UNFPA, June 10/2007 and presented as part of the Garca Machel report the Under-Secretary -General Special representative to the Children and Armed conflict / UN /USA ON October 17/2007
Sabah Jadooa, ICSP Project Manager IRD, Amman: The Impact of War on Children
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