Democracy and Human Rights

On 14 September 2015, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Ramallah welcomed official representatives, partners, colleagues and friends on the occasion of the farewell & Welcome of hbs directors. 

A letter from Gaza, describing the impossibility of getting back to 'normal' one year after the war. Real change is needed before it is too late. BY YASMEEN AL-KHOUDARY

By Michelle Pace Personal reflections from a visit to Gaza, 14-19 October, 2014 In this article, Michelle Pace writes about her recent visit to the Gaza Strip. Pace taught an intensive research training course for young researchers in Gaza in cooperation with HBS and Palthink. The course took place only weeks after the 51-day-war on Gaza this summer. Pace is an International Relations specialist and a professor at Roskilde University in Denmark. She is also a Honorary Professor in Politics and International Studies at the Department of Political Science and International Studies.

Hosting the FIFA World Cup focuses the world's attention on the host country and lends the promise of economic and social gains, all enveloped in a charged atmosphere of football emotion. But for the first time in history, a multitude of questions are being raised about the real meaning of an international mega-event for the host population. Reflecting on these issues and the much discussed question in Brazil of "Cup for whom?," the Heinrich Böll Foundation and invited journalists and specialists have put their analyses together in this DOSSIER. News items, articles, maps, photos, and videos show how the actions of FIFA, governments, and sponsors are increasingly commercializing public spaces in Brazil, using the justification that Brazilians will reap future benefits for hosting the World Cup.

This post was originally published on Notes by Noon It was the first time for me to attend an Arab Blogger's Meeting and although I hadn't met many of the participants physically before, through our interaction over the years our virtual connection had been well established. There was an air of familiarity, comradeship and solidarity which laid the basis for new friendships. Sadly, there were activists and bloggers who were absent either due to unjust incarceration or shameful red tape which prevented them from being physically there, yet their presence was very much felt amongst us.

"What made Bab Al-Shams significant was the fact that it asserted that Palestinian activists would not simply react to injustices the occupation laid at our doorstep, but that we were determined to create our own realities on the ground"....