After two years of work and research through YALLAH! but also other previous research efforts in the middle east, we have worked out some specific project areas we would like to address in the final year of YALLAH!.
Project areas can be combined, if it makes sense and if specified clearly *how*. In that case multiple teams will assess the combined idea. If you have your own ideas regarding projects to work on, pitch them in your application.
Mobile Maker Space
Makerspaces offer room for collaborative work, making, learning, exploring and sharing. They can facilitate high tech tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, but also low tech tools like hand tools, power tools and so on. They can but don’t need to include those tools. Those spaces are open to everyone and in essence promote maker mindsets: create something out of nothing, repair things, explore interests and new ideas, share all of the former and more. In makerspaces people can help learn skills in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), but also sewing, woodworking or repairing a bicycle. Hands on learning, critical thinking skills, but also might foster entrepreneurship.
There might be one challenge though: A maker space is usually a physical space, inside a building. How can people access such spaces when living in remote areas where transportation can be problematic? Especially in the context of Palestine and Area C? Might a “mobile” maker space fill in this gap? If so, what does this maker space need? Is a 3d printer or other high tech needed by the users? Or do simple hand and power tools suffice? What do the people want and need living in remote areas? Maybe just books? Check out the GiG Lab Mobile to see one project we have been involved with and understand the direction of our idea of “mobile maker space”.
VR Experience
Due to the political situation, some Palestinians living outside of Palestine are struggling to visit the West Bank. It might be interesting to explore *how or *if VR technology can be implemented to support those people. Imagine you could a visit place without the need of thinking about long travels or political borders. We want to explore this technology in this context in order to find out if VR tech can help promote audio-visual experiences and culture across various borders.
Computer Club in al-Am’ari Refugee Camp
Learning by doing is the basic concept for all activities in the intercultural come_IN computer clubs – with the computer being at the center. It constitutes the central tool to work, learn and play with in the collaborative project activities in the club. Children and adult participants decide on project topics together, and then plan and put these into practice in the club’s weekly meetings.
The first computer club outside of Germany was established inside the Palestinian refugee camp al-Am’ari in Ramallah. al-Am’ari is a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank near the centre of Ramallah. Find our most recent research on the club here.
After a few years of activity, the club closed and was reopened through YALLAH! 2016, in YALLAH! 2017 we upgraded the computers to Rasperry Pi 3 as workstations. This project will be about exploring workshop formats, implementing workshops, thinking about further technology upgrades in the club and strengthening its self-sustainability. Some ideas can be: Explore Minecraft with the children, implement electronics workshops with Arduino or Calliope or maybe implement a story telling workshop. Of course it would be even more interesting to think about how to connect children from our German clubs to the Am’ari club.